Osprey Focus Laptop Bag Review

[scottschaffter]

After owning a JanSport laptop backpack that fell apart within a year I was on the hunt for a new laptop backpack. My dismal experience with a "reputable" brand left me looking for something with lasting, superb quality. I was also disappointed with the JanSport laptop sleeve as it did not provide enough padding around the laptop. I frequently bike around with my notebook so shock protection and padding is essential. I own a 15.4" Asus Z70V, here's a review if you haven't seen it yet.  I am a University student and so generally am carrying books around so the backpack I was looking for needed to have plenty of space available. I also extensively use an iPod and so wanted a pouch for that.

In summary what I was looking for in my hunt for a laptop backpack was the following:

• Durability
• Hardback and good laptop protection. Enough to easily withstand any bumps I encounter biking around.
• MP3 player pouch
• Lots of space.
• Around $100

I started by checking out most, if not all, of the retailers mentioned in a great compilation of notebook bags, sleeves, and their respective retailers put together by sonicdivx in the NotebookReview.com forums, props to him.

From that research the ones I felt were the best were:

• Mobile Edge's Premium Backpack
• Victorinox's Menash Backpack
• Some of Booq's products were good, but pricy...

I in fact ordered Mobile Edge's backpack as it was one of the few with a review, something I hope this remedies, but it seemed to be low quality in terms of durability and the laptop was not fully covered by the sleeve. There was however a lot of space. So depending upon your needs this might suit you. If you have a very small notebook it may fit your notebook completely and thus have good protection. I however, returned it.

I was then browsing around town and walked into a backpacking / hiking store and stumbled upon several amazing packs and realized that maybe I need to look into laptop packs from similar hiking-based manufacturers.

The best I found in this vein were:

• Dakine's 101 backpack
• Dakine's Terminal backpack
• Northface's Yavapai II backpack
• Osprey's Focus

I looked at all of them and finally decided on the Osprey Focus. It exuded durability, is backed by a lifetime guarantee, and fulfilled all the criteria I was looking for. The Dakines were very nice though but didn't have the hard back or have the same level of laptop protection. They had cool CD sleeves though.

The Osprey Focus

(view large image)

The bag consists of two primary pockets. The first contains the laptop sleeve and plenty of space for books etc. The sleeve is also suspended above the bottom of the bag by a mesh lining that extends around its sides as well and provides a snug fit. Above the sleeve there is the mp3 player pouch that feeds into an opening on the back. It also doubles as the closure for the laptop sleeve. The second pocket has ample space and has an organizer pouch with a zipper that may be useful.

 

The laptop sleeve (view large image)

Organizer pouch (view large image)

Mesh support (view large image)

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The bag has a hard foam back and a mp3 pocket opening above it. There are waist and chest straps. The waist straps can be removed if desired. The front sports two pockets and on the left there is a pocket for a water bottle and the right has a small pouch for a cell phone or an item of similar size.

Having several laptops around I thought I would show the different fit. Specifications state it is able to fit 15.4" and below.

 

Apple MacBook (view large image)	Toshiba Tecra S1 (view large image)	Asus Z70V (view large image)
in the bag (view large image)	(not in the bag) (view large image)	in the bag(view large image)

The MacBook fit with plenty of space to spare. The Tecra would not fit. The Asus fit snugly but with an inch above the sleeve, however the back of the sleeve rises above that inch and keeps it padded from the back.

 
iPod with headphones(view large image)

You can see the loophole for allowing headphones to come out of the bag (view large image)

I also wanted to use my mp3 player in the bag and the pouch that the Osprey Focus has is great. It has a water proof zipper and the wire exits from a covered hole, conveniently located right behind your head.

Above and Beyond:

This bag has definitely outdone any other pack I've owned in terms of the little add-ons. There is an opening for a camelback hydration pack, which is great for any outdoor activity. The pack lies in the laptop compartment and is thread through a opening that comes out above the right shoulder. There is also a surprisingly powerful whistle built into a buckle. Something I didn't even notice for about a week until surprised by its bizarre shape, I blew into it. The chest straps are also adjustable, and slide easily along the white band you see in the picture.

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Conclusion:

The only real gripe I have with this bag is that it is not THAT big, which could potentially be a problem if I ever have to carry a huge amount, but I doubt that will really be a problem and the 1800 cubic inches of space should be adequate for my needs at least.  I cannot recommend this bag enough and I was surprised not to have found it earlier.

• Comfort: 5/5
• Durability: 5/5
• Organization: 5/5
• Protection: 5/5

Listed Specs:

The Focus and Flux are designed with the rigors of an active business day in mind. Laptop sleeves, panel zip pockets with internal organizers, cell phone and 32 oz. water bottle pockets all make these packs the durable choice for day-to-day work life.

