Absurd Singularity

Two of these plastic disc-shaped clasps hold the front flap closed. Extremely easy to open, a little tougher to close with one hand but not hard by any means.

Just a brief glimpse of the front pocket that's nicely lined in bright yellow. It's deceptively deep, running all the way down to the bottom of the flap. The only ding on it is that since I sling bags over my left shoulder instead of my right, the zipper in the closed position is to the rear which makes it inconvenient to open on the go.

Flipping open the flap reveals the meat of this bag. It's got a ton of pockets. More pockets than I currently know what to do with. But it's nice to have so many options. The front-most section contains 4 pen/pencil holders, a vertically-zipped pocket and then a deeper pocket that runs the width and height of the front section and also contains an interior clip. You can also see a regular pocket on the right edge of the bag along with two mesh pockets on the left. Very nice.

Situated in between the front section and main compartment is a slightly shorter pocket that also runs the width of the bag. This pocket is also lined in bright yellow and within it's further segregated into two more potential half-pockets. Good area to store computer peripherals like external hard drives or ac adapters and such.

The main compartment of this bag is completely lined in orange for easier visibility of the contents and is quite large. There's another zippered mesh pocket on the rear wall. I've fit my 5D and lunch bag next to each other in this area without a problem. And this isn't even the area you put your laptop in either.

The separate laptop compartment is actually located behind the flapped area covered by its own zipper. I found the zipper to be interesting cause it's the first time I've seen a laptop bag use this type of material for the zipper. Makes it pretty much water resistant. If rain ever got into the laptop compartment I'd be shocked. Inside, the compartment is velour-lined and also comes with 2 padded stabilizers in case your laptop is much smaller. I had to remove one of the stabilizers to fit my work laptop in (15" Thinkpad) and I had to remove both to fit my MacBook Pro.

Going back to the flap for a second, the underside of it is also orange and has these loop straps to hold a small, compact umbrella. Tried it once and it actually works very well. Just a nice touch although it may be easier to cram your umbrella (if it's small enough) into one of the side pockets instead.

As for the back of the bag, first there's the obligatory magazine/papers pocket that's about three-quarters the height of the bag. At the bottom of this pocket there's another zipper that you can open so that you can push the handle of your carry-on luggage through the bottom and out the top. I tend to use this pocket a lot on any bag so I was a little annoyed with this one because when the straps are in backpack mode as it is in the photo above, they get in the way of this pocket entrance so you have to first flip the straps up and over out of the way first. There's also two rather substantial padded parts on the back. This is for when you're carrying it as a backpack and the bag tends to rest closer to your lower back/waist. There are also two D-rings here for the removable straps that you can use to secure the bag to your waist for extra stability.

And this is what the strap looks like in messenger bag mode. Converting from backpack to messenger mode is pretty easy. However, I'm not currently a big fan of the strap when its in messenger bag mode. First off, the straps aren't no-slip. Since I tend to not sling messenger bags across the chest most of the time, this is a problem. It's also a problem when in backpack mode and you're one-shouldering it. Secondly, because of its transformable nature, you have an extra button strip and plastic clasp (used in backpack mode) just flapping around. It's not a huge deal, I just dislike having extraneous stuff sticking out especially if there's no way to tuck them away somewhere.

Backpack mode works pretty well I must say and is quite comfortable. The side pockets are also easily accessible. Overall I give the bag high marks. It's got a ton of compartments that are well-laid out and easily visible and accessible. It's also built quite ruggedly and should last for quite some time. The Bak2Pak system works great as a backpack, not so much as a messenger bag. But that's probably just me though. If you sling your messenger bags cross chest most of the time, then you probably won't have much of an issue.