Targus Drifter II Laptop Backpack, Black/Gray – Backpack for Men for Business and Travel, Durable Water-Resistant Material, Fits up to 17" Laptops (TSB239US)

I bought this bag a little over a year ago now (as a work bag so it gets a lot of use) and there is enough wear and tear (more tear than wear) that I now need to replace it. If I knew how to sew or knew someone that could I could no doubt get my bag repaired with ease and use it for several more years but I don’t so that’s not an option for me. I don’t want to get too long winded with this review but I’ll try and hit all the main points. #1 Large freaking bag. Tons of usable space. Great use of mini inner pockets (usually at the top of main pockets) to take advantage of those wasted upper areas that usually just holds air. Best combination of laptop compartment, main compartment, front compartments that I’ve found in any bag thus far. #2 Comfortable to carry. Good straps (although that’s where the ‘tear’ eventually took place). The elastic actually really helps to keep them from ‘digging’ into your shoulders. The handle is tough and well anchored. I have used the handle to move my bag around, fully loaded, and for over a year it’s held nicely, just a little cracking in the plastic. For future improvements on this I’d suggest going to a more malleable rubber with cable reinforcement or a sturdier metal handle. #3 It looks good. At the least it is not an ugly bag. #4 My only con is the middle pocket. The pocket between the main compartment and the front ‘pen’ pocket. I’ve found this pocket to be fairly worthless since it directly competes for the space used by the main compartment. It would almost serve better to cut the material out between the two pockets and use the zipper as a smaller access for the main compartment…or just do what I have and not use it. Either way. I guess if you want to add to the con pile I’ll talk about the wear and tear. So, on my bag the stitching on the shoulder straps is giving up the goose. The fabric is fine and if I can find someone that knows how to do it I’ll see if they’ll stitch this bad boy up again. One of the metal eye hole grommets has popped out, big deal. The picture of the circle of melt is due to a stovetop accident….don’t ask. It didn’t go all the way through and that was about 2 months after I got the back so it’s still plenty sturdy. All that said, I took some pictures to try and give a good idea of all the freaking pockets this bag has and some idea of where the wear and tear is likely to occur over time. Oh, and one picture to the Drifter II next to the Oakley Kitchen Sink and all the stuff I put in each to compare. I ultimately sent the Oakley back and ordered another Drifter II. Enjoy!

I bought the larger, 17" version. The dimensions I saw when I bought it weren't right. The dimension that goes away from the back is not smaller than the stated 16" version, not that I wanted/want it to be. It's like they picked a different way of measuring it, or something. The side compartments could be bigger, like 2" taller/up the back dimension, and 2" more outward in the across the back dimension. The mesh gets a little worn out easily. These side pockets has material on the bottom inside that help prevent items from falling out, if you forget to zip it up. (this is ordered top to bottom, and going around outside vertically, then in) The pocket at the very top is really nice/usable, although with a 2cm to 1in longer zipper, so that it could fit my organizer in there perfectly(it fits, just doesn't go in there easily). I can use this pocket to put in my computer mouse, etc... It's really nice, but I'm not so sure on how good this pocket would be with the smaller version of this book bag, books in the main compartment might hit it. The main compartment is really big. It fits all my books, notebooks, binders, gym clothes, etc... Even when I feel like taking a lot of stuff with me, it'll still fit it all. It also has a mesh pocket on the other side that's away from the wearer's back. The big main pocket is the main reason I picked this book bag. The handle looks really strong, feels better if you keep a loose grip on it rather than a tight grip. If there nothing in the book bag, it can flop down at times, getting in the way of the main zipper. The picture looks like the top pocket is a single handle zipper, but it's really a two handle zipper, like I think it should be (<-not sure on the words to use for this, two handle, double handle, two way, etc...?), and this pocket goes all the way to the bottom. (just not the zipper part) The pocket on the bottom front is padded on the outside and has smaller pockets inside, etc... There's a mini pocket on the front of that pocket that's big enough to easily fit a 3"*5" note card pack, and some mechanical pencils/pens. (didn't try a non-mechanical unsharpened pencil) The bottom is padded. The back has a padded pocket on the bottom, good for holding snail mail letters to mail. The middle of the back is quite a bit looser than the rest of the back and doesn't have nearly as much padding, When I'm not wearing the book bag, and go over this area with my hand an fill what fills like wrinkles in that section. The outer cushions are fairly big, and I've only felt the wrinkles in the middle area maybe one time while wearing the book bag.(could have just been my shirt?) The top back and bottom cushion are kinda fraying a little. After using the book bag for a while, the shoulder straps, like most book bags, feels like it could need more cushioning. However, it does have this neat elasticy thing at the top that makes it feel better to catch a full book bag when taking it off, etc... The straps might be too long for a short, skinny person during the summer, and there isn't a waist, or a chest strap. The laptop pocket has an inner pocket for smaller computers, like my 15.4" laptop. There's a Velcro strap that I'm guessing is supposed to help if the book bag ever gets flipped upside down, however the ends of the velcro don't really meet that well with my size laptop, or smaller. They could just simply make the non-strap side longer, for it to work. There's an inner pocket at the top of the laptop area, I haven't figured out any good use for it. Don't want my laptop directly hitting anything hard. I've been in the rain with this book bag a few short times, and nothing gotten wet inside. Overall main pros: big main compartment top pocket/others looks nice, "stylish" elasticy part on shoulder straps Overall main cons: back feels kind of weird? no belt, or chest straps might be too big for a person who's small, and/or doesn't carry much side pockets could be bigger Update: The bookbag gets old like a normal bookbag: The cover of the handle at the top cracked at it's outer edges, you can feel it when you pick up/put down the bookbag using this handle; might be more comfortable without this cover. (but I'd have to rip open the cover(which make the cover completely useless) to take it off to test) The shoulder strap padding became ineffective, as the fabric has tears there, and the padding has stuck out instead of cushioning. The side pockets have tears that allow items to go between the main compartment and the side compartments. The bottom edges are cracking.

