Solo New York Hybrid Briefcase Backpack - Laptop Carrying Bag, Fits 15.6" Computer, Brief for Travel & Work - Duane

***UPDATE*** 6 years with this bag and, even with another laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Extreme), It's still holding strong and I love it! The plastic straps for the shoulder strap--which I was initially worried about--lasted without any issue. I wouldn't trade it for any other laptop bag. I've even bought the Solo Ludlow Tablet bag for my Surface Pro 7. Excellent bag! I will definitely continue to use Solo New York for any laptop/tablet bag I need from now on! Original Post: This is a beautiful and spacious laptop bag that also become a backpack. Solo is known for making quality bags, and this one is no different. I was in the market for another bag, so I decided to choose this bag because it can also become a backpack--this was the selling point that made me get this one. The sides of bag and the inside sleeves are well insulated and cushioned to protect my laptop and tablet (there's a tablet sleeve that'll fit a 7-to-8-inch tablet on top of the laptop sleeve). The main compartment easily fits my HP ENVY 15 and has room to add a couple of notebooks/magazines inside. I carry an engineering pad, a folder, and a 1 subject notebook inside of this bag with room to spare. The main front pocket has 3 small and relatively shallow but useful pockets, with another pocket that can hold an external hard drive and two more that can hold pens, pencils, or styli. The space of this front pocket can easily hold my bulky laptop charger and mouse without looking bulging within the pocket. The other two front pockets are great for miscellaneous stuff such as wires, calculators, cell phones, etc. I hold a calculator, assorted wires, a mini stapler with a case of staples, and a compass. If I had one thing to worry about with this bag, it would be the plastic clips that are used for the shoulder strap and backpack straps. This isn't about any Solo product, but I've had issues with plastic clips with other laptop cases before. These seem sturdy, but only time will tell. I'm overall very satisfied with this hybrid bag/backpack, and I look forward to keeping this bag for years to come. As with any of my reviews, I'll be updating this one as time passes. If you're looking for a good bag, this one may be the choice for you!

As a frequent business traveler, I've been looking for a replacement for my leather Mcklein brief which could barely fit my dell XPS 15 and its charger without looking overstuffed. My requirements where: 1. Formal enough for the office and no black nylon 2. Big enough for a laptop, charger, notepad, water bottle and miscellaneous items 3. Ideally converts into a backpack for when I want to free up my hands or walk long distance I'm so glad I found this briefcase on Amazon because I was prepared to shell out WAY more. The grey canvas exterior is classy enough for the office and casual enough to serve as a travel backpack. It stands out against the black leather and nylon bags that everyone uses. I've gotten complements on it's look as well as "wows" when I turn it into a backpack when we enter the subway. The interior has a padded laptop pocket that fits my laptop and a notepad with room to spare. The main compartment can fit a power brick and even a blanket without looking "stuffed." The smaller side pouch is ideal for a water bottle or small collapsible umbrella, and the larger front zip-pouch can fit any of those things and contains small pockets ideal for cash, cards, and a passport. While I haven't done weekend traveling with it yet, it will easily fit a change of clothing, a light jacket, a camera and other items. I have used the straps and they are surprisingly comfortable. I'm 5 foot 8 in and the height of the bag in backpack mode is just right for me: not too big or too small. While some have complained about the plastic hardware, I think SOLO made the right call. The black plastic is lighter than equivalent metal buckles and goes better with the grey aesthetic. The only thing I wish this bag had was an exterior water bottle pouch, but I get why the went with the enclosed zipper pouches- so when you turn it from a brief into a backpack nothing falls out! Overall I'm very happy with this bag as it's replaced at least 2 bags in my travel inventory: by business briefcase and my regular backpack!

I recently purchased a new laptop intended for gaming and didn't get myself a case because I had one from my previous laptop that I figured was going to fit. Sad to say, it came just fractions of an inch shy so I needed a way to transport the computer safely. After a lot of browsing, I stumbled on this little gem and already I am beyond satisfied with it! For the price I paid, this thing is extremely impressive in that it doubles as a briefcase/messenger bag and a backpack as well. It seems very sturdy and easily passes the professional appearance mark for when I cart this thing into the office. The bag comes with a separate shoulder strap cord that attaches as needed to the proper hooks and also has fold in-pull out straps that attach to create the backpack. What I love most about it is the amount of storage space in this thing -- the front pouches easily hold an Xbox 360 controller and the massive brick of a power supply unit that keeps my laptop charged. Inside, my 15.6" laptop fits very securely and with some room to spare, as well as additional pockets for a tablet device and other documents/folders/etc. I personally have no hangups with the look and design of this bag because it functions exactly as I need it to while still making it seem less obvious that I'm carting a laptop around. The only thing that remains to be seen is the longevity of the product, though I'm optimistic.

When I bought it I never heard of Solo NY and it is a Chinese company, not actually made in NY. Fits a 16" laptop, my other 14" laptop, and pockets for cords, adapters, and very versatile. I actually thought it would be a little thinner, because for now I still put it in another backpack. The backpack straps, and shoulder strap can be zippered away cleanly in the back of the bag when not in use. Quality looks good, however I don't know where this bag got listed for $80+ dollars MSRP. Definitely good for the $25 I spent.

