Targus Groove Laptop Backpack

I waited for a whole semester before reviewing this product simply because I wanted to truly put it through its paces. Did it survive? Yes. Did it satisfy? Very much so. Build: The backpack is quite sturdy. I used it extensively every day for about four months, though I only carried my laptop in it about half the time. No rips or tears yet. The zippers are still holding up, even under the considerable strain of heavy textbooks. One thing that concerns me is the meshed compartment right in front of the laptop area, which almost always interferes with the placement of books with sharp edges, or spiral bound notebooks. I've walking in some severe downpours with this backpack on, and I haven't found any of its contents to be wet. This is not a guarantee of water-proofing, but I'm saying your stuff will be reasonably protected with some due care (read: don't go swimming with it). Storage: Be advised that there's not going to be much room for books once you put in a laptop (I own a Dell Inspiron 600m). Especially hardcovers. Even without a laptop, you can't fit more than one 300+ page textbook and a couple of thin notebooks without having much difficulty in closing the main compartment. Then again, this isn't being sold as a trekking bag, so this shouldn't be much of a concern. Before I forget: pockets! Lots of compartments and pockets in this backpack. I use the main area for the laptop and my notebooks. The two pockets inside the main compartment hold my mouse and power adapter, along with my graphing calculator and a Moleskine. The smaller compartment holds headphones, and a daily planner. The smallest front pocket holds writing instruments, spare batteries, a USB thumbdrive, and a (Maglite) flashlight. The side pockets are great for bottles of water. So far, I haven't found any use for the meshed area, though I suspect loose sheets will fit nicely there. Comfort: The padding on the straps is quite a relief, because the sheer weight of a laptop in addition to some books and a bottle of water can cause significant strain on the shoulders. The handle on top also seems quite strong, which is usefully for short-range transportation, a.k.a lifting. There is a port for headphones through the front pocket, for those people who like their MP3/CD player out of their reach while listening (I don't). Overall: It's a great backpack, surprisingly sturdy for a laptop backpack. The material is actually more resistant to wear than my last (academic) backpack. Definitely a good value for money, purchased at Amazon for $30 with free shipping back in January 2006. While the capacity for books is reduced when placing a laptop in there, the other features and the comfort levels provided by the backpack more than make up for it. If you're not taking many courses with fat textbooks and are looking to carry a laptop to school frequently, this is the backpack for you. Update (April 2010): It's been more than four years of constant use, and this backpack is still in fantastic shape with only minor fraying of some of the exterior stitching and straps. This backpack exhibits seriously impressive build quality, folks! From time to time, when I notice a new ecosystem developing at the bottom of the main compartment, I toss it into the washer. More frequent washes might result in increased fraying. Note that this fraying does not impact the backpack's usefulness in any way. If you're looking for a backpack that will last you half a decade (or more!), this is the backpack for you.

