Slappa Velocity MATRIX Laptop Backpack

Slappa Velocity MATRIX Laptop Backpack

Published August 25, 2008 at 01:16:07 PM, by Blair Mathis

Overview

When it comes to protecting and transporting your laptop around town, across campus, or even across the country, one doesn't like to be disappointed with how your bag or pack will perform. And even though a backpack isn't new technology, more and more often a regular 'backpack' just doesn't cut it for transporting your precious laptop. That's where a company called 'Slappa' comes in. When I first heard their name I immediately thought of some sort of UFC cult network (no, it's not affiliated) but after I did some researching, it looks as if they've been around for a few years with a wide following. They started making CD cases that offered great protection against the elements, and even better storage/organization methods than a lot of the competitors. They didn't skimp out on materials so your media wouldn't get scratched and they made their zippers tough and durable. The same applies to the MATRIX backpack.

Just looking at the MATRIX begs the user to touch it. Its soft neoprene-ish synthetic material with soft rubber skeleton is tactile yet purposeful, and the inside is plush with lots of room and nearly every inch is lined to make sure none of your equipment gets scratched. The zippers have thoughtful end caps so that if fully zipped/unzipped won't get caught or scratch most thingsthe great list goes on and on. But in reality - it's just a backpack - so are all these things worth it? Let's take a closer look.

Design

You'll notice that the moment you pick up the MATRIX backpack that you will either love or hate the all black 'techno' styling. It has a certain bad boy look, with accents and stitching that fit a more 'male' oriented crowd. Not saying that females won't love it also, but when I showed it to a few female friends of mine, they asked if I was applying for the new Batman role. I had to chuckle, but at least it doesn't make me look feminine, and at least it's consistent with the family line made by Slappa - plus last I checked, Batman kicked major butt. So the style is very touchy to some, but I like it, even if it is mostly all black.

Portability

So I thought to myself, there has to be a way to test this backpack out for all the things it claims. On the outer tag, there's a simple item description tag that touts it has 'a molded rubber exoskeleton, BuckBlast suede that is tear proof, puncture proof & rain proof - and extra thick high density padding.' All great things for a backpack that is meant to protect and transport your techno goodies inside. And then it dawned on me, I'm going to take this backpack on a 10 mile inline skate trip to the studio to see just how comfortable this thing is, and test all three claims along the way. But wait, there's more, I'm going to stuff it with everything I have to bring along my electronic DJ experience I need in case I run into a party along the way that is in dire need of some fine tunes. So I packed the MATRIX up with everything but the speakers and turntables, and 'slappa'd' (haha) on the pack with my rollerblades and went on the journey to test its fit and features. You will see just how much stuff I got in the pack comfortably, and still had some of room to spare. Even on Slappa's website (www.slappa.com) they tout this newest pack as being able to transport two 17' laptops - which is a pretty good feat. Doing so safely is also a nice (if not mandatory) feature. So after loading the pack, strapping the inline skates on my feet and picking out some good skating tunes, I set off in the very hot and humid night to the photo studio to take the necessary pictures and test this pack out!

External

I'm going to give a fair amount of credit for this pack already it arrived at my doorstep, the box mangled and dirty as all get up, water marks, and tape stretched out'.and it did so without a scratch on the unit. Thanks FedEx right on time, but if it were anything else, it would beright on time in a hundred pieces'. A quick look-over and yes, I was impressed the unit didn't get a gash or have water somewhere on it. Moving on'

The MATRIX is a larger pack, not necessarily daunting when it's empty, but when it gets full you'll appreciate how much storage is at your disposal. With its four large compartments, plus a font zip compartment, its space is nothing to laugh at. Compared to some other packs, this has plenty of storage and just enough organization pockets/locations to keep an average user knowing exactly where everything is. This pack is not geared towards the business professional, but more the campus crawler crowd. Not saying it wouldn't suffice hauling your work laptop and documents; however, this pack is more athome' with the urban crowd than pinstripes and Italian leathers.

The first thing that will catch you eye is the outer material, it almost shimmers and looks'very Matrix-y. I knew the pun was going to come out sooner or later, so we'll just put that out there. It's very modern/futuristic. Note in the picture the accent white stitching and texture theshell' provides. It's nice stuff.

