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Crumpler Arnold Heist Tablet/Netbook Bag

 & Jill Duffy Contributor

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Crumpler Arnold Heist Tablet/Netbook Bag - Crumpler Arnold Heist Tablet/Netbook Bag
4.5 Outstanding

The Bottom Line

Stylish, sturdy, and extremely comfortable, the Arnold Heist bag by Crumpler is the perfect day bag for carrying a tablet and all your miscellaneous items.

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Pros & Cons

    • The perfect day bag.
    • Extremely well constructed.
    • Light.
    • Compact.
    • Very comfortable.
    • Only available in black.

Stylish, sturdy, and extremely comfortable, the Arnold Heist bag by Crumpler ($105, direct) is the perfect day bag. It's built to hold a tablet, like an iPad, but offers enough space to store everything else you'll need to get by. However, it's not so roomy as to be unwieldy—quite the opposite. It's supremely compact and weighs next to nothing, two major reasons Crumpler's Arnold Heist is easily our Editors' Choice among bags made for tablets.

The main feature on this bag is a padded interior pocket designed to protect your tablet, ereader, or netbook (11 inches and smaller), and it does the job without adding any unnecessary bulk.

In addition to the tablet pocket, Crumpler put compartments aplenty into the Arnold Heist: one zipped pouch, one Velcro quick-access pouch, two interior side-by-side pockets, and the central bag area. An orange lining helps you see inside the main compartments, while a contrasting and fashionably dark gray is used for the smaller pouches.

The Arnold Heist, only available in black, measures 9.8 by 15.3 by 3.5 inches (HWD). All the fabric, straps, zippers, and pull tabs are made of highly durable but lightweight materials, which allows the bag to weigh just 0.88 pounds. Because the Arnold Heist doesn't have any heft whatsoever, it's one of the most comfortable electronics bags you'll ever wear.

An adjustable strap lets you position the bag however you like. You can wear it slung low, messenger-style, or high and tight on one shoulder. For walking around town, it's a dream. I even managed to bicycle with it comfortably.

The Arnold Heist bag by Crumpler is an ideal bag for everyday use, especially if you own a tablet, making it our Editors' Choice. It's appropriately priced given the very high quality, and is constructed to last for years.

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Final Thoughts

Crumpler Arnold Heist Tablet/Netbook Bag - Crumpler Arnold Heist Tablet/Netbook Bag

Crumpler Arnold Heist Tablet/Netbook Bag

4.5 Outstanding

Stylish, sturdy, and extremely comfortable, the Arnold Heist bag by Crumpler is the perfect day bag for carrying a tablet and all your miscellaneous items.

Get It Now

Buy It Now

About Our Expert

Jill Duffy

Jill Duffy

Contributor

My Experience

I'm an expert in software and work-related issues, and I have been contributing to PCMag since 2011. I launched the column Get Organized in 2012 and ran it through 2024, offering advice on how to manage all the devices, apps, digital photos, email, and other technology that can make you feel overwhelmed. That column turned into the book Get Organized: How to Clean Up Your Messy Digital Life. I was also the first product reviewer at PCMag to test fitness gadgets, including everything from early Fitbits to smart bras.

Currently, I'm passionate about the meaning of work and work culture, and I enjoy writing about how managers and employees can communicate better, with or without software. My most recent book is The Everything Guide to Remote Work. I also love a good workplace drama. 

In addition to writing about work, I cover online education, focusing on learning for personal enrichment and skills development. I have a soft spot for really good language-learning software. Although I grew up speaking only English, some twists and turns in life led me to learn Spanish, Romanian, and a bit of American Sign Language. I've studied at the university level, as well as at the Foreign Service Institute, where US diplomats and ambassadors learn languages.

My writing has also appeared in WIRED, the BBC, Gloria, Refinery29, and Popular Science, among other publications.

Follow me on Mastodon.

The Technology I Use

Squeezing every last bit of usage out of the devices I already own is the only way I can tolerate my personal consumption. In other words, I do not own the latest cutting-edge technology. I buy things that will last and try to take care of them.

My life is organized by Todoist, and my notes live in Joplin. Where would I be without Dashlane as my password manager? Probably locked out of all my many online accounts—I have more than 1,000 of them.

When I share my contact information, it's an excruciatingly long list of phone numbers, messaging apps, and email addresses, because it's essential to stay flexible while also remaining somewhat mysterious.

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