Toshiba Extreme Plus Backpack | Impressions

Features:

• Fashionable black, blue and grey design fits up to 16”-screen laptop
• Made with durable 1680D Ballistic Polyester, 600D Polyester ripstop and 900D 2-tone dobby materials
• Water bottle pocket and zippered pouches on both sides
• Dual zippers on all main compartment sections for easy access
• Rubber zipper pulls eliminates the clanging noise
• Padded shoulder straps and padded back support for comfort
• Cushioned handle for easy carrying
• Six separate sections/compartments:
  • Zippered pocket in front for quick access items
  • Additional easy-access pouch for music player and ear bud
  • Organizer section: general access area, zippered pocket, cell phone pouch, key fob & pen holders
  • Main section
  • Cavernous section: large open area with mesh pocket holds papers, cables and other misc items
  • Expandable padded laptop area accommodates high capacity batteries

Specifications:

• Color & Exterior Material: Black with blue and grey accents; 1680D Ballistic Polyester & 600D Polyester Ripstop
• Device Capacity: 12” w X 1.5” d X 11”h
• Exterior Dimensions: 12.5" w X 9” d X 18”h

There are two versions of the Toshiba Extreme back, one just Extreme, the other Plus. I have the Plus version and from pictures seems to have substantial more padding and quality materials.

I purchased this bag for $20 with free shipping. The Shipping only took 3 days, very pleased with that. I've been using the Targus backpack that came with my G73JH, and decided it was time to upgrade when I saw that awesome discounted price deal. At Target, this backpack retails for $89.99, and other discount sites, $60. Comments about the Extreme Plus speculate it may be a Swiss Gear clone, I don't know and didn't do any research to verify that.

This is the first backpack I've bought specifically for a laptop. I didn't want anything flashy that would catch anyone's attention, and didn't want any large XPS or Alienware or anything similar logo on it that would tell anyone, hey, I have a $2000 laptop, mug me please. Let me say I've never had issues with the backpacks Asus provides with their G Series laptops, but I wanted something with more room.

Appearance as you can see, it's understated. It has some blue accents, but other than that, it looks like a backpack that someone who probably carries a boring a business class Dell, Toshiba, or HP notebook for some boring office job, doing mostly PowerPoint and Excel. Who wants to risk jail time for a company issued $300 Lenovo? That was my intention. The materials are very strong. All the various types have extreme rugged feel. The construction is impressive. I don't feel any give, or see any frayed ends or loose threading. Nothing looks or feels to be sewn together that won't survive years of abuse. The padding on the back is luscious and the bottom of the backpack is a strong rubbery material with plenty of padding. The zippers are also very sturdy. I don't anticipate any problems with the zippers wearing out or malfunctioning.

Bag space. This one is made for up to 16" laptop. And that would be correct. It's a very snug fit for my Clevo P150EM, but a good secure snug fit. But I do not think a 17" backpack will be able to fit. Plenty of width and height on the bag, but the sleeve for it isn't wide enough. But... in the next area, there is a large sleeve with ample room. It seems more for filing and books and materials, but you can definitely fit a 17"-18" notebook in that. And all the separators are padded on this backpack. And there are small compartments everywhere, all of them well padded and secure. Even the access hole for your headphone plug is well guarded by a rubber protector. It's also very convenient to have two mesh holders on each side, one for an umbrella, so I never have to worry about weather and the other for my water bottle. Fantastic. I have enough room in here to fit an oversized pair of headphones, mouse, laptop, powerpack, various misc. and my extra gym clothes. Perfect.

So how does it feel? Feels great! The generous amounts of padding protects your notebook from the tussles of a brisk walk. The backpack sits up high on your back, and does not droop at all, this is excellent for posture. It feels comfortable and secure. I'm confident in the security of my "precious". This backpack poses minimal stress to my lower back.

So... Since I already have a Targus backpack that came with my G73JH and it is still holding up very well (it's a great free backpack), I wouldn't have bought this for $60. But if I only had the worthless shoulder pack that came with my Clevo or no carrying case/backpack at all, then I would be willing to pay $60 easily for the Toshiba Extreme Plus. But at $20, I can't believe at my good fortune and feels good to have browsed SlickDeals last week.

 

It looks very, very nice. Thank you for your review.

Especially like the mention on the bottom padding. It's always a big fear of mine to set a laptop down and ... crack!

 

Yeah these are just my impressions. It's not a proper review as reviews I think take a lot more time and go through more in depth about the negatives, pros and cons. I didn't do that, everything was praise. Which is the way I feel about the backpack right now. Haven't had it long enough for any disasters to occur, but I don't foresee that happening, it's just put together so well.

I found this through Slick Deals, I know there are other similar sites. There are some great deals out there. $20 with free shipping? Haha, . I posted a link for it in Clevo/Sager forum, amazingly, only one person responded. I was shocked by that, I would have thought a ton of people would have been all over that. Maybe everyone in Clevo/Sager already have awesome backpacks