Large Expandable Knack Pack®

I have owned many, many laptop bags from the likes of eBags, Briggs + Riley, and others. This is the first backpack I've had that combines great looks with great functionality. There are just enough organizational pockets, the ergonomics are great, and it travels well. And if I overstuff my carryon suitcase, I can open the expandable section of the Knack Bag and throw my jacket or extra clothes in there. This bag is a winner.

I bought this for my super picky husband who wanted an extra backpack for his gaming laptop when he has international trips or family travel so he can bring his gaming laptop as well as his work laptop. It has so much room he can actually fit both in the backpack along with the large iPad and all the charging cables. He doesn't need the work laptop bag unless he has a meeting. There's also room for clothes and it looks good! I love when function marries great design.

I bought the large because the medium was just slightly too small for my laptop. I’d love to see the medium be able to accommodate a 15.6” laptop. But about the large bag, it’s good with just a couple flaws that keep it from being a great bag.

First the things I like...I like the cable garage at the bottom of the bag. Keeps my laptop charger out of the way and in its own place. I like the water bottle pocket and how it expands inward. The interior space is plenty big enough to handle all the things I need to carry even with a water bottle in the pocket. I like the sunglasses pocket that also has a spot for easy access to gum/wallet/boarding pass/etc. I haven’t used the expandable section of the bag yet but it looks to be big enough to handle at least a 2-day trip comfortably.

The things that keep this from being a great bag are the front triangular pocket and the tablet sleeve inside the main compartment. First the triangle pocket...the only compartments inside this pocket are 6 business card sleeves. Nobody needs that many business cards and those pockets are not deep enough to store anything else useful in them. I’d love to see a complete redesign of the front pocket with a couple pen holders maybe a small zippered pocket and then some deeper pockets that could hold flash drives, ear bud cases, charging bricks, chapstick...things if that sort. Secondly, the tablet sleeve is low in the bag or too short. Every time I try to just slide a book in to the main compartment, it catches on that sleeve and doesn’t just slide in neatly like it should. I would flip the zippered pocket and the tablet sleeve and put the tablet sleeve at the top of the main compartment and the zippered pocket at the bottom. There’s already a zippered pocket at the top of the main compartment on the other side, you don’t need two that are that easily accessible.

All in all, it’s a good bag that does what I ask. But I’ve had to buy some organizers to go along with this bag to make it...

In my daily home >car>train>bus>office in a major midwestern city, this bag is perfection! I used to carry two backpacks for the office and gym, but not only does this bag replace them both for daily life, it’s easy for me now not to have to pack another overnight bag for a business trip or weekend getaway with the family.

It’s also the perfect balance of looks and function... I can easily carry lunch, shoes, workout clothes, a computer, presentations, water bottle and more in separate, organized compartments. The only thing I hate is I didn’t discover it sooner!

I have the Large Knack. I was worried that it might be too big for every-day-use. But it works great. This bag is slim enough for easy use to and from the office. It is not too bulky or unwieldy. It is slim, trim, and looks great. I actually keep one of the straps tucked away so that I don't have too much "dangling" from the bag. This is a feature I appreciate. The storage is ideal. The contrast fabric makes seeing what I need to find easy. My other bag was all black in the pockets, and I lost things all the time, and lost time rummaging for that battery or pen that I was in the depths of a pocket. The Knack's orange and white lining means that things are easy to locate quickly. The genius of Knack's design is that the exact same bag is perfect for my work when I travel. I travel once a month (about) for 3-4 days. I can hold the clothes I need in my Knack when it is expanded and have no additional luggage. I am 6'3" and 250 lbs - so my clothes take more room. I use the packing cubes (1 large, and 2 small cubes) which help use the space efficiently. I love this bag!

If one travels frequently, you realize flights today are almost always full. One bad storm at a major hub airport and you can be stuck for 2-3 days. I had such experience in 2018 where Thunderstorms caused us to divert and then fly into Chicago after the weather cleared a few hours later. I was flying from east to west going to Seattle. I got to the Seattle gate to find the flight had already taken off and I could hear the gate staff telling other customers they were sold out for 2-3 days. I saw the Portland OR plane was still there also delayed. An airline representative asked me if I had checked luggage and for once I did not. They said "run" and catch the Portland flight. I made my meeting! Had I checked luggage I would have been hosed.

This knack with my wheeled carry on is all that I need for 95% of my travels and it's perfect. I've got the older version with the waist strap which I think has been revised to a sleeve to put the knack over the handle of a wheeled piece of luggage. Both are great options.

The clothing compartment ensures I always have a spare shirt + trousers + socks and 1-2 sets of clean drawers just in case my wheeled bag does get checked and not arrive, or if I stupidly stain a shirt or something in the middle of an actual day. Ever step in a big puddle on a work trip and wish you had a spare dry set of socks with you? Now you can! Ever fly somewhere HOT AND HUMID and wish you could do a wardrobe change? Now you can!

All the pockets allow me to keep all the stuff needed in proper places where I can actually find them when I arrive. The Knack looks like a quality piece you'd expect at a high end shop. It's very comfortable to wear for long periods of time. In the end we bought a second as the first one went to college with our son and so I got another one for myself.

I’m a traveling salesman. I cover 16 states. Some of my travel requires me to travel by plane multiple time/wk. if you looking to carrier 3 days plus workout gear this is it. I have been looking for a bag that would carrier 3 days worth of attire plus work sneakers (size 14). Along with my computer iPad and noise canceling headphones. This is a bag for. The great part was they allowed me to try the bag for 30 days. What sold me was how much it was able to expand. Do yourself a favor and at least try the bag. You have nothing to lose.

I'm onto my second Knack and I have to say it seems the build quality fell off a bit on the stitching in my case.
There are frays I fear will get worse over time and the "hood" of the V zippers isn't stitched right causing it to have a weird bulge.
v1 was far cleaner in appearance than my current bag due to these issues.
Outside of that the new design is better overall and it works, but I feel the quality makes it fall short in a business setting.

Originally ordered medium but it didn't hold my 15.6" laptop. Customer service quickly got a return and store credit processed and I ordered my Large as a pre-order since they were sold out. Arrived a few days after ordering. I haven't had a chance to travel with it yet. That will happen in January but so far, I'm really liking the backpack. Holds all of my work gear without issue.

I have many back packs but none of them have all the features I want and need. This one exceeds expectations.