I purchased my Targus Drifter II backpack just before an airline trip to attend to some financial affairs after my mom's death. I did not want to check any luggage, and I anticipated that I would use this backpack for day (possibly overnight) trips on my motorcycle or bicycle as well. I have a 17" laptop that I use for all my work that I needed to carry along on these trips. I am 6'1" tall, so the longer bags are not a problem for me. For the current trip I needed a bag that would hold my computer, charger, adapter cables for my small printer carried in another under-the-seat gym bag, bunch of paperwork, suit for the funeral, 1 weeks clothing, dress shoes, tablet PC, etc. This bag was packed to the gills, and weighed nearly 70 lbs when filled, but performed admirably. There was very ample room for the 17" HP laptop, extra space for paperwork in that compartment, and then a larger middle compartment for my suit, clothes, and more paperwork. There are 2 mesh zippered compartments hanging from the top of the bag in each of these two larger compartments that I used for pens, highlighters, keys, and other small items. In addition there separate nice felt lined zippered compartment with top access that is perfect for charger blocks, computer cables, etc. that would otherwise have been empty space as stuff in the other compartments sinks to the bottom of the bag. Numerous back pockets provide additional space for smaller items such as my 7" tablet PC, business cards, more pens, etc. On both sides of the bag are a zippered long pocket and mesh sleeve, where I kept hair brush, comb, fabric grocery bag. The mesh sleeves could hold drink bottles. A discretely placed zippered compartment for money and other important documents was placed behind the the kidney pad in the back. I found this bag comfortable for carrying the entire 70 lb load with both shoulder straps in place, and possible with only one strap for short carries. I predict that even for longer outside carries, the 4 back pads with vent spaces in between will help keep my back cool. I expect it to be perfect for its intended motorcycle, bicycle, and hiking uses, and it performed flawlessly during my funeral trip. My cousin was amazed at all the things I was able to bring in these two carry-ons. I did notice that several times I heard occasional little pops as I lifted this 70 lbs to my shoulder, which I assume were stressed stitches in the shoulder pads, but nothing came loose, and I admit I had overstuffed this bag for that trip. I agree that if you do NOT intend to carry your 17" laptop, the bag could use some more ribbing to help it maintain its shape, but with the laptop to provide rigidity, (as I'm sure it was designed) it was perfect.

