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How do you stand out from the crowd with a classic backpack design? Create something to a high standard, executing a premium experience that delivers on your mission. That’s exactly what the ISM Classic Backpack has done, a productivity tool for the creative. With a strong aesthetic and obsession for details inside and out, it’s hard not to fall in love with a carry that empowers you to create

Designer Aesthetics, Premium allure

A recap on the ISM Classic backpack, it measures 30cm wide, 43cm long and 13cm deep. Full-grain leather are used for the bottom half of the bag, shoulder straps and rear trims. The rest are built of waterproof nylon, with mesh padding and ventilation on the rear and under-strap.

If you’re hesitating between different styles of bags, the ISM Classic backpack is a versatile day carry. Dress up or dress down, it’ll always compliment your style of wear thanks to the simple, modern aesthetics and materials. It’s lightweight, yet feels premium all-round. The structure holds itself with a stiffened frame so it doesn’t cave in on small loads. It intentionally relaxes on the main zipper opening for brighter access and visibility of the main space and two compartments towards the bottom. A bag-wide pocket stores small items with reasonable flex to fit in a few flat items.

There are two accent colours for the ISM Classic Backpack – gunmetal black or gold zipper and matching logo trim. I really like the gold trim as it comes across as sophisticated and premium, matching well with the build quality of the Classic. The gunmetal black is also a great option for an anonymous and subtle visual. Both bags look great on men and women, complimenting any outfit.

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Diving into the ISM details

I’m methodical when it comes to understanding the flow of a backpack. That is my workflow, access, storage, carry and function. The 17.2L of space is good for a day backpack for your tech and productive essentials. The separate laptop compartment offers 2 dividers to slot in up to a 15″ laptop, a tablet and another item in front of it if you choose to. Bear in mind this eats into the ISM Classic Backpack main space to keep its slimline exterior profile.

You do have the flexibility which is nice and I found sometimes flat items fit better in the main space or laptop compartment for a secured and protected fit. I like the fact the latter space is separate for organised access too. If the outside feels premium, the inside feels like luxury. ISM left no detail unattended to. Every pocket or divider edge is polished and stitched with a leather trim. The inside lined with svelte, navy polyester is smooth to the touch and classy.

Each zipper has their own personality – the front with a long leather zip-pull and detailed leather trim bordering the gold zipper, the main compartment with black zippers hidden underneath the nylon material for a cleaner look, and the laptop compartment with an aqua-guard sealant to weatherproof and protect the tech devices inside. ISM’s attention to detail is what really uplifts the premium experience of the Classic backpack.

What can it fit?

What do I carry with me? My setup neatly organises my essentials, fitting perfectly inside. I can bring my full laptop suite which includes my 13.5” Surface Book, Laptop Stand, Microsoft Designer Keyboard and FODI origami flat stand. I can literally bring my full setup to the café in this slimline day backpack. Sweet. My Arc Touch mouse slides nicely into the main compartment pocket on the top, together with my wallet. The bottom pockets take my ISM Limited Edition Power Bank and portable hard drive.

The USB pass-through built into the left side of the bag lets me charge my phone on while keeping the power bank inside. A great touch. Any books will need to be in the main space or laptop compartment, as well as any documents. My Nintendo Switch case, travel organiser and flask set me up for the day. If it’s a sunny day, then I also bring a spare shirt and sunglasses. You can carry a mirrorless camera and lens if you have a slim camera cube but I don’t see the ISM backpack as one designed for it.

Wearing the ISM Classic backpack is a pleasant and comfortable experience. The leather shoulder straps are comfortable by material, so when you add extra mesh padding, it absorbs more weight, making it easier on my shoulders for the whole day. The webbed seatbelt-like material and metal links let you adjust the shoulder strap length for a tight and looser fit. It’s not really made for something you can do on the fly, but once it’s set, you’re set.

I use the carry handle on the top of the ISM Classic backpack a lot if I’m picking it up. It feels solid in the hand, well-built and balanced. Essentially, it works as you’d expect. Reinforced leather stitching secures the shoulder straps and I imagine this bag will last for many years to come.

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Built for the creatives of the world

This kind of backpack is not built for free-flowing access to your backpack at will like other functional backpacks. What the ISM Classic backpack is built-for however, is readily available access to your creative tools and be productive once you’ve arrived. And for that, they achieve it with thoughtful storage options, well-organised tech compartment and great visibility into the bag to take out with ease.

There are a lot of backpacks that either sacrifice design for functionality, functionality for design but nothing really hitting both. The ISM Classic Backpack is a great example of something that strives for both with great execution. This is a day backpack that offers a lot of storage options in a compact, small footprint. It offers depth that you don’t need to hold back on what to bring, though it’s minimal, contemporary and modern aesthetics encourages that way of thinking to keep you lightweight and agile.

