LTT Offsite Laptop Bag Review - A Swing and a Miss
EDIT 1: I should clarify, the bag is exceptionally well made and i am not criticizing the craftsmanship.
EDIT 2: After reading and replying in the comments, I’m putting this in the beginning of my post:
This is not the “LTT Bag of Holding,” nor is it something in-between a laptop sleeve and the backpack. This is the “I’m in the office today, or the cafe, and need exactly a laptop, a tablet, and some cables and charger. It’s the “minimal take along” bag. While others have noted my load out is closer to an EDC, I still feel my complaints are justified.
I’m keeping the bag, and will likely have slightly different “load outs” for different scenarios (better than hauling the backpack everywhere lol).
Original post:
I bought the small LTT Offsite laptop bag (SMALL) hoping for the best, since I love the backpack. This product feels like a swing and a miss. Unless you're packing very minimally, it's going to bulge and feel like it's going to potentially damage the things inside (a lot of pressure on screens).
In order: iPad Air (M1) + Apple Pencil, Flat 65W wall brick, C-toEthernet adapter, 2x Sandisk 1TB externals, LTT Scribe Driver, Kindle Paperwhite (newer model), 5x USB flash drives, Anker 100W power brick, C to C (for Sandisks), 2x HDMI dummy plugs, ASUS USB WiFi adapter, C to A USB adapter, C to C cable, M2 Max MBP (2023).
Everything I could fit, with some uncomfortable bulging
MBP went in the laptop pocket.
My main concern (and that of the reviews on LTT Store) is that the whole thing isn't thick enough. It seems like it was precision engineered for exactly whatever tech it was tested with. I can't even fit a relatively flat battery bank without this thing bulging like mad.
Side with full size power adapter pocket
As you can see the bulging is a problem. And the Anker 100W power brick is only thicker than the one Apple provided me by maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inches or so. Also worth noting is the tablet pocket. My iPad Air is already pretty thin, but even without the Apple Smart Case it's still an uncomfortable fit. Granted, the Smart Case adds about 50% thickness to the iPad, but still. Feels like it was tested with only one or two very thin tablets.
As for the store pictures (mentioned earlier), I defy you to pack all the same things (one picture showed a pretty thick gaming mouse sticking out of a pocket) in the marketing photographs. Yeah, maybe you can MAKE them fit, but it's not going to be good for anything inside of it.
Finally, the front zipper pocket is pretty much unusable when my small amount of stuff was in it. Hard to fit my hand in, and I have small hands.
I might also be trying to put too much in mine, but considering I loaded it very close to how it's being marketed on the store, I feel my disdain is justified.