Date of purchase: August 29, 2010 Price: $25.14 History with Targus: Second Targus backpack Pros: - Since price is already listed ... CHEAP - Durable; lasted me through the last two years of high school with some signs of wear. (See below for more info) - Large main component with two sleeves inside; able to hold (with some organization) two large binders, folder, laptop, a thick book, glasses case, notebook and two calculators (I even stuffed in a rather thick manila envelope in the laptop sleeve). - Great secondary component; held my obnoxiously large laptop charger, various other wires and a folder for filler paper and various documents. Also has a sleeve, but the material is more like the pouch on the outside - not sure what that's called. - Laptop sleeve (has decent padding on the front, sides and back) - Lots of pockets and zippers - - Right side pocket (when wearing the backpack) has a zipper as well as a sleeve on the inside. I was able to hold a stack of index cards here along with batteries in the sleeve. - - Left side pouch held a water bottle well - - Front compartment has a padded pouch with a velcro strap (great for holding your flash drive) as well as three loops for pens. No complaints whatsoever. Glue sticks, highlighters, pencils, pens, mechanical pencils - all fitted well in the front compartment. Con: - Lack of padding at the top and inadequate padding on the bottom of the laptop sleeve (You'll definitely don't want to drop your backpack ... not even an inch off the ground if you value your laptop; which is good practice anyway and something I got used to doing, but with a heavy load and weak arms that's easier said than done). But yeah if you're looking for something that will protect your laptop like an impact case for the iPhone ... this is not it. My backpack, with my old laptop, actually fell from a stand-up position on top of my desk to the concrete floor ... laptop was still fully functional, but the corner of the frame broke off. That's the only con I can think of though, granted a big one for a 'laptop backpack' it's one that can be overcome with better care and handling. Fit of Laptop: Okay when I first got this backpack I had a different laptop and, while I don't know the exact measurement, it was a monster in size (I believe it was a HP dv6000 whose's measurements are supposedly 15.6; but anyone who had this laptop will probably agree that it's definitely not like today's "15.6 laptops" - much more large square screens with a thick body). It fit VERY tightly into the backpack when I packed it with the rest of my school work. So much so that when the corner of my laptop broke it, and I started putting it in with that broken side up, it started scraping at the inner, upper park of the backpack and tearing away at the material there. However when I got my new laptop, a 15.6 HP dv6t, the backpack kind of swallowed it ... Quite strange; I'd take pictures and show you the difference, but I no longer have the old laptop. Signs of wear I can see are: - The side of the top of the shoulder straps are a bit frayed - The top corner where my laptop was chipped and scratched at the backpack had a cm slit - And the very corners of the PVC bottom was torn/missing (seems like I might have hooked it or scrapped it against something ...) Comments on Use/Durability: So as you saw I've had this backpack for two years and those are the 'only' signs of wear that have shown. Everything is still working and intact; zippers, shoulder straps, pockets and all. Like I said I used this backpack for my last two years of high school; this meant always over-stuffing it with schoolwork and computer equipment and included going on several school trips both years with it. In fact I carried around my backpack so often, along with the laptop, that my friends began poking fun at me for it ... until they started doing so themselves :p Overall I've been satisfied with the backpack, especially for the price! Just that one con will be a big problem if you aren't careful. Now, however, I am about to start college and thought I'd try upgrading to either the SwissGear Computer Backpack or Targus Drifter II to hopefully last all four years and provide more protection for my newer laptop. :p

This is my fourth Targus item, I've purchased over the past five years. Targus is usually pretty good about keeping your laptops safe. The backpack is nice, but a little small. Also, the padding for back support is a little thin when you have a hard laptop or sharp edged book in the back compartment. The handle on the top is a little cheap compared to the more expensive models. But honestly this model, dollar for dollar value, probably surpasses its more expensive brothers. From what I've seen from my other Targus backpacks, is that they have a heavy-duty use (aka regular college experience) lifetime of about one year or so. Then after a year, the seams by the zippers of backpack will start to rip & what not. I have not had this happen yet with my model, & I've been using it for about three months so far. But I've had it happen to every other Targus Backpack I've purchased. This backpack will comfortable hold 3-4 textbooks plus a laptop computer or 4-5 textbooks san a laptop. There are three major pocket areas that can hold calculators, writing utensils, & other college peripherals. Over all I really like this backpack for the money. I've purchased the more the expensive Targus Models, they are very nice, but you have a tendency to loose more items in your backpack then store. (and the only have a shelf live of a year anyway.) This is a good deal. ************ Update: (Aug 18, 2007 Year One with the backpack) Wow, it's been a year since I've purchased this backpack, I've taken it camping, across country, across the Ocean and it's as durable & shiny as it was a month or so after purchase. (I'm very rough with my backpacks, this should be in tatters.) No signs of wear and tear. Zipper is still fully functional. I'm very pleased with this backpack. This is the best Targus bag I've ever purchased. Also, it's the cheapest Targus bag I've every purchase. I still insist this is a great deal. Update: July 30, 2008 (Year Two) Wow, this backback is still going strong, no rips, no tears, and all of my zippers are still functional. (This is an awesome baokckpack.) ************** Update 2: (May 24, 2011) I've had this backpack for four years, and it's lasted me a long time. I'm currently a PhD student, and I'm still using it, and I'm still rough with it. It looks a little worn, but all of zippers are fully functional, and there are no holes or anything wrong with backpack. If this pace keeps up, I'll have this things till way past tenure. ************** Update 3: (April 15, 2012) Everything I said in my last update is still true! No holes, zippers all work fine, however the backpack is a little frayed in place, and probably not waterproof, but still works great!

