Sometimes, a petite little thing of a bag just doesn’t get the job done. For instance, photographers and videographers are often burdened with the strenuous chore of hauling around lots of bulky gear. Most backpacks and laptop bags are unable to hold the mountain of cables, memory cards, cameras, compact discs, manuals, small children, pets, snacks, and other sorted equipment it takes to get the job done. Fortunately, Booq laptop bags provide the kind of support you needs to comfortably transport anything without breaking your back. The Python Blur is a massive behemoth of a bag designed around the 15-inch MacBook Pro, and it measures 17.7 x 14.2 x 9.4 inches, which is kind of like carrying an Ewok on your back.

Python (left) and Boa backpacks come with a massive amount of storage space for all of your essential gadgets.

Although it’s bulky, it comfortably holds all of your essentials and then some. The pockets and compartments are deep and roomy, giving you plenty of space to pack everything you need without worrying about banging anything up, especially since the semirigid nature of the bag offers some protection to the gear inside. The side flaps each contain a slew of pockets that are perfect for lens caps, pens, and other smaller items, while a collapsible internal divider in the top-tier compartment folds down and stows away, allowing you to tuck in extra gadgets like a DSLR or a MagSafe power adapter and a PowerSquid surge protector. The laptop compartment opens wide, with a zipper spanning three sides, making it easy to quickly grab your MacBook and get to work. It also sports pockets and dividers to keep paperwork and the latest issue of Mac|Life close at hand. Air-mesh padding on the back of the laptop compartment lets heat escape, so you can stow away your MacBook Pro without worrying about waiting for it to cool.

The Python Blur’s even-beefier counterpart is the Boa Flow XL. Made to fit up to a 17-inch MacBook Pro, it’s a hulking 19.5 x 15 x 10.5 inches. The bag contains plenty of storage for all of your electronic peripherals, and you’ll find numerous pockets inside each compartment for organizing smaller items like memory cards, USB sticks, and extra camera lenses. The zip-up laptop slot rests at the back of the bag (just like the Python Blur), though it’s a bit snug--and it’s more difficult to use, since it only opens along the top edge. Inside the main compartment of the Boa Flow XL, there’s a large storage space that can hold an external keyboard, a couple of manuals, and a neatly folded jacket, while still offering separate areas for things like USB cables and loose pieces of paper. Side pockets also hold two extra bottles of water for those really long days. Though Booq suggests that you store your full-size DSLR in the bottom pocket, the only protection provided there is soft padding, which makes us nervous.

We preferred the Python Blur for its smaller form factor and more useful laptop compartment, but the Boa Flow XL works fine if you need its extra space. The bags are water repellent and have a Terralinq serial number, a service developed by Booq to help lost bags find their way back home. If you frequent packed buses or trains, though, you should consider other options--both bags would be problematic in a crowd. But for digital pros who schlep around lots of stuff, these bags are easy to cram full of all the gear you could ever need… although actually carrying them when they’re stuffed to the gills is a different story.

The Python Blur and Boa Flow XL are extremely durable, sturdy packs that work well if you're a multimedia hoarder, but you should steer clear if you're a city communter--or if you aren't into their cyborg style.

Python Blur
COMPANY: Booq
CONTACT: www.booqbags.com
PRICE: $229.95
REQUIREMENTS: Fits 17-inch MacBook Pro or smaller.
Protective rigid sides. Laptop compartment opens wide. Comfortable straps make it easy on the back.
Not very attractive. Too big to wear in spaces with lots of people.



Boa Flow XL
COMPANY: Booq
CONTACT: www.booqbags.com
PRICE: $199.95
REQUIREMENTS: Fits 17-inch MacBook Pro or smaller.
Fits more stuff than you could ever want to carry.
Endangers your posture because of all that stuff you're carrying. Kind of ugly, and too gigantic to carry just anywhere.