But get this it's also functional. Slappa claims the pack is bothtear/puncture proof' andwater resistant'. Please note theresistant' part, and notwater proof'. Much like anything else, pay attention to the wording. This material will not soak up as MUCH water when getting doused by a sprinkler or rain shower, however, if you drop this pack into the pool or lake'.you're chances aren't much better even with this pack. I have no data for thepuncture proof' claim, however the rubber exoskeleton did hold up against some branches that hit it pretty well and it offered protection on the pavement when the pack was rested and fell over when fully loaded as well.

Let's look at the profile of this pack FULLY loaded with my gear. How much gear? Read on to find out!

The sides aren't much to talk about it has onehide away' pocket where the furthest compartment meets the main seams.

The back of the pack has a fun Slappahand slap' logo and features a zip pocket as well. This compartment looks to be lined in a urethane plastic material, good call Slappa! With the temp rising just over 92' and humidity reaching the same level, my inline trip was nothing short of hot, wet and sticky. But the pack only gave minor discomfort and held onto very little moisture from my back. By the way, this isn't a small zip pocket either, it spans the whole length of the pack, from the opening shown by my hand, to the very bottom of the MATRIX. Impressive enough to hold important documents and keep them dry/cool during the commute.

External, Continued

Now that I arrived at the studio it's time to get some pictures. I decided to show you a few accent photos to explain each little feature with the MATRIX.

We'll start at the top the handle is beefy. It's robust and doesn't flex or strain on the straps. It's hard rubber offering great grip to scoop the pack up at a moment's whim, and even though not as soft or attractive as leather options some other manufacturers provide, it does its job and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb and completes the whole design of the pack.

There are two places of concern with me on backpacks, and that's the inner compartments, and the outer shell/bottom of the pack. If you don't have ANYTHING there to protect my equipment, I will almost guarantee you're asking for problems in the real world. The real world needs protection and it's good to see that MATRIX provides some acceptable protection if you set your pack hard on the ground.

There are two hard plastic guards as noted in the pictures that aid in the protection of your techno goodies inside should you drop it a little more than gently. Good to have, especially after a long skate in hot weather.

External, Continued 2

The front of the pack, again is awesome, containing a handy vertical zip compartment that offers ample storage and in my case, since I needed footwear besides my skates, I packed along a pair of sandals. Now, I know most users wouldn't regard this as a bring along item and even though I wouldn't normally pack a pair of sandals in my laptop bag, I simply just packed everything I thought I would need to get to the studio. Even if it happens to be abnormal items, it just shows this pack is pretty versatile. The sandals fit perfect in this compartment, and I figured if I fell I wouldn't be so heartbroken if they took the brunt of the impact, instead of my mouse or external hard drive.

It's good to note the protective zipper ends preventing snags andrun-offs' (that pesky zipper attitude to get off track). All the outer zippers on the MATRIX pack have lockable zippers, as noted in the pictures, and are pretty heavy duty. They didn't wimp out on these babies!

Here is a picture showing the zipper in the furthest tucked position, enclosed by the protective ends.

The MATRIX also comes equipped with a media holster for a cell phone, small PDA or mp3 player. It's a nice piece in its own regard, with a stainless clip back andhook-n-loop' flap. It's all black as well and features the nice littleslap hand' icon on the corner. Interesting note this is lined with the same soft jersey material as its big brother the MATRIX so it won't scratch your player/phone.

This unit is secured to one of the four attachment rungs on the straps, and offers some latitude for your taste. I had it on the most upper rung so that my headphone cord offered the most play should the pack somehow fall off of me. 'Below is one of the strap-rungs.

The straps work well and are easy to adjust, with quick release portions that aid in providing slack to find the perfect fit for your shoulders.

A simple flick with the fingers and the straps are easily adjusted. It's simple, and it's nothing revolutionary, but it works just as well on this pack. Much like a D-ring on a helmet, there was no pre-release with the straps with a hard tug either. They held their own.

The shoulder straps were also very well padded as noted in some of the profile pictures they do arc a little more than a regular pack, but this is to give your back the support by placing some of the pressure towards your shoulder/chest area. Again, GIRLS need to know this, guys not so much, but keep this in mind when you are considering this pack.

Overall the outer design of the MATRIX is cohesive and serves a good purpose, and it's functional as well. I'm sure they didn't have to make the outer shell atribal' flame-esque feature, but it looks pretty neat and works in protection, which is better than some packs can claim!