Bag is good quality , and looking very good , I like this item . I waited almost 20 days to get in low price , finally I got it in my budget price . I am happy with the product .

Great backpack. The laptop compartment is right against your back, and easily holds my T510 ThinkPad. This is a very roomy backpack, with space to carry lots of stuff. the straps are very comfortable, even when only using one shoulder, with handstraps/thumbstraps sewn over top of the straps to make things even easier. The top handle feels solid and capable of handling a heavy load. A nice feature is that the bottom is waterproofed, although that protection does not extend to the bottom of the front pocket, which, if your backpack isn't loaded to the max, also sits on the ground. Double zippers on the main compartment mean you can zip them both to the top for fast access. UPDATE: I've now owned this and used it daily for 3.5 years, and there's not a single problem with it: no tears or rips, all the zippers still work, etc. I'm gifting this one to my high schooler who needs one (and who carries a staggering amount of books and such), and I feel confident it will continue to do the job. It's big enough (the 17" version) that he can carry his lunchbox (a nylon zippered soft-sided rectangle that can hold a lot of stuff) on top of the books. I'm getting another one (the smaller one) for myself. I tried a messenger bag for a bit, but it is not nearly as comfortable, or as spacious, or as well-designed, as this backpack.

I bought this backpack in October 2023 and it has been holding up pretty well! The bottom protective rubber has started to come off in the corners but other than that the rest of the bag is in good condition. There are many storage compartments, I use almost all of them to keep myself organized. The zippers are fairly good, I haven't had much of a problem with them. I look forward to shopping with Targus again!

I bought this backpack more than 3 years ago and it's still in good shape. I don't know if Targus has since updated their design so I can only talk about the one I bought and find no reason to replace yet. I use this backpack pretty much all the time for travel, school and now work. There are 3 major compartments. The main one is extremely spacious so it's convenient for me to carry things around even if some items are somewhat bulky. But this means the middle compartment is basically a thin layer. I personally find it more useful to have at least one really spacious compartment and the rest can be used to hold misc, smaller sized items. The front compartment is a regular pocket space where you can hold your pens and some space for other small items or accessories. There's also a side pocket that I use to hold my keys, phone and wallet since I could reach and access this compartment with my right hand without having to put my backpack down. I'm pretty picky about the durability of the backpack, especially the bottom padding - it's made of thicker material, making it last all these years without a problem. The backpack itself is not as stiff as some I've seen used for other styles or brand so I've experienced no issues with my zippers as of yet. My friend who bought another Targus style, one with much stiffer exterior, started to have problems with the zippers within a year which made the backpack unusable. Another thing I really like is how light the backpack is in comparison many others I've seen. So overall, this backpack is lightweight, durable and good valued. The only complain I have is the left mesh - it doesn't really hold anything securely. I stopped using it after numerous occasions where things would fall out. I've lost a few things this way and learned to simply not be lazy and zip everything up.

I use this a lot for work and travel. can take a solid beating but will show signs of wear and tear. especially the seams rippings open. But for the price, i get the same one every 3 years. i havent really found another back pack i like. This is simple and i dont personally need 20 different pockets and a built in USB port like all these other backpacks.