I’ve never received so many compliments until I started donning this backpack around town. Family members, colleagues, and even a few fashionable hipsters threw a “Love your backpack!” my way. This is one of the most stylish, functional backpacks I’ve ever worn, and it’s good at carrying my gear, too. But it’s not exactly one of those bags you want to haul everything in at all times.
The Fleet holds enough for a day at CES but still looks great.
It’s more than just fashion: I wore this bag to CES, so I got to really use it in an extreme situation. I have to carry many devices when I’m at a trade show, and the Hex Fleet Backpack managed to fit everything. I had my 15-inch MacBook Pro in its compartment, the power brick pushed to the bottom, another small bag filled with cords and USB sticks, and a hefty Nikon D50 with a 50mm lens on top of the pile. Tucked into each side were an additional 18–55mm lens and a 24-ounce water bottle. I was impressed at how much I could fit inside while still being able to zip up the backpack. The main compartment also has a nifty organizer for things like rolled-up cords and portable hard drives.
On the outside, the Fleet has two handy pockets. The top can fit your iPhone, and the bottom is sized for an iPad, but my bag was so full of things that this wasn’t going to happen. Once I got to this point, the Fleet was so bloated, it became almost too heavy to carry. When I heaved it onto my back, the generous padding kept me pretty comfortable—but it also fooled me into thinking I could haul that much gear around all day, which led to a very sore back.
The bottom line. Hex’s Fleet Backpack is indeed the most stylish laptop bag around, but just because it can carry all of your stuff and not fall apart doesn’t mean that it should.
Fleet Backpack
13-inch or 15-inch Mac laptop, maybe an iPad, other stuff to carry
Heavily padded. Water-resistant coating. Gets you compliments.
Too much stuff makes it too heavy.
