My new favorite backpack is… a Lenovo Legion Active gaming backpack?

My name is Ken, and I have a bag addiction.

I have tens of bags, mostly camera bags, ranging from the usual brands like Tenba and Tamrac, to mid-range brands like Domke and ThinkTank Photo, to more than a couple of Billingham camera bags.

I love messenger bags, laptop bags, tote bags, and for the record, Peak Design makes my favorite bags and camera accessories.

No surprise then, that when I started a new role that would see me traveling to Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, that I picked up a Peak Design 30L Travel Backpack instead of the traditional cabin roller and TUMI backpack (seriously, WHY do people buy TUMI??? — a rant for another day).

You see, the PD Travel Backpack 30L is just literally, the right size for cabin bags on the budget airlines that I use for my weekly commute to the Kingdom. The front pocket swallows my reading glasses, my iPad mini 6 with Apple Pencil, and my Apple Airpods Pro 2nd gen, and a couple of Sandisk USB-C thumb drives. The inside of the bag easily swallows a week of tops, undershirts, socks and boxers in a Peak Design Small Packing Cube, my Xbox Game Controller, a Steam Deck, my Anker 737 140W 24k power bank, Ugreen USB-C cables, Ugreen Lightning cables, and a Ugreen 100W GaN charger, my Lenovo Legion 7 Pro gaming laptop and its charging brick, with room to spare.

The comfort and adjustability of the straps keep the bag stable as I weave and duck through the airport from immigration to gate, and the grab handles on all 4 sides AND back allow me to quickly maneuver the bag as I move through the aisles, hampered only by those whose roller bags get caught on seat edges as they board and deplane. The bag looks compact enough (as opposed to the 45L version) that check-in counter staff have never stopped me to check if the bag is past the weight allowance of a meager 7 kg (15.4 lbs).

Straps on all 5 sides should be an EU mandate

The only hassle I had was what an epic pain it was to get the laptop or tablet in and out of the bag, especially at airport security checkpoints. I needed something that would give me easier and quicker access to these electronics that the airport gods had deemed a threat to the safety of other passengers.

I scoured the internet for reviews and videos on Bellroy bags, Aer bags, more Peak Design bags, and somehow, couldn’t quite find what was looking for. I even looked at gaming laptop backpacks from Razer, Asus’ ROG, and Lenovo, and was about to give up when I came across this

No, that Legion labeling isn’t printed in multicolor. it’s a slightly reflective panel, but shows up in black under most lighting conditions

Meet the Lenovo Legion Active Gaming Laptop Backpack!

For a bag that costs under USD50, this does look as nice in real life as it does in photos.

Now here’s what I really liked about this bag

1. It was CHEAP. Like AED151 (USD41) cheap.
2. Generous use of what appears to be ripstop fabric.
3. Flip top is waterproof and (allegedly) tear-proof.
4. Flip top is really convenient because flipping it open gives me immediate access to the laptop compartment, which is padded and large enough for my Legion 7 Pro to slide and and out easily and comfortably, while the flip top keeps water (but not sand/dust) from getting inside (not that we have much rain here in Dubai).
5. A very handy side access zip means I can easily get to stuff I need, like my laptop charger, from the inside without opening the top.
6. Straps are comfortable enough for commutes.
7. Surprisingly spacious interior has an inner laptop sleeve (I guess if I was so inclined to not expose my laptop from dust, this would be a useful option to have), 2 open pockets that are perfect for holding a mouse (or two), a headphone strap with a mesh pocket to keep the headphones in place when moving around.

Water resistant and tear resistant flip-top provides full access to another zipper flip top, which grants access to a spacious interior. There’s space for a mouse (or two, or a phone in this case). Not visible in this image is another laptop compartment under the primary flip-top, which holds a 16" Legion 7 Pro comfortably (and would probably hold an 18" laptop)

There’s a grab handle at the top, and a luggage passthrough on the back panel. Straps are decent, but not Peak Design Travel Backpack level of GOOD.

And here’s what I wish Lenovo could have done better, or maybe Peak Design’s design team could consider releasing an Everyday Backpack variant like this:

1. Front pockets to be more like the side pockets of the Peak Design Everyday Backpack, or the Gura Gear Kiboko’s front pockets — with lots of organization pockets inside. The Lenovo Active Gaming backpack just just ONE inner pocket and a gusset inside each pocket, and one of the pockets has an annoying placed key strap that’s too far out and tends to get caught when zipping up the pocket.

Dear Lenovo, please make the front pockets of your Active gaming laptop backpack like this.

Gura Gear Kiboko Backpack’s front pockets have zipped compartments and gusseted pockets for better organization of small items like SD cards, USB thumb drives, passports, cables, etc

1. Straps could be more like the ones on the Peak Design 30L Travel Backpack, which are the gold standard where comfort and secureness is concerned.
2. Better use of the space under the lower flip top — a zippered pocket would be great for quick access to charging cables. At this point in time, I’m almost tempted to use Velcro to attach a small that holds my iPhone Lightning charging cable and my USB-C charging cable for my iPad and Steam Deck.
3. Add carry straps to the left, right, bottom, and back panel to make it easier to grab and go from any direction. A simple, but very useful feature.
4. Better cushioning at the bottom of the “outside” laptop compartment — you don’t want to be dropping a laptop into this compartment, lest you heard the dreaded thump of the side of your laptop making contact with a hard seat, tabletop, or floor. This was easily remedied by a strip of packing foam (around 1"x0.75") that I took from my son’s Asus ROG G14 Zephyrus, trimmed for length, and slipped it to the bottom of the compartment.
5. Make better use of those straps on the front — seriously, Lenovo, what are those straps for? Are they decorative, or am I supposed to use them for attaching stuff, and how?

Yes, changes like what I’ve suggested would drive up the price of the bag by a bit, but by how much, really? Would I pay double or triple of what I paid for this bag? Yes, without a doubt.

What’s YOUR gaming laptop bag, or what bag do you use for traveling with your laptop?