MARMOTSlate All Day Travel Bag

It’s tall and thin. Meant for taking your laptop to work - very sleek. To be more practical it could be a bit bigger

Bought this for my son. He loves it. It’s water represent and he is able to use it on his motorcycle and while day hiking.

When a backpack comes from a company like Marmot, it's a safe bet that it will be well-made, durable, and practical. Marmot makes reliable gear that does what it's meant to do, and does it for years. This backpack is styled like it is intended to be waterproof, but clearly that's not Marmot't intention, otherwise it would be.This backpack is no exception to the Marmot norm in terms of durability, but it may still not be the right choice for you. If you need quick access to your stuff, or if you need to carry a lot of things, the "All Day Travel Bag" isn't the best choice. At only 17L, it doesn't have enough room for me to put a light jacket, shoes, and a change of clothes if I'm also planning to carry my laptop, charger, and other travel gear. In addition, the price for its attempt at a waterproof design (more on that later) is a roll-top. That means that it takes a few moments to get inside, although the side zipper - which is exposed at all times, but only accessible once you unroll the top - makes working inside the bag a little easier.Once you're in there, the organization is decent. Often "waterproof" - or waterproof-styled - backpacks are just empty sacks, and you have to use packing cubes or external organizers to keep things sorted. This Marmot bag partially corrects that with some organization. It has a lightly-padded laptop sleeve with a separate tablet slot, as well as an interior zippered pocket, a lined pocket that can hold a pair of glasses but not a phone, two pen slots, and some miscellaneous pockets that seem useless to me, but might be good for holding credit cards. Frankly, I think they missed the mark here in terms of versatility, but it's better than many "dry" bags have.The exterior has an outer, open pocket (with magnetic closure) that could hold an object that's about the size of a paperback book. Behind it is a larger, zippered pocket. On the side is a water-bottle pocket that snaps closed when not in use. With some effort, I was able to (barely) get it to hold my 1L Hydro Flask.Straps, padding, and comfort are all excellent, and consistent with customary Marmot quality. I wish all backpacks dealt with slack on the shoulder straps the way Marmot does.As for the key reason for buying this bag - waterproofing - the Marmot All Day Travel Bag is the first roll-top backpack to ever fail my shower test. Admittedly, a shower test is a little more demanding than carrying a backpack on a typical rainy day, but I've bicycled through plenty of storms that hammered my pack with as much force, or more, than a household shower - so I always give bags I review a thorough dousing. The Marmot bag failed - spectacularly - with a small puddle of water forming in the inside of the bag. I think the side zipper was the culprit. Whatever the reason, I wouldn't trust my laptop to this bag in the rain.Those of us who love backpacks know, there's no perfect bag (although Tom Bihn comes close). This is a comfortable, well-made, water-resistant backpack that will likely keep your gear dry in a light drizzle. Unfortunately, you won't be able to carry that much gear, it will take you a minute to get to it, and your organization options will be limited. Depending on your priorities, it's either a good choice or a terrible one.Most importantly, it will not survive a true deluge. So, if the reason you're compromising on convenience and organization is you want to be certain to keep everything dry - look elsewhere. If you want an inexpensive backpack that will shed a little bit of moisture, be comfortable, and hold up to other forms of wear-and-tear, this might be the right bag.

I really love the looks of this Mermot backpack. It’s very stylish, light, and secure. I like the deep and expandable side bottle pocket. The interior of the main compartment has a zippered pocked to secure small notepads or portable battery chargers. The exterior of the main compartment is secured with a belt clip. On the inside, there’s some additional slots for pens and pencils. The backpack also fits my old Macbook Pro just fine. It’s cushioned and has some moderate protection for it. In terms of wearing the backpack, it’s highly padded and it’s great for long term wear.The backpack isn’t perfect though. Although it’s great for carrying notebooks and laptops, it’s lack of volume expandability prevents you from using this outside of school and work. The main compartment isn’t large enough to hold gym clothes if you wanted to carry some with you. Or if you’re thinking of using your backpack to carry your lunch box along with some documents, you’ll be struggling to find space.Ultimately, if you’re looking for a backpack that’s specific for carrying laptops and other flat items, this will suffice. But if you’re looking for a backpack that’s more multi-use with more capacity, keep looking.

I really wanted to like this bag, but unfortunately it proved to be too small to be useful. This is a shame because Marmot did so many things right with this backpack. For example, there are very thoughtful little design choices everywhere, including the following:* The side pocket to hold your cup has a snap button where you can tighten it up flush to the bag when you don't have a cup in it.* When you unroll the top, the zipper on the side goes very far down, making this both a top-loading and side-loading bag depending on how you use it. There are pockets everywhere of all sizes to fit tons of items of all varieties. The easy access slot is magnetically shut, which is way more useful than I thought.* The materials are excellent and high quality. There is no doubt that this bag will last for years and constant abuse. The handle, the canvas, the leather - all excellent.I could go on and on, but long story short there's a lot of things I loved about this backpack. Maybe these are standard features in bags, but I've only had a handful (a North Face, a Jansport, and some no-name Amazon finds) in the last ten years so it was new to me.Unfortunately, I just can't fit a lot of stuff in there. I've been using it for the past week and it's driving me crazy that I can't pack the things I just bring to work on a daily basis - aka a laptop, iPad, lunchbox, and notepad. I keep thinking I missed a button that will expand the overall body of the bag, but I can't find seem to find anything. This is barely a commuter bag, so I'm not sure why Marmot is advertising it as an all day travel bag. I'd give up all the nice features for something simple that can just hold my stuff.Looks-wise, I personally am a fan, but it's been divisive among my own friends and coworkers. A lot of people I know really hate it, but I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One girl even thought I was wearing one of those diaper bags. That being said, its looks are true to the advertised pictures on Amazon - what you see is what you get.Overall, I'd stick with another bag. I'm still a big fan of Marmot, but this is just a misfire.

Alles gut.