This premium laptop backpack is chic and stylish and has three major sections that host 10 cleverly designed pockets and enclosures.
Price When Reviewed
€262
One of Macworld’s favorite backpacks, fine enough to carry our beloved MacBook, is the Apex from premium bag maker Troubadour. The company doesn’t just make a bag and then move onto the next one. Like a technology company, it makes regular product updates, refining the design based on customer feedback. The Apex backpack is now up to version 4.0 with multiple small enhancements, although we miss the 3.0’s hidden AirTag pocket. The Apex 3.0, by the way, is still available and a little cheaper, although we’d expect the older version to disappear from the shelves when stock is gone.
First, let’s look why we liked the previous Apex versions so much. All bags we recommend must keep our (and your) technology safe as we move it around with us—whether that’s carried on the daily commute, slung by café tables, dragged around airport departures halls, or stuffed into overhead compartments.
The Apex is one of few laptop backpacks that looks great even with a suit. It’s chic as well as a premium build for comfort, and—most importantly for MacBook owners—full of laptop and tech accessory organizer compartments.
Inside is kept just as smart, with the zips and clips matching the bag’s outer color, of which there are six: a classic Black, Ink Blue and a similar Basalt, a maroon Bronze Red and a unique Smoke Green.Three main Apex designs
Apex 4.0 Backpack
Fits up to 17-inch laptop
Height: 19 inches (48cm)
Width: 12.6 inches (32cm)
Depth: 6 inches (15cm)
Capacity: 22L
Weight: 2.7lbs (1.22kg)
Apex 4.0 Compact Backpack
There’s also a Compact version available that’s less tall:
Fits up to 16-inch laptop
Height: 16 inches (41cm)
Width: 11.5 inches (29cm)
Depth: 5.5 inches (14cm)
Capacity: 15L
Weight: 2.5lbs (1.13kg)
Apex Travel Backpack
And for longer journeys away from home, a Travel version is taller, wider and can expand significantly:
Height: 22 inches (56cm)
Width: 16.5 inches (42cm)
Depth: 6.3 inches (16cm)
Capacity: 42L
Weight: 3.04 lbs (1.38kg)
The Apex 4.0 is built around three major sections that host a total of 10 cleverly designed pockets and enclosures. At the front for quick, easy access there’s a zipped pocket with a handy, long-strapped key fob tucked inside. This front section is usable even when the main compartment is full.
If front-loaded fast-access storage is a priority you might consider Troubadour’s smaller everyday 22L Neo backpack that features a zipped pocket with three compartments and a small, concealed zipper pocket to keep your valuables—a passport just fits. Below that there’s a neat even-easier-access pocket with a magnetic closure and (similar to the Apex 4.0) key fob.
The Apex 4.0’s 22L capacity is less than the Apex 3.0’s 25L but it feels generous enough for a day trip and easily enough for a packed commute. It’s not one for the weekly shop, however. For that you might consider its more capacious sibling, the large yet attractive 42L Apex Travel backpack.
The main section features a generous three zipped pockets (one mesh) that are large and deep enough for your tech (and other) essentials—good places to keep your charger and cables.