This bag has tons of different pockets that can hold virtually anything you might need to lug along with your laptop. A few very minor quibbles so far, bearing in mind that I've just received the bag and haven't tried putting it through its paces yet: - If your laptop is smaller than 17 inches, the 17 inch model of the bag may turn out to be a bit too large. My 14.5 inch machine slides down pretty far, and almost gets lost in the bag. Perhaps the 16-inch model might be a bit better, but an inch wouldn't make that much difference. So if you have a smaller laptop, this one might be overkill. - There's not a perfect place to keep the essential bulky corded items (power and mouse). There's plenty of *room* for it, but the smaller zipper compartments would be very lumpy with the cord brick, and if I keep them in the larger main compartments (the one with the laptop or the other main one), the cords etc. will fall to the bottom and I'd have to stick my whole arm in there to get at them. There is a smallish mesh zipper compartment at the top of the laptop section, which just holds the cord and mouse, though I'm concerned that this will not hold up long term. - There are metal grommets in several places on the front of the nag. When I first noticed them I thought they were for ventilation or something. Nope, they don't appear to do anything beyond being decorative. No harm, it just looked a little odd. - There's a key clip inside one of the smaller compartments. Which is nice, but there's no additional length to the clip, it's right against the seam. So you can't fish out and use your keys without detaching them. My older bag had the key clip attached by a ribbon - still not long enough to *use* the keys, but I could at least retrieve them and have a bit more room to do the detaching. With this bag, you have to open the zipper and stick your hand inside. - On my old bag, the webbing straps you can use to adjust the strap length had plastic finger loops at the ends - easier to grasp when tightening the bag while it is on your back. This one has the webbing, but the loop is just a loop of webbing. A bit more trouble to stick fingers in for a better grasp. - The straps themselves are a little stiff-feeling. They might be a bit irritating for some people especially those who will be loading the bag down with a lot of books, and hauling it through airports or while walking longer distances. I'm tall and broad-shouldered so they seem OK for me, but then I'm going to be using this for car commuting. - The very front has a zipper that leads to a narrow and surprisingly deep compartment. If you have large hands, your hand will just barely fit inside there. I'm not entirely sure would that compartment would be good for, storage-wise, because things could get lost down there. Glasses, perhaps, though there's a nice fleece-lined pocket at the top between the two large compartments that would better for those. The good: This thing will hold everything you could possibly need unless you're lugging entire sets of the Encyclopedia Brittanica. The second large compartment (the one without the laptop sleeve) seems like it could hold a 5-6 inch stack of stuff - certainly enough to handle a full day at college or a change of clothes if you're traveling. There's a fold-down flap that helps hold that space open. Side compartments should hold smallish bottles of water, there are even zipper compartments that might hold a small umbrella. Same problem as that narrow front zipper compartment though: don't put anything in there that might drop down and be hard to retrieve. The padding feels pretty good across the back. There's a nifty "hidden" zipper compartment along the back padding which could hold some small things. I wouldn't suggest putting things like glasses in there (the pressure of the bag might break them), but for emergency cash or even a small wallet, it would to nicely. The front zipper area looks to be just the right size for an iPad or other tablet. I haven't tried this yet - I don't have an iPad, but my Nook Color fits there nicely.

This is a great backpack for its longevity, quality build, size, and design. -Build/Longevity: I have owned this backpack for three years. In those three years I have used this backpack everyday to go to and from school (five days a week with a laptop and books in it), for hiking, and for travel. I travel a lot and use budget airlines, which means carry-on and no checked luggage (to save money). This thing has survived the clothes, toiletries, books, electronics, and the rigors of air travel (being stuffed under seats, in the overhead, in trunks, out in the woods, etc.). -Size/Design: I own a 17.3 inch laptop (Vaio VPCF2290x) and it fits with room to spare. The pockets are great for storing many different types of things: books, clothes, groceries, tools, etc. -Quality: I have put this backpack through its paces and it has never let me down. Heavy loads, outdoors (hiking, beach, etc.), planes, and so on. This thing laughs at 5 liters of liquid (I had to carry groceries in this). -Comfort: the pads on the back are a nice touch and the straps don't dig into your shoulders even when fully loaded. -Self-Repair: After three years you would expect things to experience some wear and tear. There are only three parts of this backpack that have experienced significant wear and tear and it was negligible on it doing its job. I have included pictures: the plastic part of the handle broke in two; part of the seam came undone on one of the straps; It came apart where two parts are joined on one of the straps. It was an easy repair job: needle and thread. Overall this is a very durable backpack and I would highly recommend it.

