Belkin 17 Inch Messenger Bag – Chocolate/Tourmaline

Bill B

at 3:37 pm

I travel a lot by train so wanted a laptop bag that could double as a travelling bag from home to office. So it had to have lots of pockets so I can easily access train tickets, ipod etc. I was worried that becuase of the extra padding the bag had that it might be quite heavy like other bags I have had in the past but I was surprised how light it was. So really you are just carrying the weight of your laptop. As others have said loads of compartments to store bits and bobs. Love the outside zipped pockets great for stuff you need to easily get your hands on. I agree with others that there is no need to purchase an additional sleeve since the inner lining is great protection. I love the little zipped bag for the power cords etc thats even got a cusioned lining in it. Its a well built bag with a great comfortable wide strap which is great for walking with. Also it has a large exteranl side pocket on the opposite side to the zipped pockets which is great for storing A4 note pads and papers. I have just enough space to store my laptop, power cord, 3g card, wallet, keys and the couple of files I need for the day. Great buy -well worth the money.
Rating: 5 / 5

Graham Mccarthy

at 4:31 pm

OK, let’s deal with the size of this bag. If your laptop is bigger than 39cm x 27cm x 5cm then your going to struggle to fit it in. I’d regard these measurements as the limit. The laptop compartment is very well padded and so I really wouldn’t bother with a sleeve and it’s also red inside, a nice touch. Inside, in addition to the padded laptop compartment, there are three open pockets, one measuring 40×20 (suitable for an A4 pad) and two at 15×20 that will fit a mouse etc. There is also a zipped compartment measuring 32×9 and a couple of business card size pockets. There’s also sufficient room for the power supply in here and a separate nylon `pencil’ case is supplied for this(very handy).

On the outside of the case there’s a zipped pocket measuring 30 wide x 20 deep with a pocket inside and a further zipped compartment on the front 15×25. I’m not sure how handy this one is, you could only really get thin items in it. Finally there is an open pocket with a Velcro seal measuring 40×25 that can be used to hide the shoulder strap and/or carry a thin A4 binder.

The bag is very neat and very well made; the crimson interior and trimmings are a nice touch and makes this bag slightly unusual. The handle is wide, secure and slightly padded making it comfortable to carry, even when it’s fully loaded. The shoulder strap is wide enough to spread the load and won’t cut into your shoulder and a really nice feature is the way that is can be stowed in the pocket when not in use (although it cannot be detached from the bag).

The bag isn’t as capacious as some and if you `live’ out of your laptop bag then this probably isn’t the one for you. But if you need a stylish bag that’s easy to carry, neat and well made, then for the price you really won’t do better than this one. I can highly recommend it.

Rating: 4 / 5

I. Hurley

at 6:21 pm

I have been searching for a laptop bag that fits my 17″ widescreen laptop, and is not boring black for ages. Having returned others, finally, this one fits. The only problem is that I cannot open the top all the way, so because of the weight of the laptop I struggle to slip it into the pouch. Otherwise like the space for all the parts and the extra little pouch for small bits. I like that it looks different, but it is not the most convenient bag.
Rating: 3 / 5