A few months ago, I realized that my daily backpack was literally falling apart. The main zipper was broken and the outer shell was looking worn and ragged. I began to feel a bit embarrassed walking around town with it, so I knew I would have to replace it fast!

Shopping For a New Backpack

Searching the Internet, I looked at countless possible replacements, but none really met the specifications that I was looking for. I needed a bag that could safely stow my laptop, wasn’t bulky, and not covered in camping style mesh nets, hooks and elastics — I’m a city man!

Unfortunately, all the sporting goods and outdoor shops that I visited didn’t carry a bag that met my requirements. In particular, most of the backpacks that I looked at seemed better suited for mountain hikes, or were cheaply made, or offered little protection for my expensive full-sized laptop.

After almost giving up on my search, I suddenly remembered an old friend who used to boast about the brand Arcteryx.

Arcteryx (properly spelt Arc’teryx) is a Canadian outdoor apparel and sporting goods company. They are famous where I live for producing high quality technical gear. In fact, their backpacks are currently standard issue for soldiers in the United States Marine Corps.

So I recalled this friend showing off his Arcteryx jacket at my workplace, immensely proud of its quality and construction. Excited by this lead, I quickly did an internet search for Arcteryx equipment, hoping that they’d have something that I’d like.

And they did! It’s called the Arcteryx Blade and it comes in three sizes.

Outer Design

As an urban commuter, I was looking for a backpack with a simple exterior – no frills, hooks, loops or other gimmicks that could get caught up when pushing through crowds of people or busy ticket gates. Plus, I wanted a backpack that looked as sophisticated, sleek and serious as a business-style messenger bag or briefcase.

The designers of the Arcteryx Blade backpack seemingly had this in mind, as they gave it a minimalist outer shell with smart looking curves that disguise its boxy core. There’s nothing gaudy, child-like or eccentric about its design, and yet it’s far from being bland.

Inner Design

The Arcteryx Blade has an overall rectangular form with an inner rigid structure to retain its box-like shape, even when the bag is empty. Storage is accessed through various zippered pockets with a dedicated slot for a laptop.

The laptop compartment is ingenious. This slot is located on the right side of the bag, not the top, and allows for swift access to the laptop without having to open other pockets. Inside this compartment is a harness contraption that ensures spacing on all sides of the laptop. Which ever way your bag may be dropped or bumped, there’s a buffer zone surrounding it. This is by far the best laptop compartment design I have ever seen.

Each compartment or pocket in the bag features a cool looking liner, which contrasts sharply with the bag’s exterior. My Arcteryx Blade 24 has an exterior black shell with a neon green liner. But the sharp contrast in color is a subtle effect, as the pockets and compartments are mostly slits that don’t open up very wide. Some people may complain that the pockets are designed this way, but it provides better protection for the contents inside the bag.

Have you ever seen someone unknowingly walk around with their backpack’s zipper all the way opened? If you did this with the Blade, there’s a good chance nothing would fall out unless you were really running around hard.

Shoulder Straps and Padding

The straps on the backpack are pretty basic, but again, they fit the minimalist design of the bag. Carrying around a 5.5lbs laptop with tons of other stuff I felt the straps provided more than adequate padding around the shoulders and chest. No complaints here.

The back of the backpack is fully padded. This makes the bag comfortable to wear with a heavy load, and also provides great protection for any laptop you may be stowing. Etched into the back padding is a large Arcyteryx logo and a cool little zippered pocket near the bottom of the bag.

Conclusions

After several months of use, my Arcteryx Blade backpack still looks fairly new and nothing is broken. My previous bag lasted for almost 4 years, so this one has a ways to go before I can give it my final stamp of approval. But so far, it has been a pleasure to use and I would recommend it to any urban commuter, student or person who is looking for a laptop specific backpack.

Arcteryx gear generally costs more than other brands, but I think you get what you pay for. A cheaper bag may offer either style or function, but rarely both. With the Arcteryx Blade 24, I’ve been able to lug around quite a bit of gear with my fashion-dignity intact. Finally I have an urban-style backpack that doesn’t cut corners nor costs a fortune.

I’m not sure who keeps this bag in stock and what are the latest deals, but Amazon usually has the best prices for these kinds of items. I wasn’t able to find this bag in a local shop, and I imagine most other people won’t either.

* UPDATE * It’s been almost 2 years since I wrote this review. I still have the bag and use it weekly. Surprisingly, it looks almost brand new despite never having been cleaned! The fabric, zippers and padding are all in good shape. I can say with confidence now that the bag has lived up to my expectations in durability and overall function.