I have mine for the last 3 years, use for everyday, and my personal item for travel. No problems at all, carries my laptops and tablets well, very comfortable even when packed, holds quite a bit. convenient luggage sleeve. A great buy. I love it.
This has been my daily carry backpack for the past 5 years. It has been on a half dozen airplane trips, sometimes as my only bag, packed similar to your review. My daily activities mean the bag makes 4-6 trips in and out of the truck every day carrying my laptop, cables, nutebooks, and some basic hand tools into building equipment rooms. To protect the laptop, I cut a strip of medium density packing foam from a piece of equipment packaging. I stuffed this in the bottom of the laptop sleeve and I have had no issues with laptop damage. This pack has held up better than some of the other more expensive packs I have carried. It is light and small enough to keep you from overpacking, but still handles everything I need on a daily basis. I did pick up the 17" version last week, The build is the same, jut everything is bigger. My only complaint on it so far is the laptop compartment unzips all the way to the bottom instead of stopping at the water bottle pockets. I am afraid if I snag the top of the bag, it may unzip rapidly and dump the contents. The fix is easy, a needle and thread to sew a few loops to create a sipper stop and now it can't go too far. My only other concern is that I will overpack and carry too much weight in the 17". But that is on me, not the bag. Keep an eye on Amazon, sometimes the 15" version will go on Flash Sale in the $17-19 range!
I’m surprised this backpack is so cheap. It is THE best backpack I owned and definitely should not be considered a budget backpack. It is so nice, features like the built-in USB port for charging your devices on the go and so many pockets. Definitely recommend it for the price and quality.
Thanks for the review! I think that every good travel laptop bag should be made of decent quality material so that it's easy to carry for long periods of time and that it should have plenty of different pockets or compartments to store things like wires, mouse, portable keyboard, etc. This bag seems to fit all of the above at only $30 so I'm not surprised at it's 60K ratings. I might get one myself!
This looks good for me. I’m going back to college at 33 and I’m doing online courses. I just need a bag I can use to bring once in awhile if I want to study outside of my house.
Hey, just saw your video on packing under 7kg (one of the best travel videos I've seen) and then saw you made this video about my daily EDC laptop bag, which I have 2 of because I like it so much. Completely agree, not a good travel bag because it's kind of like a counterfeit handbag; cheap and pretty but not the best materials. Still a great bag for it's price point because the only other thing you can get are Amazon's Jansport knockoffs.
Thanks for reviewing this pack! I sometimes wonder about some of these very popular backpacks on Amazon. I bought one and was pretty happy with it for years - it actually held up remarkably well but just lacked niceities like sternum strap, false bottom for your laptop, etc.. Really, the price/performance can’t be beat if you don’t mind looking like a college student!
I've been looking for a new travel pack. Currently use the Timbuk 2 Spire rolltop and needed a change. I just ordered the Matein for 23$ on sale from Amazon. Also picked up the Ebags CityLink Laptop Backpack Slim in Olive. Hard to find reviews on that one. The Spire rolltop I have is ok but I have a pair of B&W headphones and they do not fit so well with books and a glasses case.
Have read from Amazon reviews that there's NO padding at the bottom of where laptop goes and to be very careful putting it down. What would recommend/suggest as the best laptop backpack under $50? Thanks
I bought this yesterday and there was a limited-time offer which I got in the last hour. I'm so lucky because then it switched back. I saved about 10 dollars.
@@OneBagTravels Thank you for your prompt response. IMHO the Kroser bag is far more impressively packaged (see some reviews) and the product itself feels far more substantial. If anything, it is TOO WELL padded which makes it over bulky. It is definitely worth a review. The zip track is not rigidly supported across the top which impairs its smooth function. Pockets etc are extremely ample and it is commendably water resistant/proof.
I cringed when I saw which bag you were reviewing because I tend to be very opinionated about travel bags especially when it comes to quality versus quantity. Ironically the one and only time I purchased a very inexpensive bag off of Amazon was, in fact, a Matien. I don't remember the exact model but it was a couple of years ago and I just couldn't get past the feel and look of the material. Trust me when I say that I do check markdowns on my favorite bags and in that way save money but I just don't like cheap materials. When I travel I often go for months on end and the idea of a backpack giving out is something I just don't care to deal with. It's actually one of the very many reasons that I stopped using wheeled luggage years ago. Now I'm a one 40l bagger that will never go back, but early in my career (when my company paid for all of my check fees) I had very heavy Briggs & Riley because I knew B&R would replace the wheels or any other repairs free of charge. You could also take the specified wrench and remove the damaged wheel and replace with one of the two not used when you are pulling. I've seen more than one tourist tying twine around a bag with a busted zipper or pull a three-wheeled piece of cheap luggage which most probably broke mid-trip... that will never be me. I tend to save money on old models when new models come out or that bizarre color that never sells. I did end up sending them Matien back. It's just me, but I'd rather save up or even fly coach 😆 to pay for better materials. I'm not talking fashion, just good sturdy luggage. For example, one that is often categorized as budget is the Cabin Zero backpack and I absolutely love mine. I picked it up in England so saved on shipping and it's been a great summer time lightweight travel bag. Once again thanks for the review, cheers!
Cabin Zero packs are indeed great quality for the price. This bag is definitely not a B&R but could be a good budget option for someone looking for a cheap/decent pack.
