If you’re looking for a stylish, durable backpack for your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro 13″ then the new stylish Field Backpack from WaterField Designs may be just for you.
San Francisco based WaterField Designs invited us to try out its new robust and stylish Field Backpack which is designed with the 13″ MacBook Air and 13″ MacBook Pro in mind.
One thing we’ve always liked about WaterField Designs is that all its products are designed and made in San Francisco. WaterField Designs has been making hand crafted laptop, backpack and other mobile device carrying gear for over 20 years and the quality of its products still remains high today.
WaterField Design’s products target those that want something enduring made from high quality materials and that look tasteful and professional on the move.
First impressions are that the Field Backpack is a typical WaterField product – it immediately looks stylish, professional and high quality in the distinctive waxed canvas model although you can get ballistic nylon and black leather.
While the WaterField Zip Brief may look more suitable in a business environment, the Field Backpack is about as professional looking as it gets for a backpack.
When you dig inside, the laptop sleeve has a luxurious feeling plush fluffy interior that means your MacBook feels well protected.
The Field Backpack is big enough to fit a 13″ laptop which makes it perfect for the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 13″. Note that there isn’t a bigger version of the Field Backpack for the bigger MacBook Pros or laptops.
The bigger compartment also includes a zipped pocket suitable for keys, notepads, chewing gum and anything small that you don’t want to get mixed up with the bigger items.
The Field Backpack is big enough to fit in all essentials you’d normally put into a backpack for daily use, but small enough to feel lightweight. It doesn’t look, or feel bulky and yet it is able to contain a lot more than you’d expect when you first look at it.
There are two useful smaller pockets on each side of the bag which are perfect to store a glasses case, laptop charger, ear pods etc.
The backpack also has a front pocket which is nicely held together with a leather flap and a sturdy metal lock which easily clicks open and closed. Inside this pocket, there is an in-built mobile phone pocket plus a pen holder.
The fact that the bag has multiple pockets and folders inside those pockets, is a big plus. The soft laptop sleeve obviously protects your laptop, but it also helps keeping the backpack neat and organized instead of having everything mixed up.
It is very lightweight, which is great, meaning that even when the bag is fully packed, it still is manageable and not too heavy to carry around between places for a day.
The bag has been put together in WaterField Designs workshop in San Fransisco to ensure consistent quality throughout. You can tell the backpack is of a very high build quality right down to the robust stitching.
WaterField Designs bags are designed to have a well worn look which doesn’t really age with time.
The lightweight Field Backpack comes in two different colors, Ballistic Nylon with Black Leather and Waxed Canvas with Chocolate Leather.
Both colors look good although here we tested the Waxed Canvas.
You can also choose between the typical backpack model with two arm straps or the Field Sling Bag, which is just one strap going across your chest.
The carrying style all depends on how and when you intend to use it but we tested the backpack model which fits snuggly with adjustable straps.
The WaterField Field Backpack isn’t cheap at $249 but there’s no arguing that the quality of the materials, build and styling is way higher than other backpacks and it’s unlikely you’d need to replace it in a hurry.
You can check out the WaterField Field Backpack range here.