The mix of nylon and leather give both durability and luxury at the same time. And although the compartments get tight as you pack items inside the ISM Classic Backpack, I always felt my items were comfortably accessible and protected with the premium feeling materials. If there is something I take away from using the ISM Classic Backpack as my everyday carry, it’s that even simple designs can be exciting and sophisticated.

View the original article, published by Russell on his blog.

This article was originally featured in the NY Times Wirecutter.

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If you take your laptop with you to work or school, a backpack is the best way to carry it. A backpack is more ergonomic than a messenger bag, capable of holding more than a briefcase, and more stylish than a rolling bag. Seven Wirecutter staffers took 53 backpacks on buses, trains, cars, and planes (and through TSA lines) to find the best laptop backpacks for commuting.

Although each person has their own criteria for what makes a perfect backpack, every bag we recommend holds a laptop and its power supply, remains comfortable to wear for an entire commute, and looks stylish (though tastes vary, of course). We have backpacks that are great for riding on tightly crowded buses and train cars or for biking in downpours. For ultra-organized tech wranglers and for people who want a black hole. For the fashion-forward and those who want something small and super-stylish or leather and luxe. For road warriors who fly regularly and for fitness-minded folks who bring their gym gear to work.

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WHO THIS IS FOR:

‍Someone who values a comfortable, attractive bag with lots of storage but wants one that looks more stylish, subtle, and refined than most other backpacks.

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WHY IT’S GREAT:

ISM’s The Backpack is a great choice if you want a stylish, sophisticated backpack that’s comfortable to wear for a long time and has enough storage for a full day of work (notably more storage than you’d find in small fashionable bags like the Rains). It fits a variety of body sizes and, in my opinion, appears a cut above everything my co-workers tested, thanks to its full-grain leather bottom.

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Shop The Backpack in Black

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The ISM (pronounced -ism) bag is a sleek, demure-looking backpack, with understated leather flourishes that provide a subtle contrast to its primarily nylon construction. Its leather bottom and trim details make it suitable for attending important meetings at the office or for impressing your date so thoroughly that they forget you were late to dinner because of said meetings.

The ISM bag is comfortable to wear on your back for long periods of time. The mesh padding on its arms and back is plush, and I had no issue wearing this bag for a cumulative 10 hours while testing. Riding on public transit, waiting for coffee, shopping at a vintage vinyl record outpost in SoHo—we’ve done it all together, the ISM and I. And I never felt like it was overheating my back.

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ISM’s The Backpack has enough storage space to cover you in most situations. I counted six pockets and two main compartment areas, including a laptop sleeve for a 16-inch laptop. Most other backpacks I tested didn’t provide as much room as this one for storing notebooks and folders. The ISM pack provides a teeny leather flap on the right side, where you can pass through a phone charger from the inside of the bag.

ISM offers a lifetime warranty that applies to manufacturing defects in the bag’s materials. I couldn’t find a warranty this long for any of the other stylish backpacks I tested; some, like the AllSaints Ridge Rucksack, offer only a farcical 14-day return window.

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Shop The Backpack in Gold

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FLAWS BUT NOT DEALBREAKERS:

‍At its usual price of $235, ISM’s The Backpack is expensive, so I recommend this bag only to those who care deeply about appearances. The lifetime warranty makes this pricey pill a touch easier to swallow compared with other fashionable bags like those from AllSaints and Saturdays, both of which have a paltry two-week return policy. The ISM pack also lacks side pockets, but if you’re carrying a bag for style, it’s better to avoid stashing a plastic water bottle on the outside.

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Dimensions: 18 by 13½ by 5 inches
Weight: 1.8 pounds
Water-bottle holders: none
Warranty: lifetime (manufacturing defects only)
Maximum laptop size: 16 inches
Colors: black with black accents, black with gold accents

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I have a weakness for tastefully designed backpacks.

It’s not an easy task to design a bag that functions well for work but is still stylish enough to bring out at night. ISM accomplished just that with their minimalist backpack design and beautiful aesthetics. Every detail is intentionally designed to help keep you efficient and achieve more. Even the box it arrived in was tastefully executed. As a graphic designer myself, I know that packaging makes a big impact. Unboxing the packaging was an experience that let me know I was in for a real treat.

I use the Large Black Backpack, which is comprised of half full-grain leather, half-nylon. It features one zippered pocket and two pocket sleeves for your daily belongings. It also includes a separate water-resistant laptop compartment to keep your computer or tablet safe. By far my favorite feature is the thoughtfully designed side flap and inside pocket to hold the powerbank. Just slide your USB cord through the flap and charge your phone on the go. This is a game changer for me because I’m always in need of a charge.

