Kenneth Cole Reaction Pack-of-All-Trades' Multi-Pocket 17.0” Laptop & Tablet Business Travel Backpack, Black, One Size

This is a very nice back pack. I looked at many, from many different brands before settling on this one. I had even ordered 3 others to the house and ultimately returned them. This bag must be made by the same people that make the OGIO Renegae RSS and OGIO Stratagem as it is very similar in too many ways. I had all 3 in my hands at the same time and I preferred the Kenneth Cole. The finish looks a little more professional than the OGIOs, and the bag looks the same whether it is empty or full. It stands up on its own.I use it for work and travel, carrying a 16" laptop easily in the back pocket and a Surface Pro 3 in the tablet pocket. Both those pockets have interior pockets for carrying a laptop and tablet, respectively, but that is not how I use them.One of the features that swayed me away from the OGIOs and to the KC is that the lumbar pad is also a strap for looping over the pull-up handle on a roller bag.It has many smaller pockets and a large pocket for books or other big items. I could easily see using this for school as well. The pockets are nicely lined in a shiny nylon with stripes, reminds me of the inside of a suit coat. The glasses case on top is soft shell. To me this is more flexible as I have a case for my glasses that protects them in there, or I can remove the glasses and the pocket collapses for larger objects in the main compartment. Some of the pockets also have a felt-like lining for tablets and glasses without cases. While the bag is well set-up for organization, I also have added some clear zipper pouches for cables that I rarely use, but come in handy. I have not tried to carry a water bottle in the side bottom pockets, but it seems your standard 700 mL bottle will fit fine.I owned a KC before this, and am beginning to be sold on their philosophy for a backpack. It has a more professional look, and the gray/silver finish on this bag is no exception. I wasn't sure about it at first, but I really like it now.I hope this review helps.

I wanted a backpack as a casual alternative to my trusty business laptop bag. The key features I was looking for were:1. Lots of easily accessible compartments to organize tech and travel needs.2. Trolley strap for use in conjunction with a roller carry-on suitcase.3. Enough storage for both tech gear and some clothes for a 1-2 day trip.I log 100K+ miles of air travel a year, and always travel with a 13" laptop, an iPad, smartphone, bulky (but essential) Bose noise-canceling headphones, and a large Grid-it packed with gear for presentations, etc. Naturally, there's charging gear for everything. I'm still using my 10-year old laptop bag because it has lots of organization and I know exactly where everything goes - important when you've been traveling for 24 hours with little or no sleep.This backpack has better organization than any other one I've studied. Four external side compartments hold a laptop charger, a multi-charger with four retractable cords, a pocket zoom camera, and a water bottle. The smallest front pouch fits my iPad and Bose case perfectly. There's a bigger compartment behind it, and then the largest compartment. Another small compartment near the top is great for quickly stashing your phone or other stuff as you clear security. And, there's another compartment, lined with soft fabric, to stash your Oakleys. (It's not rigid like those on some packs but its placement at the top shields it from bumps.) And, there's a huge laptop area on the back (the side that goes against your back. I easily fit my laptop, the larger, bulkier Grid-it, a folder or two... There's an interior sleeve for the laptop. Other compartments have pockets inside, too, for still more organization.Overall, it's an attractive bag. The side compartments project out a little but the look isn't tactical. (A couple of external loops would have been nice, though.) The pinpoint charcoal fabric looks less generic than pure black.One problem was the trolley sleeve on the back. When I tried to use it on my Briggs & Reilly roller, it was so tight I couldn't force it through. I worked on it for a while, and, using bar soap as dry lubricant, loosened the sleeve up a little. Now it works, though it requires a little force. I'm hoping it loosens up even more with repeated use. For a quick jog between gates, it's enough to sit it on top of the roller and hold both handles in your hand. Or, you could also loop the straps around the roller handle and secure them with the bag's sternum strap. So, the tight sleeve didn't disqualify this backpack but I'd recommend the manufacturer make it a little more generous in the future.I tested this pack on a two-night casual trip to Asia as my sole bag, and it worked very well. Held all of my tech gear, some light clothing, TSA liquid bag, and other essentials. It was quite full but not stuffed. It fit easily in overhead bins and acceptably under the seat in front of me. If you really stuff it, under-seat storage might be iffy depending on the plane. Although I had quite a bit of weight in it, the pack was very comfortable on my back - I barely noticed it walking through the airports.Pros:- Many externally accessible compartments to keep you organized. Internal pockets, too.- Sunglasses compartment- Trolley sleeve- Comfortable on the back and attractiveCons:- Trolley sleeve unusually tight- No side compression straps to restrain expansionOverall, it's a keeper for me.

I am a backpack connoisseur... I have a lot and I REALLY like a nice big well organized backpack. This is the Ogio Gambit backpack. It is AL of that. Its the Renegage 17" RSS, plus a few features. The Gambit, Ogio made AFTER the Renegade and improved upon it. Then with THIS backpack, Kenneth Cole got Ogio to add something and remove something...Kenneth Cole added: A REALLY nice feature. The back of the bag has a sleeve for the pack to slide over the luggage handle of a roll behind suitcase. This makes carrying the pack super easy when you also have a suitcase you're dragging behind. Just slip it over the suitecase handle.Kenneth Cole removed: The HARD sunglasses holder at the top of the bag. They replaced this with just a flimsy soft cloth pouch. This does NOT protect your glasses, but you can easily toss a regular sunglasses case in this pouch and then still have room for much more stuff. Also to remedy this, I took a small tupperware container (actually one that Hormel sandwich meats are packed in) and slipped it in the pouch. I had to trim off the top lip of the tupperware and it fits PERFECT!. Now just need a way to make the closing flap on the pouch a bit harder...Also a very small change is the how the water bottle clips in. Instead of an elastic strap that has a retractable plastic thinggy that allows it to tighten or loosen, this bag just has a simple peice of elastic that holds the bottle in. I think it will work fine though..PROs: Huge. Super well organized. dedicated soft lined pouches for tablets, laptop area opens all tjhe way and leaves rooms for folders or other items. Dedicated water bottle holder, and luggage handle strap for toting the pack on top of your suitcase (This in my opinion, is why this bag is better than the Gambit).Cons: None, although it could use a key ring holder somewhere. And I really wish the side pockets were bigger like my Elleven bag. its nearly PERFECT but doesn't have a water bottle holder or built in sunglasses holder..

After having my Oakley backpack for ten years, I decided it was time to get a new one. After looking at the Ogio Gambit vs this one, I decided on the Kenneth Cole because it was a fair amount cheaper for roughly the same product. It’s quite sturdy and well made. I wish the glasses pocket had a hard shell like the Ogio does. That was my biggest let down. So far I am happy with my new backpack. Hopefully it can last 10 yrs like my last backpack did!

Great backpack. Good quality. Made by the same company that makes some of ogios. Know this because I had the Ogio one like it for many years and used it daily for work and travel.