tomtoc UrbanEX-T77 Laptop Backpack 26L (Medium) Review

There’s a good chance that you carry a laptop bag around daily, whether you work remotely or bring your computer home from work each night. So you probably need a good laptop bag for everyday carry. But do you also take short trips or like to pack a bit into a bag that you can carry on the plane, either along with checked luggage or to accompany a larger carry on bag? In that case, you may want a few travel features baked into your laptop backpack.

The tomtoc UrbanEX-T77 Laptop Backpack wants to be that daypack for you, with a well-protected laptop compartment and easy-to-pack main area, along with pockets for the accessories you need daily and on a trip. At the time of this review, you can get it in three sizes: 22L, 26L, and 32L. We’re testing the 26L for this review to see if it’s the happy medium we’re looking for, or if it has too much or too little space and organization for our purposes. So, let’s dive in and find out whether it can meet those lofty goals or falls short.

External Components

Out of the box, the UrbanEX-T77 feels like it can withstand daily use. It’s made from 400D water-resistant polyester, with a reinforced 840D base for extra durability when you set it down. Branding is minimal, with a lowercase tomtoc “t” at the bottom of the front, and that’s it. It’s black on black, and there are no other available colorways, so it’s got a minimalist aesthetic.

tomtoc uses YKK zippers throughout the bag, which is a good sign, though we have a few qualms with them in daily use. There are cords with plastic ends woven through all the metal pulls, which make them easy to find and grab, though there are quite a few of them bouncing around the bag. That’s not what bothers us, though. It’s the fact that the laptop and main compartments open fully clamshell, and when you grab the fully-loaded bag with the zippers slightly open, the compartments fall open completely instead of the zippers staying in place. While we sometimes complain about zippers that are too stiff, these go too far in the other direction, so be sure they’re tight together—preferably not at the top of the bag—when you go to pick it up, or you may run into difficulties with your gear spilling out as the bag falls open.

It is easy to hold, thanks to the padded carry handles on the top and side of the bag. The side handle is convenient if you were to slide the bag’s luggage pass-through over the handle of a rolling carry on, or to carry it more like a briefcase if you don’t want to wear the shoulder straps for some reason.

However, the harness system is quite comfortable, so we recommend using it for the most part whenever possible. The back panel features two vertical panels of mesh-lined padding, and the shoulder straps have a similar cushion. There’s also a sternum strap on a sliding rail to help support a full load. Duraflex makes the buckle and strap adjusters, which stay in place nicely. There are also elastic keepers on the shoulder straps and sternum strap to minimize dangling, which we appreciate.

Fit Notes

All of that combines to make a harness system that’s comfortable to wear even when the bag is fully loaded. At 26L, the bag isn’t too large to overwhelm smaller frames, and it doesn’t look minuscule on taller ones, either. Overall, we feel that the broad straps and padding combine to cushion the weight of a heavy load. However, we’re not convinced that you won’t work up a sweat while carrying the black bag in the summer. For traveling by car, plane, or train, you should be fine.

We like the clean lines and aesthetic of the bag, although there are quite a few zippers that bisect the front. If that bothers you, remove the dangling cords from the pulls, and it will look a little cleaner, though it won’t be as easy to use. As everything is black on black, we opted to leave it in place.

Inside The Backpack

While it’s only a 26L bag, there are a lot of different places to store various types of gear around the bag. Most work well, but we have a few issues with others.

Let’s start with the not-as-great option, the top quick-access pocket. It’s lined with soft material to prevent scratches to your phone or sunglasses, but it’s very shallow. On the one hand, it doesn’t dangle down into the bag, which is great. On the other hand, we don’t really want to put sunglasses there for fear of them getting squashed, and a hard case is a tight fit. Phones are a snugger fit than we like to deal with, too, and there are so many other pockets that we frankly just leave this one empty most of the time.

One of those is the top pocket on the front of the bag. It’s a small admin pocket with two slip pockets, both of which easily accommodate a standard-size iPhone and can even hold a Pro Max size, though it will extend above the zippered opening. Luckily, there’s space inside this pocket above the zipper, so you can take advantage of it. There is also space in front of the two pockets to slide a phone, wallet, or pouch if you have more gear than fits in the pockets or don’t want to use them.

There’s another small pocket on the front of the backpack closer to the bottom, as well. It’s a wide, short spot for small accessories and includes a key leash. We appreciate the inclusion, especially since it’s long enough to reach the door if you swing the bag to the front, although it’s difficult to grab with gloves on. That’s an atypical use case, but something to keep in mind if you live in or travel to places where you’ll need to wear them.

Bottle pockets on either side of the bag feature elastic gussets to hold tighter to slim bottles while accommodating wider ones. They work well, though slender bottles can slip out of place if you lay the bag down without much gear in the main compartment.

Against the back panel is the zipper to the laptop compartment. It opens in a clamshell style to lie completely flat if necessary. That makes it easy to pack and access your gear, and you also may be able to leave your laptop inside as you go through airport security.

The back panel is lined with plush material to protect up to a 16-inch laptop from scratches, and a sleeve in front of it holds up to a 13-inch tablet. Both sleeves are raised slightly off the bottom for device protection in case you set the bag down harder than you meant to.

The opposite side of the compartment features a large zippered pocket for your tech accessories. It’s large enough to hold larger gear, like over-ear headphones or a tech pouch, though it can protrude into the main compartment.

Speaking of which, this panel also provides access to the main compartment. Two zippers around its edge meet in the middle. There’s a tab there that you can pull to open the panel and access the main area. It’s a feature we really like in the tomtoc Navigator-T66 Travel Laptop Backpack 40L, but we don’t find it as useful on the smaller bag. Still, you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to, and you might find it convenient to grab something quickly.

Once you’re inside, you’ll find a few more pockets for gear. There are two zippered pockets on the lid. One is made with slightly stretchy mesh, and the other with liner material. We’ve been using the mesh one for a hard glasses case since it’s near the top and more easily accessible. The liner pocket has a gusset at the bottom to accommodate larger gear, giving you options for what you pack where.

There’s one more pocket on the side panel topped with elastic where you can slide a dry umbrella, a tripod, or a water bottle. We didn’t end up using it much, but it lies flat when empty, so it won’t get in your way if you don’t want to use it.

The rest of the main compartment is open for travel gear like packing cubes and toiletry kits, or everyday gear like notebooks and a small cooler for lunch. The structured sides make it easy to pack, and you can fit quite a bit inside. We fit one large and two small packing cubes inside, with room for a small Dopp kit and a hoodie, so you can definitely use this as your primary bag for a shorter trip or with a travel capsule wardrobe. The material’s structure means that it doesn’t look saggy when carrying less, either. So, if you’re looking for a daily-use pack that you can also use for travel, this might be your Goldilocks bag. We certainly think it’s the ideal size of the three options.