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The Best Laptop Backpacks for 2020

 & Chandra Steele Senior Features Writer

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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This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.

1. A Sushi-Friendly Laptop Bag

Can you imagine traveling on your next business trip with this laptop bag made of bamboo chopsticks? Yeah, we didn't think so. The Koo measures 12-by-8-inches wide and is lined with a removable hemp bag that has several pockets. The liner comes in tan or dark green and sells for $54. And if you order sushi for lunch but they forget to pack the chopsticks, just use some from this bag!

2. A Wool-Worthy Laptop Bag

A laptop bag made of wool? It could come in handy for the winter. The Plissee One Piece Laptop Bag, designed by South African-born Mary-Ann Williams, is made from 100-percent pure wool. It's shock absorbing, biodegradable (in case you throw it out the window of your car?), and accommodates 12-, 15-, and 17-inch laptops. It's available in many colors and made to order from $450 and up.

3. The Mac Daddy Laptop Bag

Do you own a mack truck? No, not the one you drive, but the bag you carry your laptop in? The MacTruck is a heavy-duty notebook case made out of aluminum alloy, with two steel latch bars, designed to house a MacBook or PowerBook. Just how strong is it? According to the company, RadTech, you can drive a truck over it and it won't be damaged! It ranges in size from 12 to 17 inches and weighs a hefty 3.7 to 5 pounds. It comes with two Kensington lock ports for security and a D-ring kit to attach a shoulder strap or shock cord. Get the Mac Daddy of all laptop bags for $199.99 to $229.99.

4. Your Epidermis Is Showing

This laptop bag would gross anyone out. Designed by Olivier Goulet, each SkinBag Computer is hand crafted from—let's take a deep breath—synthetic human skin. The stretchy skin is shock absorbent and entirely watertight. There are three zippers on the side and two sliders for easy access to your laptop. Sizes are available upon request and start at 500 euros ($655 USD).

5. A Laptop Bag for Daredevils

Skydivers, climbers, and others who live life on the edge will most likely appreciate the International Space Station Parachute Laptop Bag. It features the "original landing parachute used to bring back U.S. astronaut Michael Foale, his Russian colleague Alexander Kalery. and Andre Kuipers from the Netherlands to earth." In addition, it contains a dual quick-release buckled strap, a Velcro-secured back pocket, a nylon-cotton black lining, laptop compartment, cell phone and PDA pockets, and a 2-inch nylon shoulder strap. Waterproof and measuring 12-by-15-by-5 inches (HWD), buy one for $224.95 from SpaceToys.com.

6. A Wooden Laptop Bag

The wooden products never stop, do they? The Bag-Kaku is a laptop bag crafted from Japanese cedar, canvas, and leather. There are five wood shades to choose from: plain, mocha, tannin, brown, and brown ss. Each one supports up to 11 pounds. Get wood for $298 from Monacca.

7. Laptop Luxury

If you've already dropped $2,000 for your laptop, you're not going to want to spend another $700 just for a laptop bag. But if you're an heiress, then maybe your laptop does deserve some pampering. The Luxury Laptop Bag from Violet May London is made from Italian leather with a satin lining and comes with a matching clutch. Each laptop bag fits up to a 17-inch laptop and is available in three color combinations: Peacock Black Lilac, Peppermint White Rose, and Storm Black Rose.

8. Warm Those Typing Fingers

Even though spring is a couple of weeks away, it doesn't look like the cold weather is ready to go away. For some extra warmth while you're walking to work, stick your hands in the Muff Pack. It's a shoulder pack that artist Daniel Harper created, which acts as a hand warmer for those chilly days. And yes, it also houses a small laptop. Choose from blue, dark green, and gray for $200.

9. Stand Clear of this Laptop Bag

A bag like this could seriously draw too much attention to your laptop. The High Voltage Laptop Bag ($65) sounds like a crime-deterrent bag that will electrocute anyone who comes near it. Rather, it's an army-green bag that sports yellow "high-voltage" signs all over it. Inside, you get four medium pockets and six small pockets. Made of durable canvas and a nylon interior, the main compartment is 15-by-20-by-3.5 inches (HWD) to store a laptop. On the back of the bag is a duct-tape ID tag to write your name and number in case someone actually wants to steal it.

10. Metallic Is So Over

Remember those metallic parachute pants that pop singer MC Hammer wore in the mid 80's? That shiny material was hideous to look at, so why would we want to carry around this Bronze Metallic Laptop Bag? It's way too reminiscent of those pants, and that's a visual we're still trying to get out of our heads. Hey, but that's just our opinion. This 16-inch bag measures 10.75-by-2.25-by-13.75 inches inside (LDW) and sells for $45.99 at MangoTangoLLC.com.

About Our Expert

Chandra Steele

Chandra Steele

Senior Features Writer

My Experience

My title is Senior Features Writer, which is a license to write about absolutely anything if I can connect it to technology (I can). I’ve been at PCMag since 2011 and have covered the surveillance state, vaccination cards, ghost guns, voting, ISIS, art, fashion, film, design, gender bias, and more. You might have seen me on TV talking about these topics or heard me on your commute home on the radio or a podcast. Or maybe you’ve just seen my Bernie meme

I strive to explain topics that you might come across in the news but not fully understand, such as NFTs and meme stocks. I’ve had the pleasure of talking tech with Jeff Goldblum, Ang Lee, and other celebrities who have brought a different perspective to it. I put great care into writing gift guides and am always touched by the notes I get from people who’ve used them to choose presents that have been well-received. Though I love that I get to write about the tech industry every day, it’s touched by gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequality and I try to bring these topics to light. 

Outside of PCMag, I write fiction, poetry, humor, and essays on culture.

My Areas of Expertise

  • Making incomprehensible tech news easy to understand
  • Expanding the boundaries of topics covered in the industry
  • Figuring out tips and tricks in apps and on devices and letting you know about them
  • Putting together gift guides for everyone in your life 

The Technology I Use

All that gadgets is gold for me: my iPhone 11 Pro, my fifth-generation iPad that I use only for streaming videos and music, my iPad mini 4 that I like to take with me whenever I carry a bag that can fit it, and my MacBook Pro. Why are they all different shades of gold, though? What’s going on, Apple? 

None of them quite live up to my two past loves: my LG Lotus LX600 phone and my Sony Walkman NW-E005 MP3 player. 

I've never given up wired earbuds so I was ahead of all those trend pieces. I use a Mangotek Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone jack adapter to connect them to my phone. 

I have had so many ebook readers, but I prefer paper to them all. Still, my Kindle Paperwhite is perfect for traveling or when I’m too impatient to wait for a book to be released in paperback.

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