Performance

Storage

Now here comes the bread and butter and I'm sure you've been wondering how much gear can be easily stuffed into this pack. Now keep in mind, what I put in this pack might not be the same as what you would put in it, but it will give you a pretty good idea of how much it can store!

We already showed a fun picture of my sandals that were carried in the outer compartment, let's open the pack up and see what else I fit in there.

Opening the first compartment we notice a mini pouch on the outer portion, and two pouches and another zip compartment inside. I fit my cell phone and extra USB cord in the pouch compartments, and in the zip compartment behind those I stowed my trackball mouse. In the mini-pouch I packed my collapsible headphones.

A close up of the mini-pouch and storage compartments.

So far, so good with storage there were two areas where you could store writing utensils (pen, pencil, marker etc) but I didn't think I would use these on this trip, but just as a note they're there if you so choose.

Performance, Continued

Folding back the second compartment to reveal the third storage space, we come into more space. In here I have packed an iXoft notbook cooler, my Hercules mk2 midi controller, and my notebook's power brick.

This filled the space pretty well, but there was some space left over for some other items. You wouldn't be able to fit much more, but the pack wasn't stuffed at this point.

The next compartment housed my laptop and it was like a cocoon! This is where the soft lining really shines as it practically polishes your laptop and equipment while it protects it. Shown below is a picture of the flap that holds your laptop.

Notice that it still has plenty of room left in it enough to hold a 17' laptop! And the space between this area and the area around thelaptop cocoon' as claimed on their website is enough room to hold yet ANOTHER 17"" laptop (or books, papers, etc.) If you aren't impressed, well then I guess I can't convince you otherwise, but this is some seriously good storage for a backpack.'

Conclusion

Here's a final picture of what I took on my inline trip to the studio. I had everything I needed to survive if I spontaneously found myself needing to jack into a stereo and start mixing my tunes. The list is as follows:

• Cell phone
• Extra USB cords
• Sandals
• iXoft notebook cooler
• Turtle Beach 5.1 headphones
• Laptop powerbrick
• Hercules mk2 controller
• Sansa MP3 Player
• MSI 1029 laptop
• Explorer Trackball mouse

This whole setup filled the pack as shown in the profile pictures, and it STILL had some room to spare for other items.

Filled with my techno goodies, but not a bulging pack awesome!

The pack however, climbed up the scale and logged in a hefty 17.4 pounds total (3.4 lbs of which was the backpack itself), but happily the MATRIX offered MINIMAL discomfort. In fact, the only discomfort (other than the heat and humidity) was to be had by the rear zippers for the compartment nearest your back as shown in the pictures below and even though I made sure they were all the way to one side, I did feel one instance where they did dig a little into my shoulder blade, but it only happened once which leads me to believe that it was the way my stride was on my skates. So when you place this pack on your back, do yourself a favor and MOVE them all the way to one side, and not have them strapped in the middle as shown below.

'

Pros:

• Great Build
• Great Capacity
• Water resistant
• Tear resistant
• Soft lining
• Consistent Design
• Good protection

Cons:

• Somewhat large
• Only comes in black
• A little spendy
• If you're a female, test the shoulder straps first...that's'all I'm going to say.

Recommendation

I give it a sweet HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating; because it fits great, looks great (if you're into black) and offers great protection at a "reasonable" cost. The downside is that if you have a smaller laptop, it might get drowned and all that space isn't for everyone. This is definitely a good pick for someone who is a campus crawler that has a 15 17' laptop. It offers protection from the rain and sharp objects, has an AWESOME lining and has a complimentary media pouch. It misses the coveted Laptop Logic Editor's Choice award because the design may not be for everyone, and the shoulder straps might be irritating to some users. Also it would have been nice to see this pack come with a set of locks (maybe it does and the shipping company lost them which is very possible). Otherwise it's a feature packed backpack that offers great protection for your gear.

Availability/Warranty

The Slappa MATRIX has a 180 day limited warranty and is available online at www.slappa.com'for about $120.

No User reviews for this product! Be the first to write a review on Slappa Velocity MATRIX Laptop Backpack

To post a product-review you have to be a registered member.

Technical Specifications

No specifications are available.