Customer Reviews Timbuk2 Armory Pack

With Timbuk2, they make stylish and quality items. I just wish they had more pockets in their backpacks. I have had backpacks with numerous pockets from a competitor who will remain nameless. This review would be five stars if the backpack had more pockets. For example, having a pocket in the top would be great (with a zipper with cloth insides) since I use the bag as my commuting to work bag. (By the way, the messenger bags are stupendous and have sufficient pockets. I was buying those once a month it seemed like, but had to stop. ^_^)

Love this thing. Looks great, feels great. Easy to break in. It does run a little smaller than I had hoped, but then again, it's a laptop backpack too. I would give this a 4.75 star rating.

The bottom part of the bag does not have enough padding to reliably protect electronic equipment, or any fragile objects from drops and falls, and the laptop compartment inside the main compartment would have been better if it was either sewed to the sides instead of the back part of the bag, or have it be able to stretch.

The comfortable straps and mesh back panels makes commuting to work comfortable. I can fit my work items like laptop, pens, headphones, charges, and some paper work. The size is adequate. Not small and not too big. There is various fabric like nylon and coated nylon. The coated fabric usually helps the interior to be water resistant. This pack is one of my favorites!

I purchased this with several intentions in mind, for a travelling bag, for taking my laptop and textbooks to school, and at the same time bringing a pair of climbing or running shoes along. This is my 3rd TimBuk2 pack and so far I love it just as much as my others, everything this company makes is both high quality and thought out. I do have the additional insight as a backpack fitter in the outdoor industry so I would like to make some key comments on improving the design of the backpack. Don't let these deter you, I am super happy with the backpack and it works great Thoughts on design -The bottle opener is located at the ideal placement (atleast for me) for the sternum strap. Thankfully they designed it to be removable, which allowed me to move the strap below the bottle opener and this works pretty well, except the sternum strap tends then to slide low on the chest straps -Personally I am not a huge fan of sewn-in elastic bands for carrying water bottles, as that elastic is going to have a shorter lifespan than the rest of the bag, and you can't tension the strap. My last bag (sorry I forget the model) used a piece of elastic cordage with a sliding sinch, which made it useful even after the elastic wore out -The compression straps are kinda useless in most instances, they need to be a inch or two longer and not sewn so far away from the front panel. I would also recommend adding a buckle to the compression straps, so you can run them through a pair of sandals for example -Add more sewn-in organization inside the front panel for notepads and pens and the such. What is there is fine but could be a bit more substantial and have more pockets I know that seemed like a lot of complaints but I really do quite like this bag. I used it for a full day riding around San Francisco on a trip to the city, and since then have used it for a month as my commuter college backpack. Great all around bag I expect to use for years to come

The top compartment zipper is a bit inconvenient to use when the bag is lightly loaded and it looks a bit odd. Both problems go away when the bag is full. The side sinch straps are oddly long. Much longer then they could possibly need to be for the maximum size of the bag. I would also like to have had two sets of side straps so you could tighten up the bottom. The shoulder straps are stitched a bit close together for me and they dig at my neck a bit. I'm hoping this reduces as they break in. Other then all that, it's well constructed, I love the front pockets organization and the two sleeves are well designed and protect my devices well. I think it looks pretty classy also. Better then the pictures for sure. Overall it's a good pack and I will likely use it for years, but I think it could use a version 2.0

I've gone through two Timbuk2 messenger bags, and have a third one that I only use when I need a small bag to carry a small laptop. So, I'm a fan of the Timbuk2 quality and feature set. This time, I decided to get a backpack. I bought this from the shop while I was in the US for a conference, and the Timbuk2 shop was near the conference center. With my conference badge, I got a discount. There were a few things that I was concerned about, but they seemed trivial compared to the savings (conference discount, plus no international shipping fees). Here are the problems that have started to bug me a lot: (1) The tether for your keys is way too short. You either have to treat the entire backpack as a keyring fob, or you have to take the keys off to use them. (2) There is no velcro to secure the laptop compartment shut. It's just a pocket. I thought I'd be able to attach a velcro strap myself, but it really isn't working out. (3) The size is just the right size to ride my belt, so it pushes my pants down. Your mileage will vary with this one, since it depends on your frame. (4) To access pens, I have to unzip the smaller compartment more than warranted just to get a pen. I wish it were easier to access that area. Here's what I like: (1) The size. It's roomy, without being too large. (2) It's comfortable. Nice straps, and it's not too hot on my back. (3) It looks nice. I think I will end up buying another one way before this one wears out. I'll give or sell this one to someone who doesn't need to carry their laptop everywhere, and I'll look at the other Timbuk2 backpacks to find one with a more secure laptop pocket.

I ordered this on sale (final sale) and if I purchased it I'd surely be returning it. It's way smaller than the photos with the models make it look. Maybe the models are very tiny as well? I guess my gripe is more with the photos than the pack as it seems like a good pack if you want a tiny backpack. If i was 5'2" and skinny I'd like it.

Overall the backpack is very nice looking, came in perfect condition, and is spacious. The shipping could've been better since it took almost two weeks. My biggest disappointment with this backpack is that it's laptop sleeve is extremely tight. I have a 15" acer predator laptop and I have to force into the sleeve for it to fit. But then the real issue is getting my laptop out of the sleeve, first time I tried it, it took me 10 minutes to get my laptop out of the sleeve and also caused the sides of the sleeves to rip a little. I bought it when it was on sale so I can't return it. For now I am trying to stretch the sleeve and hopefully i will be able to easily insert and remove my laptop afterwards.

I bought the fog colored backpack because it stated it was more water resistant. I haven't even had it for a year and the backpack is peeling all over and my stuff inside my backpack were soaking after a light drizzle. I liked the backpack and i got conpliments for it. The backpack is very spacious and has convenient pockets. But with the peeling it looks like a knock off. Don't waste your time.