Bag Your 'Book

If the census happened today, how many laptops reside in your household? As many as one for every member of your family? And for every ‘Book, a bag of its own… 

Even if you’re no longer a teenager in the chronological sense, the SonicPak’s built-in speaker can bring back that feeling. Pop your iPod or other player into the hidden see-through pocket, connect the cable to your player’s headphone jack, install three AA batteries, flip the speaker’s on switch, and you’ll be ready to jump on your skateboard and head out to annoy the neighbors. Kidding aside, we were impressed with the strong sound that comes from the nearly flat speaker (Targus credits the “NXT exciters”), and the well-padded back and shoulder straps make for a comfy ride.

Inside there’s a padded pocket for 15.4-inch and smaller laptops, plus a separate compartment with five more interior pockets. Outside you get just one zippered pocket, side pockets for bottled drinks, and a super-tough rubber handle, along with the speaker assembly, which can be removed completely. The bag measures 18 by 14 by 7.5 inches (roomy enough for a computer, books or files, lunch, and more) but weighs just 3 pounds, 4 ounces. Our favorite feature besides the speaker was the strong water-resistant material on the bottom.