Review – Since the outbreak of COVID, I have been working from home, and it seems that this situation will continue for a long time. However, I will have to go to the office from time to time for special meetings or team events. I want a bag that I can use to carry my laptop to work. It looks professional and not bulky. After reviewing the COTS APEX Explore backpack, I jumped on it. Let us see how it works.
What is it?
The Apex Discovery Backpack (Apex from now on) is a lightweight multi-pocket backpack with a padded area for laptops and tablets, a larger open storage box and many other things to organize Small pockets. It comes in two colors: the black I received and the navy blue that looks fashionable.
Hardware specifications
- our Waterproof and antifouling, Super durable, high quality Obtained a patent Film™ Fabric is used in all products COTS Backpack collection.The carefully designed materials are made with new molecular technology and have special TPU film on the surface. It has a soft feel and anti-wrinkle function, and is easy to take care of.excellent Stain resistant, Just simply wipe, you can be as clean as new. Due to its multifunctional performance, COTS The backpack will be your reliable companion day and night.
- Size: 19.5″x 12.8″x 6.3″
- Weight: 2.3 pounds
- Total volume: 26L
- The padded area can accommodate up to 16-inch laptops
Design and features
The image below shows the front of the bag. There are two vertical pockets, a small fleece-lined front pocket and a large main pocket. There are also two small bags on the side, which can hold things like water bottles.
The next photo is a close-up of Filmpor fabric. This is a very fine weave, and water will indeed flow down from it.
Open one of the two vertical pockets and you can see that there is a contrasting lining. It is lighter in color and should help you find things in your pocket. It will not completely pull down the zipper, but will stop halfway through. There are no extra pockets inside these vertical pockets.
The image below shows the smaller fleece-lined pocket directly above the two vertical pockets. This is perfect for holding sunglasses or anything you don’t want to scratch. The width just fits my iPhone 11 Pro. I’m not sure if the Max phone is easy to install, and I can’t test it.
The next zipper behind this glasses bag is a larger area. This pocket has two zipper pulls and can open about half of the bag. You can see that there are slots for pens and larger items. There is a keychain clip and a larger zipper area to store items. The zipper area on the back covers almost half the length of the bag. This gives you a lot of places to organize your things.
Behind the first larger pocket, you will find a Velcro sticker covering the zipper of the main pocket of the bag. This prevents the area from opening accidentally, which is a good thing if your laptop or tablet is stored in it. The front side of the Velcro has a beautiful label sewn to make it easy to open.
Now we come to the main compartment. This zipper also has two separate pull tabs. This large pocket consists of two padded sleeves on the back and a main compartment area. The bottom of the bag is just lightly filled. I don’t want to put some fragile things in the main open area and then put down the bag. The bag you see at the top of this pocket belongs to the last pocket on the back of the backpack.
The two sleeves do not extend all the way to the bottom of the bag, so you can better protect your laptop or tablet.
There is a small last pocket behind the main pocket of the bag. It is padded on the back because it is the back of the backpack. The pocket itself is a very thin shell. Anything placed in this pocket will cover any laptop in the sleeve of the main pocket.
This is the picture on the back of the backpack. Its cushioning is good, and the raised bumps are expected to provide a little airflow to your back.
I took a close-up of a buckle on the chest strap. It is plastic, but it feels heavy.
There is also a convenient grab ring on the top of this bag.
Performance
I first tried to put my Dell XPS 16-inch laptop in the main case of this laptop BackpackYou can see that it does fit, but it does extend the sleeve area. Apart from the resistance of the sleeve, there is nothing to hold it in place. Turning the bag upside down (I admit that this rarely happens) does cause the laptop to slip out of the sleeve until it hits the top of the bag.
Then I put a Dell Latitude 13.5-inch laptop in my sleeve, and it fits perfectly inside.
The next picture shows my large XPS laptop and the 11-inch Apple iPad Pro in the tablet case. It just fits my situation.
The critical moment is when I try on the backpack. I filled it with a large laptop, iPad, a book, and other items. I also have my Hydroflask in one of my side pockets. I like to keep the backpack slim. I think the backpack is not very comfortable. The shoulder pads are very hard and I know I don’t want to spend a day traveling at the airport with this bag on my shoulders. It will not be a problem to bring it from my car to the office, but it has to be worn for more than 20 minutes at a time, and there are many shortcomings. I have a very beautiful Osprey back, it is very comfortable.
I took a photo of my front face so that you can better understand where the shoulder straps are. They are wide and hard. They seemed to cut into my armpit. I believe that men or girls with wider shoulders will not have a problem.
This is a picture of a water bottle bag. If the bag is tilted, I think the small bottle will fall out easily. If you put a water bottle or umbrella in it, there is no strap to tighten the water bottle or umbrella.
what do I like
- Very light
- Multiple pockets for easy organization
- Professional appearance and maintain a slim shape
Areas for improvement
- Uncomfortable shoulder straps-stiffness
- Can’t hold laptop or tablet in place
- The side pockets cannot hold items to prevent them from falling
Final thoughts
I will continue to use the COTS APEX EXPLORE laptop backpack as my bag to carry my laptop to work. It allows me to put everything I need somewhere so I can grab it quickly. It looks professional and very light. However, I will not use this backpack on any long-distance trips because I have to wear the backpack for more than 15 minutes. If I travel somewhere by plane, I will use another backpack that I own.
Price: USD 79.99
Where to buy: COTS (Use coupon code to save 15%: TG15 (no expiration date))
source: The sample of this product is made by COTS.