Excellent bag for what I was looking for. Will update review if I wind up having any durability issues, but the bag seems well reinforced, so i don't foresee any. I searched high and low for a bag that would fit my MSI GT70 Dominator. It's a huge laptop that I carry from jobsite to jobsite at work, and in and out of the house every night. I really wanted a backpack style bag since it's a fairly heavy laptop, so I wouldn't be carrying it by the handle stumbling through the mud and junk at work. I also carry alot of laptop accessories, movies (it gets slow at work), and assortment of files of all the jobs I'm working on. This thing has room for all that and more! I was a little worried for the price that durability was going to be an issue. I can't say I've had it near long enough to give a solid review there, but it truly seems very well built, and reinforced in all the right places. I will definitely update if it begins to have a problem. As far as space, this thing is huge inside, with pockets for everything you could ever need. I'm still trying to decide what to put where to most efficiently utilize the space given. Then comes the small task of remembering what I put where lol. I will comfortably say even as big as my laptop is, I'm fairly certain I could put my other laptop in with it if needed. The other one pretty well stays at the house, but if we took a trip or something, I would feel very good about putting both in the bag, and knowing 1) they would fit, 2) they would be protected, and 3) they wouldn't be mashing each other or anything else in the bag. Would I recommend this bag to a friend? absolutely. For the price this thing is hands down the best bang for your buck, with all the features you could ever need. As long as it's half as tough as it looks, I'll be a buyer from them from now on. If it's not, then I'll step it up and buy a better one. I'm not a budget shopper, I buy "most bang for my buck" as best I can. I don't mind spending $500 on a good bag if I know it will be worth it, but I also refuse to buy something expensive just because "it's the one to have", or it's the most popular. So far I have found this bag to be an absolute home run for cost vs. product

This is an amazing bag. I bought this item 10 years ago and now is when is actually falling apart. I have travel the world with this backpack and never failed me. Moving forward, now I feel the need to replace it. I will be buying it again. I highly recommend this backpack.

This bag does everything i needed it to. I have to admit that it is actually a bit bigger than I thought it would be. Guess the measurements did not equate in my brain. Pockets for everything i need. Plenty of space for my huge HP ZBook 17 and I have even slipped the Lenovo Thinkpad on the other side just to test if it would hold. Major storage space when using the one laptop. I fit a ton of schematics, binders, notepads and other paper items in the bigger pouch. In front of that a lot of the electrical items regarding chargers, interface cables and so forth. I personaly love the little zippered top pouch where i hide a small external drive and a couple thumb drives for quick access. I do not carry this around daily. When i need to take my programmer somewhere, then it takes a ride. One thing that I have to agree with a couple other reviewers on is that the bottom could use a little more padding. If you are a complete moron and do not take care of your stuff or you do not mean to set it down so hard by slipping or falling, you may smack that laptop a bit. I do not worry so much for myself but to make sure, I cut out some extra foam for the bottom just to make sure this was not an issue, ever. Good bag, seems rugged enough so we bought another for another guy on the team here at work. Edit 12/12/2016: I should have edited this months ago but never thought about it until I went to amazon again to buy another bag. For the price, the bag has done ok but the overall quality has really shown through without even using the bag that often. I keep my programmer inside which only gets use when designing new stuff and that is not so often. I looked down ~2 weeks ago to find a big rip, right across the face of a strap. Literally looks like someone took a knife and sliced it. This was at the bottom of the foam, right where it stopped. The bag also tends to slouch pretty bad whenever any pouch is opened, like there is no framework at all holding the thing together. The piece IS held together by everything being zippered up. The pockets are about as plain as possible with two of the larger in front of the laptop holder just open space. I only have one laptop, one external drive, mouse and some small electronics; the elastic bands under the straps that lend comfort support just feel like they are going to stretch to a point of breaking. They haven't, but scares me to death Hope the update helps someone. I will not go buy another bag, I will simply be more careful. I do not carry the bag everywhere I go and so it stays. If I could do it over again, I would buy the Everki Titan like I did for my gaming laptop. More money, much better quality.

Úplně bombovej batoh a hlavně prostornej.

Ótima. Foi presente para meu filho, porém a minha, igual a esta, aniversariou 10 anos, linda, firme, forte e atualíssima.

I love it , very spacious and great material

The best bag ever, As expected, gives complete protection to your laptop and other accessories. Lots space & holds on your back firmly.

値段を考えると躊躇しますが 元を十分とるぐらい年数使いました 流石にボロボロになってきたので再度購入しました 一つ目のものは糸のほつれが見られましたが 今回購入したのは問題なかったです 使いやすいバックです