Targus Brilliance II 16" Laptop Backpack

Good solid construction, for 16 inch or less laptop (measured diagonally). A DELL 17 inch Inspiron was just a tad too big, so anything less than 17 inches will be fine. I tried a DELL Latitude E6410, an IBM Thinkpad T40, and a Gateway 15.6inch Laptop and those 3 fit just fine (not all at the same time!) with a bit of room to spare. Laptop slot is padded OK, on the bottom, and back, and sides not a ton of padding, but enough for normal use. Metal zipper pulls, nylon zipper material. Looks good for school use.

Why not 5 stars, because it's good for light use, school use, but if you want to look professional in the business world, this probably does not convey a professional "statement" if that is what you are looking for.

I wanted a backpack that would accommodate my laptop and at least two textbook-sized books, as well as holding my pens and assorted other items I take to work with me on a daily basis. The Targus Brilliance II is a pretty big bag, and it's able to do that. It will hold up to a 16-inch laptop. My Asus is a 13-inch laptop, so it fits with room to spare. One problem is that the interior laptop compartment is held shut by a strip of nylon that has Velcro on it. Because my laptop is small, the strip is too long. There needs to be a patch of Velcro farther down the interior pocket for the strip to attach to so it doesn't flop around. This might be a problem if the laptop is the only thing I carry, but since I usually have books, the weight of the books helps to keep the interior pocket snug against the computer. Adding an extra patch of Velcro is something I can do myself if I need it, so it's not an insurmountable problem.

The bag features a main compartment with the padded laptop pocket. There is a hanging padded pouch for your media player, or whatever. I put my mouse in there, and I've even put my glasses in there so they don't fall to the bottom of the bag and get crushed. It's convenient, but it can also get in the way of getting the laptop in and out. That's why I gave ease of access only 4 stars. Yes, you can hold the pouch out of the way and slide the laptop in the bag, but it's one of those things that gets troublesome when you're in a hurry -which I often am.

The overall appearance of the bag is fairly plain, but the gray panels on the outer pocket and straps looks nice in a very techno way. One thing I would wish for is that the interior nylon to be the same gray. It would be easier to see things in the bag (like my black Sennheiser PXC 250 Active Noise Canceling Headphones pouch). The zippers have fairly weighty metal tabs that are easy to grab. My other backpack has fabric pull strips, but I like these metal ones because their weight makes them hang down. They always seem to be where I expect them to be, unlike fabric ones that get caught up in zippers and such. The zippers on this bag are easy to open. I haven't had problems with them sliding open on their own, though. I'm not sure if the zippers will accommodate a travel lock, but they probably will.

Waterproof? I'm not sure. I did a quick test by splashing water on the bag to see if it would soak through. The water beaded up and ran off, but a torrential downpour could mean trouble. The computer compartment is nestled within layers of nylon, so it would take a few minutes for rain to get to it even if the bag isn't waterproof.

The only downside for me is that this bag *is* big. I'm a fairly small woman, so the bag hangs down to my butt. Not particularly the most comfortable thing. I can shorten the straps, but the bag is pretty much as long as my torso. I like the bag because I can stuff a lot of things into it (which makes it pretty heavy!), but I may end up giving it to my husband and getting something a little smaller for myself. The bag is about 18 inches top to bottom, plus another couple of inches that the hand-strap sticks up above the bag.

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The overall look of this pack is good but the interior is somewhat lacking. It's minimalist regarding storage space organization...not enough little pockets on the inside.

Comfort is actually quite good. Overall well made and durable but the lack of internal organization is disappointing.

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This back pack is nice, but I am not impressed. The storage capacity is moderate, but the front pockets does not have enough pockets to store pens and other necessities. Further more, the divisions within the bag take up a lot of space considering the moderate amount of room in the bag.

On the plus side, the bag is a comfortable fit and well padded.

However, something that wasn't thought about in its design is that the zippers are extra large, resulting in a person wearing the bag "jingling" every time they move around. This is actually quite annoying.

Find a different bag.

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I think the easiest way to review the Targus Brilliance II Backpack for 16" Laptops is to literally start from the back and work my way out.

The first thing I noticed about this backpack is the very comfortable padding on the pack while it rests on your back. The padding is thick but not annoying, and is feel quite nice on my back. The straps are also padded quite well. They include a smaller than average cellphone holder, which is my biggest gripe about this pack.

The first chamber in the pack holds laptops up to sixteen inches. My laptop, a Dell Latitude E6400 fits quite snugly in the compartment. In this same chamber is a second, less padded area for holding short cables, power supplies, or any other tools of the trade that you don't mind being loose in a bag. There is also a compartment for holding devices such as an Ipod or MP3 player and an access point for earphones as well that can be found on the top of the bag under the carrying handle. The location of the bag is right over the velcro strap that holds your the laptop compartment closed, so you have to lift this little bag to get to your laptop every time unless you tuck the compartment and the strap behind your laptop and do not use it. This is just a minor aggravation.

The second chamber opens wide and offers even more space for loose equipment. There are no pockets in this chamber.

The third, and smallest, chamber features a key ring suitable for keys or even flash drives to hang from. There is also a large pocket with one smaller enclosed pocket and one mesh pocket on it, as well as pencil pockets.

Near the aforementioned padded handle is another loop to hang more things off of. Two rings suitable for sticking your thumbs in while you walk are available on the straps. These make for easy adjustments of the straps to fit your body better.

Overall, this backpack is very, very comfortable to tote around. With all of the padding, it doesn't force you to stand at attention the entire time while carrying around a hard laptop. Only time will tell how durable this backpack is, but with Targus' reputation, I expect it to last for a long time.

Recommended.