Akra

Where to start. I got this back pack for travelling and using as carry on luggage.It's huge. I actually adopted it now as my main travel bag but also my main camera bag due to its smartness and size.Bottom line well worth the investment. Just to warn you though it is a big back. They do do smaller models and if they built as well as this pack then I'd highly recommend them.Pros,Size is huge,Some well designed zips and pockets to hold passports safely and extra bit.Great padded area for laptop (housed my tablet perfectly and easily)Comfortable padding and straps for security. Very adjustable on waist and torso.Extremely weather resistant despite no rain cover.Great organisation straps inside main compartment.Very smart. Adopted for my main wedding photography bag.No issues in the airport for hand luggage (looks too big but was perfect)Cons.Very few. It is huge so looks daunting.Lack of rain cover although not an issues even with a huge downpour for 3 hours.So this back pack was my main for NYC. I originally had a day sack to use but this came everywhere with me due to my camera and how versatile it was. I used the inserts from my now retired camera bag. this back easily holds 2 bodies and 5 lens and 2 flash units, The tripod fits inside. As Well as the table and many accessories. Still they was space for food and gifts throughout the day. The inside has straps to lock down clothing or items to stop them moving around.The handles and straps outside are thick and padded too. This was great due to the weight being carried around everyday (will post some close ups of this when i get home) The are fully adjustable and so you can get the weight balanced well on the back.The two front straps again are fully adjustable and the little touches of being magnetic are lovely to have whilst using gloves as they do the hard work for you making it near effortless to attach. The lower strap has a couple of pouches in too. Enough for some mints and some change. Great whilst on the move.The zips are hardy and having the extended cord on them made them easy to use with gloves and at -7. Very cold but didn't need to take of my gloves. The material used seems very hard wearing. My bags get abused due to the nature of my work and where i go. Its not unusual to find me hanging off cliffs climbing and wearing huge back packs.This is now my go too bad for micro adventures. Long weekends away and my main bag whilst travelling now. Especially in the airport.Looking forward to many years use of this bag.Great gift of even better for yourself

I already own an Arcido bag (the Arcido bag) and the new Akra backpack is a step forwards in every way. It provides plenty of internal space in the main pocket for packing clothes, shoes and anything else that is required for a 2-3 night trip. It also has compression straps to hold everything in place.It has a couple of front pockets, one accessible from within the main area, and one accessible from the front of the bag, which is ideal for finding toiletries when passing through airport security. There is also one small fleece lined pocket on the front of the bag for electricals and cables, especially good if you want to grab a cable whilst on a plane.To the rear there are a further two pockets; a main laptop one and then a small hidden pocket by the carry straps for passports and other documents that need to be kept safe whilst carrying. The main laptop pocket has room for a notebook/ magazines, pens and paperwork without impinging on the main clothes storage area. The cleverest element of the bag is also found here, which is the floating laptop holder which can be adjusted to fit most size laptops securely. I am not sure it is possible to break a laptop one securely held in here.The bag also has 2 bottle holders, with small zip pockets inside them (although I am not sure when you would use them). It has 2 main carrying straps that are very comfortable on the shoulders, as well as two protruding elements from the back of the bag that are soft and comfortable on your back when carrying it. There is also two horizontal straps, one at chest height and one at waist height which, again, offer comfortable carrying and utilise a smart and easy to use magnet clasp fastening.The only thing I miss in this bag that was in the Arcido bag was the ability to hide the rucksack straps so make it look more like a case and the second carry handle on the long side of the bag. However, these are not necessary and the Akra more than makes up for them not being there through clever design and the fact that it only weighs just over 1kg when empty, which is less than half of the Arcido bag weight whilst maintaining the waterproof element. The build quality seems very good and it feels like it will last.Overall it is a fantastic bag and, whilst not being the cheapest on the market, I believe it is the most functional for the cost that you can use again and again on 2-3 day business/ pleasure trips, especially when going through airports.

I had two trips planned for just as this bag arrived so ive had managed to give it a good test! I really like that it is long, and fits my back comfortably. I have a long back and most bags dig in, which can be annoying and painful if I have to wear it for a long time. I love all the pockets, it did take me a while to remember where I had stashed everything, but being able to keep my tickets and travel card right at the front meant I could get to the most important bits quickly. MY only issue was with the chest strap, I wish it had an adjustable height so it sat more comfortably on my chest. I thought the magnetic buckles were a really good idea, I couldn't pull them apart by tugging or snagging the straps, but could unclip with one hand if I needed to. My only question would be about how easy it is to get hold of replacement magnetic buckles if they broke or got damaged. Another reviewer noted the wide straps were comfortable, which I agree with. The bag also looks really good, very smart, and really nicely designed.Travelling with it has been really good as well. Just after getting it I had a work trip that I was away with for three days and an overnight stay with friends. The bag really worked well for the work travels, held all my papers and laptop and enough clothes for the conference and going out in the evening. For my single night away, the bag was a little large, and it was left with more empty space than clothes! I did get a compliment on my stylish bag though, which was good. I haven't taken it on a flight yet, but having measured it against a particular airlines updated cabin bag policy I think it might be taken off me to go into the hold...…Overall a really great, functional, stylish bag. Personally I might save it for my work trips, because it is just so well set up for it, and leave it behind when just doing single nights away.