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The cost of the backpack is modest and affordable. ISM cuts out the middleman and goes direct to consumer eliminating unnecessary mark up.

The new (work) year started in the Netherlands so I thought it was a great time to start it off with a new bag. I’m a graphic designer and content creator, so I always have a good amount of gear with me, like a MacBook Pro, a pair of solid headphones, several lenses, and at least one camera body.

Usually, when you choose a new bag, you have to compromise between a nice looking backpack or a practical backpack. I’m glad you don’t have to make that decision with the ISM bag.

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I went for “The Backpack” with Black hardware. The supple but strong leather and nice nylon exterior give it a beautiful and minimalist look. The bag is ideal for the Dutch weather and it also protects all my gear.

I don’t always use a sleeve for my MacBook Pro because it’s a beautiful thing on its own, but carrying it around without a case can be a daunting task. That’s why the separate and padded laptop compartment is one of my favourite features of the bag — it keeps my laptop safe from the loose things in my bag so I don’t need to carry a bigger laptop sleeve.

One thing that’s also really nice is the price…

I’ve owned some quite expensive bags in the past, but for the price I paid for, it wasn’t “everything.”

When a bag isn’t sturdy it isn’t always good for everyday use, and when a bag is nicely made but too small, you end up having to leave some things at home, which isn’t ideal.

For my workflow, this backpack is just perfect. The looks are great, the quality is great, and it is just as practical as an everyday bag should be.

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It’s hard to find a backpack that is beautifully designed and functional at the same time. As someone who gets sent a lot of products to test, I’ve found that you have to accept a bulky and typical, “tech backpack” if you want a bag that has a separate laptop compartment for your Macbook or iPad.

That was before I came across the ISM backpack — it changed my perception of what a tech backpack can look like. It’s that perfect synergy between great design, fashion, and technology:

MINIMALIST DESIGN

The design of the Backpack is a combination of luxury and practicality that gives off a minimal, clean, and sleek look. You can never go wrong with the color black, and the ISM backpack does just that with a black bag that elegantly combines the nylon and leather material, giving off a two-toned visual appeal. It also happens to match my headphone and other tech gear perfectly.

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BEAUTIFUL INSIDE AND OUT

The backpack exterior features premium materials like full-grain leather and Nylon, details that are equally considered in the inside of the bag. I like the navy blue lining color that fills the inner compartments of the bag. It’s soft and has a nice hand feel, but also feels rigid enough to withstand the objects that I carry every day.

At first, I wasn’t so sure about the Nylon, but after using it many times, I like that the material is flexible and not so rigid, so you can put more things in the bag and the shape won’t change much.

SEPARATE LAPTOP COMPARTMENT

By far my favorite feature is the separate laptop compartment. This is where I feel the ISM backpack really sets itself apart from any backpack on the market. As someone who carries a Macbook Pro with them almost everywhere, it’s important for my bag to have a padded sleeve that keeps my laptop clean and free from scratches. The ISM bag’s laptop compartment also has an additional compartment for an iPad, which definitely comes in handy depending on what I’m carrying. Having this compartment separate from the main compartment is critical for easy access to my laptop and I also love the fact that they used a waterproof zipper.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL

You can tell a lot of time and effort went into the making of these bags just by the level of detail of each component of the bag. If you take a closer look at the stitching, you can feel the quality craftsmanship. It’s thoughtful features like two silicon patches on the bottom of the bag, which show that no detail was left unthought of.

Running between classes, clinics, and hospitals, things can get pretty busy in medical school. So I like to keep the rest of my life simple – and the team over at ISM understands that.

The classic backpack strikes a perfect balance between form and function that is hard to find elsewhere in the current market of carryalls. Its understated design delivers a minimalistic, slim profile without compromising on practicality.

The bag is large enough to fit my stethoscope, several textbooks, and a 13” MacBook Pro without breaking a sweat. The separate water-resistant laptop compartment (large enough to fit up to a 15”) and individualized pocket sleeves make your belongings easy to carry and easier to reach. All of this is constructed with full-grain leather and water-resistant nylon exterior, complete with EVA foam and mesh padding for comfort. Packed into a sleek, streamlined design that’s in keeping with your minimalistic lifestyle.

And if you’re wondering about durability, don’t worry about it. I’ve had the bag for about 8 months now, and it has survived daily use through the harsh Canadian winter without a single loose stitch. And just for your peace of mind, the Classic comes with a lifetime warranty.

Thanks again to ISM for having my back (literally)!

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