Among the many other frustrations that you may face while traveling, lugging out your laptop to get through airport security can take up too much time and it can expose your notebook to potential damage. That’s why the TSA regulations allow for “checkpoint-friendly” bags where the laptop can stay put and one such example is the ScanFast Laptop Messenger Bag from Mobile Edge. The messenger bag style is trendy enough for college students, but the jet black appearance is also professional enough for traveling corporate executives.

Scans Fast and Stays Tough

You might remember my review of the Mobile Edge Ultraportable Backpack for Netbooks last week and how I commented on its lack of a checkpoint-friendly design. The ScanFast Messenger is a little bit bigger, but it’s still reasonably compact and it does that whole checkpoint-friendly thing without a hitch.

Holding laptops with up to 15.4-inch widescreen displays, the Mobile Edge ScanFast Messenger Bag uses the same durable ballistic nylon as all of the other bags in the Mobile Edge collection. This is super tough and should be able to withstand the usual wear and tear that you’d get from flying, bandying around town, and hopping from appointment to appointment.

Three Pockets to the Front

In terms of design, one of the more unique features on this bag is the set of three vertical pockets in the front. As you can see, this is decidedly different from what I experience with the V7 Premium Toploader Laptop Case, which had a much “cleaner” appearance from the front.

At first, I thought the aesthetic was quite strange for this bag, but after using it for a couple of weeks, I found the trio of pockets to be very versatile and remarkably useful. This gives quick access to peripherals and accessories without having to dive through a main compartment and look through some inner pockets. Your mileage may vary, but one of these pockets could be a good place for a laptop power supply too. That’s a big bonus in my books.

Speaking of Interior Compartments

Opening the front flap on this bag reveals two main compartments. There is one area that is single slot-like space that would be fine for documents and files. The other main compartment, depicted above, is further broken down into a series of pockets that can be used to store whatever else you’d need. You’ll also notice the mesh pocket on the other side, providing even more storage.

Some people prefer a simpler design, since it can be easier to find what you need, but I prefer having a lot of separate compartments to store all the different things I need when I travel. Mobile Edge really delivers on this front and these pockets are great for flash drives, business cards, spare memory cards, and even digital cameras and batteries. I love it.

Flipping Open for Airport Security

While some other checkpoint-friendly bags put your laptop in a wholly separate compartment, Mobile Edge takes a different approach. Inside the largest compartment is an oversized pocket for your laptop and this is clearly marked as being checkpoint friendly. Your laptop isn’t completely enclosed, but this means that you skip an extra zipper.

The ScanFast Messenger will take up to 15.4-inch laptops and you can see my 14.1-inch Dell Inspiron in there with room to spare. The padding is adequate for basic protection and the zippers allow for a quick open-and-close for airport security scans.

This compartment is usually dedicated to just the laptop, but you’ll notice that the other side has an interior zipper. That’s right. You’ve got another compartment for files, folders, documents, or whatever else you’d like to slot in there. This is a good place for your airline tickets and that kind of thing.

A Solid Option for Frequent Flyers

Of the checkpoint-friendly laptop bags that I have tried, I think that the Mobile Edge ScanFast Messenger Bag is easily one of my favorites. The somewhat smaller size compared to bulkier corporate bags makes it more comfortable to use, as does the elastic padded shoulder strap. All of those compartments really come in handy for accessories and I really appreciate the extra inner pocket in the laptop compartment.

The ScanFast Messenger Bag is listed at $99.99. This is more expensive than budget bags, but it’s in line with other checkpoint-friendly laptop messenger bags.

Overall, it gets 9.0 out of 10.

The post REVIEW – Mobile Edge ScanFast Messenger Laptop Bag appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

That’s perfectly suitable for the majority of notebook users, but what if you want to travel around town with your compact netbook? Something like the Asus Eee PC will just get completely swallowed up by those bags, swishing around in every which direction, effectively nullifying much of their utility. To better accommodate this segment, Mobile Edge has developed the Edge Ultraportable Backpack. It’s a more compact solution for more compact computers.

A Backpack for Smaller Computers

You want to keep things relatively compact while maintaining a reasonable level of utility. The Mobile Edge Ultra Portable Backpack was designed with netbooks in mind, but it easily swallows up the smaller notebooks on the market as well. In fact, it’ll take anything from 8.9-inch to 13-inches.

I’d imagine that it would be quite a snug fit for a 13.3-inch Apple MacBook, but any of those ultraportable 11-inch and 12-inch laptops shouldn’t have too much trouble. This is most definitely a niche product.

Dedicated Padded Compartment for Netbooks

Let’s start by looking at the dedicated compartment for the netbook. This takes on a similar configuration as what you may find with a larger laptop backpack.

There is a padded portion inside the main large compartment toward the rear of the backpack. In the picture above, you can see the 12.1-inch Dell Inspiron 640m with the larger six-cell battery. Because of the battery that does not fit flush with the back of the small laptop, this made for a snug fit in the compartment, but it did fit. A standard battery would allow this notebook to fit quite easily.

Unlike the V7 Premium Toploader that I reviewed earlier this month, the Edge Ultra Portable Backpack does not have a “checkpoint-friendly” configuration. You’ll still need to take your netbook or notebook out of the bag to get through airport security. There are other bags in the Mobile Edge lineup that feature this functionality, but nothing (yet) that caters specifically to netbooks.

Why is the Front Pocket So Small?

Continuing with the theme of keeping things compact (the Edge Ultraportable Backpack is only about 40cm tall in total), Mobile Edge has made the front pocket rather compact on this bag as well. I’m not entirely sure why it wouldn’t stretch across the entire width of the bag.

To either side of the front pocket, which comes with a couple of metal grommets for wire pass-throughs and that kind of thing, are a series of straps. I guess the idea is that you can use hooks and such to attach additional items to this bag, but I would have preferred more or larger pockets in the front instead.

The Other Compartment for Stuff

Aside from the main compartment where your netbook (and a few other things) would go, there is another large compartment that takes up the entire length of the bag. In here, you find a small pocket for smaller items, some pen holes, and the main compartment area. Not shown in the picture is a zippered pocket with grommet access to the outside (front). This is a great spot for an MP3 player or cell phone.

Conclusion

Overall, I’m quite pleased with the construction and material choice for the Mobile Edge Ultraportable Backpack. The use of the durable 600 Denier Ballistic Nylon accented with 1200 Denier Diamond Ripstop Nylon makes for a very tough exterior, so you wouldn’t have to worry too much about random rips and other kinds of damage.

There’s also a lot of padding in place to protect your Eee PC, Dell Mini, MSI Wind, or whatever other netbook you happen to be carrying. I would have liked a “ScanFast” solution, perhaps with the netbook off to one side and a second slot for the associated power supply. This would make for a great travel bag and it would maximize the utility given the size of the bag.

If you’re in the market for a backpack that is meant to accommodate a laptop, but you’re rocking something that is 13-inches or smaller, the Edge Ultra Portable Backpack is a perfectly viable option that offers good storage space, quality materials, and an aesthetically pleasing design. At $49.99, it’s quite the affordable backpack as well.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

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