• Front side water resistant zip slash pockets
• Cell phone side pocket and one-liter water bottle side pocket
• Panel zip pocket with deluxe internal organizer 
• Deluxe padded sleeve fits many 15.4" viewable screen and smaller laptops
• Safety light clip-ins
• Zippered CD/MP3 pocket on top of backpanel 
• Foam padded bottom
• Price: Retails for around $130 Canadian Dollars

Colors available: Crimson, Black, Oasis, Saguaro

Size	cu. in.	liter	lbs/oz	kg.
S/M	1600	27	2/8	1.13
M/L	1800	30	2/11	1.22

Osprey Online Dealers:

http://www.ospreypacks.com/partners/United%20States

[Smith2688]

Very nice review. I'm interested in getting a laptop backpack, so this should be helpful!

[funkymankevx]

I'm also thinking about getting a laptop backpack. Does anyone else have some sugestions? I'm going to be using it for school so I'll want to be able to carry textbooks in it too.

[scottschaffter]

sounds like what i needed it for... its got plenty of space unless you have like 10 physics textbooks that you have to cary with you everywhere... it just fit 2 changes of clothes and several adaptors + books / other random stuff that I took with me on a recent trip. Books I doubt will be a huge problem. But my advice is to see whatever backpack you buy before you buy it. I didnt do that and got something that I didnt want + had to go through all the trouble of returning it...

[funkymankevx]

I see that you're from Vancouver, umm anywhere you sujest I look at them? In person or online. Also where did you buy the Osprey Focus?

I live on Vancouver Island, but I visit Vancouver often.

[Kestrel]

I've got a quick question for you...

You said the back was hardened... Is there a frame of sorts that supports the pack internally? I'm considering picking up a backpack to hold a laptop however I'm worried about where the weight is carried. If the laptop is making contact with your back - it's going to flex the case like hell and that can't be good. Osprey mentions "foam" but I'm not sure how stiff this thing is really going to be.

So with this thing strapped on - can you feel the pressure of the laptop against your back?

Thanks again for the review.

[scottschaffter]

mankev I was actually in victoria when i bought the bag. I suggest going downtown and The place i bought it was robinsons outdoor store. Its on broad street i think. Near the bay. To see the dakine bags I mentioned there is a store oposite robinsons called HTO. You can look at any of the booq bags at a place called soho its near mayfair, its left just before you get there. Not sure the street, but just google soho. Neway good luck. Where do u live on vancouver island?

[scottschaffter]

Kestrel,

yea its definatly hardened foam and unfortunatly there is no metal frame. But the laptop is additionally protected by a plastic or even harder foam (not sure) lining that seemed much better than most other bags I saw. Just to give you perspective, using the JanSport I had before i could definatly feel the laptop move around in there and I could feel the laptop on my back (not good). This pack retains its hardness regardless of whether the laptop is in there or not. In terms of getting the laptop as far as you can from your back, I saw a good pack by Victorinox called the web series or something. It had a sleeve in the middle of the bag. Nice, but a hefty $300+ price tag... And it had alot less room than this one. I havent found any other packs that have framing, if you do find any let me know as that would have been ideal, but the hard foam was the best i could find. It was better than the inch or so of crappy padding you usually find on most of the bags I looked at. Booq though is very good, but then again it was much more expensive and didnt have as much space. If $$ is not a factor booq seemed very good. But again, look at whatever bag you want to buy before you buy it. Good luck

[funkymankevx]

Well I'm actually heading over to Vancouver tommorow so I was kind of hoping I'd have a chance to look around a bit, but I don't really know how much time I will have. I live in Port Alberni, on the island.

[Kestrel]

I appreciate your review for sure. I'm also very glad to hear that it has an additional layer aside from the foam back in there of hard plastic. I'm just curious if I could fit (another) sleeve inside of the backpack's sleeve with my 14.1" Thinkpad. This thing is fairly thin but from the looks of it I'm going to hazard a guess that it probably won't fit. I think the Focus sleeve's dimensions are something like 15 x 10ish x 2. I'm leaning towards no but we can always be hopeful.

Finding the right bag sure isn't easy ;D There is a lot of junk out there. It does seem like many of the backpacking companies out there (Osprey, Kelty, Marmot etc etc) make laptop related backpacks. Marmot in particular makes the Gunnison - I may look into it as well... Otherwise I may be picking up Osprey's Focus myself. If Marmot's pack holds up anything like their backpacking tents though (ours has seen the world ) - I may just be swayed to go that direction with it. I'll try to dig up some more information on the Gunni anyway.

Thanks again - I appreciate your thorough review.


Edit - and for the record... Sierra Trading Post currently has a sale on the Focus... You can save a hefty amount but I will leave that up to you guys to check