Review : O'Neill Drifter Backpack for traveler (dv5t inside)

by Mansrow

The recent visit to NBR's forum has narrowed my search for the right laptop to suit my needs and I ended up purchasing the DV5t which coincidentally, my first HP. I have used DELL, Gateway, Vaios and Macbook Pro in the past and the DV5t is rather different, in a good way that is.

That being said, I found out recently that I had to travel across the world which lead me to search for the ultimate backpack to accommodate my dv5t, apparels, accessories, snacks, food, and etc. After doing a clean installation on the dv5t, I decided to do a review on my backpack I purchased recently.

The logo and design

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The search ended when I found the O'Neill Drifter backpack. This backpack are designed by a surfing company for surfers on the go to haul their wet apparels and thoughtful enough, also their laptops. Since most of us surf the web 24/7, we are literally 'surfers' too

Most of the people who are looking for a backpack for their laptop never considered looking outside their genre. I was fortunate enough to search outside the grid and never regret it when it finally arrived at my door step.

Spec ( courtesy of eBags.com )

Material: 600 denier polyester
Size: 23" x 15" x 10"
Fits laptops: 15" x 11" x 1"
Linear inches: 48"
Weight: 5 lbs , 10 oz


What so special ?

Beside being a HUGE backpack when I first took out from the box, the quality is no where inferior. The material and construction are sturdy, robust, and strong. Also, it came with a laptop sleeve, psycho sac (for wet clothes), sun-glass pouch, and the most extraordinary feature of all, it's a 2-backpack combo. Description and explanation is best demonstrate with illustration.

Illustration (please forgive for the unprofessional photo shoot)









2 Front compartment with DV5t and laptop sleeve









Back compartment for apparels and psycho sac





sun-glass pouch



The "what so special" double-combo















The mechanism that holds the combo together



The tag





Self opinion

My travel plan has not started yet but it will be soon, still looking for air ticket , but for demonstration purposes, I rougly fitted two jeans and three t-shirts and there are still more space. The backpack does not include the ESPN carabiners, its just a personal touch. I plan to use this backpack as my carry-on when boarding planes and personal estimation suggest the back combo is well enough to accommodate 3-nights of clothing supply (1 jeans, 1 shorts, 3 tees, 3 underwear of your choice, 3 pairs of socks and probably more).

If you decided to buy this backpack for school, you can just use the front combo to accommodate your laptop and half a Yellowpages textbook/folder. Either way, I planned to leave the back combo at my hotel room and use the front combo to travel around the city.

Likes:
* huge compartments for apparels, laptop, and stationery
* comfortable and strong constructed shoulder and waist strap
* multiple pockets for accessories
* psycho sac, well padded laptop sleeve, sunglass pouch
* 2 for 1 price

Dislike:
* HUGE
* strapping on the back combo w/o the front combo makes you look like a turtle.
* not for everyone

Where to get?

* ebags.com

* zappos.com


^ Note: This is my first post and first review. Please advise if any mistakes is committed.

Thank you NBR !!!!

 

Hey, welcome to NBR's forums first and foremost!

That, was a very *thorough*, and simply put: A great review on the backpack!

I really enjoyed reading the review, and the pictures were just really good!

I really like the looks of this backpack! :yes:

Thanks so much for sharing!


Cin

 

glad you like. not sure if i posted at the right forum though !!!
still a newbie, still learning !!!

 

Great job! And welcome to NBR! Hope you have a pleasant stay. Anything you need, just ask .

 

aye aye !!!!! thank you for the warm welcome !!

 

Yup! I do like it, again great job

And, you did post in the right section of the forum!!!!


Cin

 

Welcome to NBR. The review was nice, it is a great looking backpack and I like the fact that you can put in 3 days worth of apparel. I'm in the market for a backpack (have a trip in Dec., hopefully) and this seems to a great backpack that can multi task.

Just a few questions:
1.The mechanism that holds the combo together is just a zipper? Will it hold up to wear and tear regular use?

2. Does everything fit nicely and comfortably? Apparel, laptop (including power brick, keyboard and mouse)...will there be room for a book or mag and/or food/drinks?

3. Is it comfortable to wear when loaded?

 

That's a sweet looking backpack, thanks for the review.

 

1. The zipper is well constructed and will strongly hold the combos. if you plan using it for everyday use, i dun see why not. im gonna use it for travel but not everyday because its huge.

Zappos has better view

http://www.zappos.com/n/multi_view.cgi?product_id=7423376&color_id=3&view=multi&ref=multi-pic


2. laptop will fit in comfortable. the front combo is designed to fit laptop perfectly. if u plan to pack everything u mentioned, thats for the back combo. u can fit the power brick, keyboard and mouse in the front while apparel,food/drinks, and mag in the back. again, check the zappo link for more great pic.

if u need more confirmation, let me know, ill take more pictures with all the things u mentioned and ill stuffed it into the backpack.

3. the strap is freakinly strong. any backpack stuffed with so many things will tend to be uncomfortable because you will feel as like pulling u down. this backpack wont though because the cushion and the back of the backpack is well cushioned.

 

GREAT review. Welcome...

Thanks for taking the time to do such a thorough job.

The backpack doesn't do much for me, but YOUR work is outstanding.

 

UPDATE:

one reason why i am against buying backpacks where u put the laptop all the way back in the back compartment because it is so uncomfortable. its like hauling a washing board on ur back.

also, having the laptop way back means u have to put your 'stuff' in front of the laptop, such as text books, folder, apparel. i prefer to have the laptop in the front where the 'stuff' is between my back and the laptop so that it wont squish my laptop.

 

thank you very much. i appreciate it, really really !!!!

i know wat u mean, its not for everyone.

 

Totally makes sense.

 

so the laptop in this backpack would be in the middle?

 

That's what I was going to ask..is it packed in the middle??


Cin

 

it goes like this

my back -> a lot of stuff (back combo with psycho sac) -> laptop with sleeve (front combo) -> another front combos for accessories (front combo)

so yeah, if u put it that way, its in the middle.
if u only carry the front combo, its in the back.

im happy to answer any question u might have. just post away.

 

Thank you, for providing the addt'l info.


Cin.

 

happy to help out !!!

 

That's pretty neat, so if I just need to take the laptop and some extras, all I need is the front combo...nice! lol I love the smiley face you use

 

yup, u got it right.

 

do you think a 17" with it's own sleeve could possibly squeeze in there?

and i'm talking about squeezing anywhere in the backpack.

 

i wanna say yes but just to make sure, give me your dimension and ill measure it out.

 

the dimensions should be

17.1 x 1.0 x 12.6 inches

 

theres no problem with the thickness and height, but the width u got a few inches to spare.

i took the measurement of the laptop compartment and it measured

21 inches tall
13 inches width
1.5 inches thick

so it should fit your 17" awesomely

 

Looking for something like this,sadly it's not avilable out here.
Would be great if some one can tell similar products with multiple compartments like this bag has.