I am severely disappointed in this bag. I have owned two Timbuk2 bags prior to this and I always swallowed the price tag because of the unbelievable quality and durability of their bags. This is clearly not the case on the Uptown. Upon receiving I noticed how cheaply made the bag was:No reinforced bottom.
Straps thin and single stiched.
Ultrathin pack material.
Worst of all, the carrying handles are a joke. The thinnest single piece of nylon I have ever seen a pack. My 1990's Jansport made this feel like a glass egg!
At first I thought I was the victim of poor quality control, but even on the Timbuk2 site there are customers crying out for more durability on this pack! WAKE UP TIMBUK2!!
By the way, my strap broke at the bottom during my first trip to work. So it was really fun carrying my backpack around in my arms like a sack all day!
To give you an idea, it had a small 15" laptop, Ipad, a 1"binder, three pens and my car keys. I admit one of those pens weighed a few ounces, but come on! Seriously, the bag was no where near it's proposed weight or size capacity.
It's just really sad to see a grassroots company like Timbuk2 sell out to try and make a buck from the people who backed you from the beginning.
Needless to say, thanks to Amazon, the bag is going back and I'll never trust in Timbuk2 again. I can only hope you learn from my mistake and steer clear.
What I use it for:
daily bus commute to work, I usually carry iPad, 15'' laptop, gzillion cables, chargers, headsets, ... occasionally a jacket (even winter fleece jacket fits), and yes also coffee mug
What I was worried about:
1. the material feel thin and cheap. I was wrong, honestly it works great, I actually like how light it is
2. zippers feel cheap as well, but work, no issue there
What I love:
1. tons of pockets
2. laptop pocket I used it 6x at the airports already, never had to pull my laptop out of the backpack so convenient, yes people are jealous
3. shoulder straps really nicely fit, this is probably the most comfortable backpack I used so far
What I don't care about but you might:
1. this is not waterproof backpack, I would not take it skying
2. it has no waist strap
3. it is not "tough" backpack, don't expect same material you are used to from messenger bag, this backpack is as light and simple as possible
Is there anything to improve: Well yes, there is always something.
1. I would love to see mouse pocket (yeah geeky stuff) and padded sunglasses pocket
2. Perhaps a bit less flimsy zippers.
3. true napoleon pocket (the existing napoleon pocket is sideways, but deep down and thus harder to pull stuff from)
Buy Timbuk2 Uptown Laptop TSA-Friendly Backpack Now
Yes, it's kind of expensive. But totally worth it!I had my Timbuk2 messenger bag for 12 years, and decided it was time to upgrade. I've got a lot of back problems, and was told the messenger style bag isn't helping. (The messenger bag is still going strong BTW, speaks volumes about the quality of Timbuk2!)
I travel, A LOT, and this bag really saves time and effort at the airport. I was a little weary that the TSA would let it through without me taking my computer out, but so far I've been through DCA, CLT, BWI, and SAV with no problems. I'm going through LAX tomorrow and expect the same.
The only thing that concerns me about this bag is where the straps are connected it looks like there is a lot of stress on the stitching. I'm confident Timbuk2 knows what they are doing, and I guess only time will tell. I'll update if I have any problems.
Read Best Reviews of Timbuk2 Uptown Laptop TSA-Friendly Backpack Here
I have had several timbuk2 bags and this is my favorite. The TSA friendly compartment holds my laptop and this section also easily holds my iPad as well. There is a section for all my power cords, a smaller section for pens etc. And the kicker is there is a compartment for a small amount of clothing. I recently went on a two day business trip and was able to carry just this bag. And given all these compartments, this bag is quite small.I may never get another kind of bag again.
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I almost returned this bag, but I decided to keep it...The bad:
Very uncomfortable The straps have virtually no padding and are very narrow, so they bite into you pretty badly, especially if you are wearing it over one sholder. The only way that I have found any comfort is to have it fully on my back. Also, there is no padding on the back of the bag, so your back is effectively against your laptop. It feels like having a flat board strapped to your back.
Cheap Zippers Don't move smoothly and snag often, which is not a good thing in the security line at the airport. My previous Swissgear bag had zippers that worked very smoothly and with little effort, so I am used to much better.
Build Quility Though I don't think the quality is quite as bad as some of the reviewers before me, I don't expect that this bag will last more than a year or two.
The good:
TSA friendly so, don't have to remove the laptop at security checkpoints
Layout of pockets and compartments works well for my style of organization.
Holds my 17" laptop, but is still a pretty compact bag. My old bag always seemed really big and took up a lot of space.
Nice looking bag
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