I opted to keep this bag instead of the Solo Urban 15.6" Laptop Slim Brief, Black, UBN101-4 because this bag is much roomier and can be carried as a briefcase, messenger, or backpack. The styling is on par with most other bags at this price point. It's made of somewhat of a water- and slash-resistant material with decent thickness, but I wouldn't recommend throwing it in a puddle or stabbing it with a box cutter to test. It also has good padding for a laptop. Although the bag above has slightly better materials and padding in my opinion, both exhibit the same great build quality as far as materials used and stitching, i.e., both can stand on their own even when not fully packed. This bag wins for the following two reasons: 1. This bag can fit an early-2015 13" Macbook Pro Retina along with its usual accessories such as a power brick, mouse, earbuds, and a mini bluetooth speaker, and still have room for a (note/text)book, a spare thin sweater and hat, a meal prep, and a small water bottle. It also has a smaller pocket by the laptop pocket which can hold a tablet, which I don't use. These are what I carry in mine for work and there is still plenty of room, though I try not to overpack since I'm not fond of carrying extra things with me I know I won't need. 2. I also love how you can carry it three different ways. The straps for the backpack can be stowed away in a zippered pocket located behind the bag, and you can take it out and the straps have hooks which can be attached to the bottom back of the bag. The shoulder straps can be detached when not in use. The handles have a cuff which clasps both of them together for more comfort when using them. The hooks mentioned are made of tough plastic and I would've liked it more if they were metal instead, and I don't particularly care for the cuff on the carrying handles, and these two reasons are why I'd give this bag more of a 4.5 rating. It's a near-perfect bag for me. It has a couple (very) minor design flaws but they can be overlooked by how flexible you can use it.

I've had many briefcases in my career. I really love this briefcase, backpack hybrid. A laptop sleeve is highly recommended as it's not made with bulky padding. I combined an Amazon Basics laptop sleeve with this and it works great. The briefcase fabric is somewhat stiff so it keeps a nice corporate briefcase shape and quite a nice look even when I'm wearing my business suits and just as sporty looking on casual days. I love that there is the back pack option, I only use one strap over my back when in that mode. I also like the top side handle that is great for grabbing the bag out of the car in addition to the standard briefcase mode handle with magnetic snaps that are wonderfully quick to get separated and put back in place. The bottom of the briefcase is a reinforced durable material for protection from the floor. I also cary a scale ruler, several pencils and pens, calculator, usb drives, back up hard drive, my laptop, a binder and about 6 files of work routinely and the bag does not look over stuffed at all. The outside pouches easily hold my charger cable, my phone, wallet, check book, well, yes, my entire life is in this thing, so I'm glad I can use the backpack mode and never feel like I have to set it down at all. I keep it comfortably slung over my shoulder. Kind of makes me feel young like in college again. My wife remarked at how much she likes the look of my briefcase and how smart the material looks. For the price I feel like buying another one because anything this good usually ends up getting discontinued and can't be found by the time I've worn this one out and want another one. I guess my only suggestion would be a few more pencil pen holder loops but there are several internal pockets that holds all of my mechanical pencils. I really think this is the best briefcase I've ever owned.

The hybrid case was a birthday gift for our son-in-law. His original one was very badly worn. He absolutely loved it. He was excited for the Size, Quality of the build and material as well as the Travelability. And the price was great Value for the price compared to the local retailers.

So I was just shopping for a weekend duffel bag, and I saw a couple canvas styles I liked, and I thought to myself "If it's anywhere as good as my Solo backpack/hybrid I'll be happy". Then I realized, I never left a review for this bad boy. So here's the long and short.... This bag is AWESOME. My favorite aspect, by far, is that it is attractive enough to be carried as a briefcase into meetings, large enough and versatile enough to be used as a full-time backpack for school (I'm a medical student), and for when you're walking in the summer in a humid city, the shoulder strap is perfect for not getting your back all sweaty. I thought I was a bit crazy in searching for a truly versatile backpack, and when I finally found this one, it was worth it. If you're thinking, "am I really going to go from one form factor to another that often?", I can't answer that for you. I can tell you that it is truly easy to do. My one gripe is that when you turn this into a backpack and stuff the shoulder strap into the slot in the inside, you can't actually zip the back closed. This is because the backpack straps are attached to the inside surface of the straps.....However, I keep a ton of tiny items in there (i.e. Tide to go, eye glass cleaner, gum, multivitamin bottle, and a pack of tissues) without zipping it up and the pressure from the bag being on your back + the narrow opening means nothing ever falls out. Daily Contents: [Main Pocket] MBPr 13" in the laptop sleeve, iPad 2 + Case in the tablet sleeve, two thin textbooks + folders + a 1" binder + portable external hard drive. [Large Front Pocket] Laptop, iPad, Phone chargers. Eye glasses case, sun glasses case, pens/pencils/thumb drive. [Small Front Pocket] Bose headphones in case.