Sumdex MT Speed Pac Review

With notebooks getting thinner and lighter, it doesn't make much sense to carry one in a heavy backpack. We're on a mission to bring you reviews of the sleekest and lightest notebook backpacks on the market and the first entry is the MT Speed Pac from Sumdex. At 2.2 pounds it's one of the lightest on the market and fits a 14" wide screen laptop with ease.

Bag Specs

• Exterior: 13" x 17.5" x 7.25"
• Computer Compartment: 12" x 14" x 1.75"
• Weight: 2.2 Pounds
• Limited lifetime replacement warranty

Bag Overview

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The MT Speed Pac comes in black or blue water repellant nylon. Our review pack is the blue color, but it's very low key, more like blue-tinted silver. When I pulled the Speed Pac out of the box, I was immediately stunned by the weight. When buying a notebook it's easy to get wrapped up in which one is heavier than the other, but if the pack you're carrying it in adds a bunch of weight, that's another problem that's often overlooked. Sumdex has managed to maintain a surprisingly high quality, seemingly cutting no corners to drop pounds.

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The sides of the pack have two mesh pockets, both with plenty of room to store a bottle ofwater, or your beverage of choice. On top is a large rubber handle, great for picking up or hanging the pack. The shoulder straps are thin but nicely contoured, making for a very comfortable fit. They're easily adjustable, but I found the most comfortable setting to be the shortest.

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The back of the pack is lightly padded, but still appropriate for the purpose of the bag. The bottom has a great padded lumbar support, probably the most comfortable of any pack I've reviewed. Since the pack sits a little higher on the back, this extra padding fills the natural curve in the back quite well.

The pack has four compartments, one large one for the notebook and three smaller pockets for accessories and such.

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The main compartment houses the notebook pouch. As noted, it comfortably holds a 14" wide screen notebook and nearly swallows my tiny Fujitsu P7010. The pouch is fixed in the bag and secured by a wide Velcro strap. It also features Sumdex's ImpactGuard material on the bottom, which is great. Many backpacks neglect padding the bottom well, which is a shame, since that's where most impact damage will occur. The Speed Pac is light on padding everywhere else, but they got the most important spot. The main compartment also has plenty of room for a few text books, magazines, files or cords/accessories. There's also a slim compartment that is secured with a Velcro patch and is deep enough to hold a few CD cases or other accessories, like my headphones and Verizon air card.

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Moving toward the front, the next pouch unzips to reveal a compartment about six inches deep. I use it to hold gum and other essentials, but it will fit CD's or other electronic gadgets like an MP3 player.

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The next pouch unzips like a horseshoe, revealing several smaller compartments inside. A clear pouch for business cards is on one side, with pen holders, mesh zippered pocket, small Velcro covered pocket, larger Velcro pocket and clip lanyard. I used this area to house my digital camera, USB drives and other small electronics. It's also a great place to store school supplies or whatever else you carry about that's small.

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The last pouch on the front is small and narrow, less than five inches deep and four inches wide. I can't fit my entire hand inside, so I just used it for change. It would also be fine for things like memory cards, USB drives or whatever else you can easily fish out.

Conclusion

I'm a big fan of Sumdex's clean design and the light weight of the MT Speed Pac won me over in the first 30 seconds. I just despise carrying a ton of weight, especially at trade shows where I'll wear a pack with all of my gear for an entire day. The reality is, the longer you carry a backpack, the more a pound here and there makes a difference. The Speed Pac is the first very lightweight unit I've used that doesn't make many sacrifices. They've offered padding where it's needed, and given users plenty of room for storage. It's also comfortable, especially with the lumbar support. Large people might feel a little out of place with such a small pack, but at 5' 10" I felt very comfortable with it.

There's really not much to dislike about the Speed Pac. Sure it could have more padding, bigger pockets and extra features, but it wouldn't weigh 2.2 pound either. For the minimalist who wants a backpack that's not heavier than their notebook, this is a great choice.

Pros

• Very light weight
• Well built
• Clean design
• ImpactGuard protection

Cons

• Somewhat costly at $130, can be had for less via retail actual price though

Bottom Line

If you want one of the lightest backpacks on the market that will accommodate notebooks up to 14" wide, then the Speed Pac should be on your short list.

Purchase Information

The Sumdex MT Speed Pac has an MSRP of $129.95. More information can be found at the Sumdex website.

Places to Buy:

• Amazon.com
• EBags.com
• FogDog.com

 

Not bad looking, doesn't say "Laptop bag" at all.

Good to see that ImpactGuard is in there as well, works great(I haven't tested it but I would think) on my laptop using their sleeve

 

Nice pack That'd be great for students/frequent travellers, as it's so light and won't add to the weight of the notebook much.

Yeah...2.2lbs...that's really light. My bag is made of leather - it is around 5lbs, then add my 7.5lb notebook. 1lb power adapter, and all my stuff = 15lb

 

Bags are expensive. I have to send my thinkpad premium bag back with the T40 o my advisor when my new one arrives, and am looking for a replacement. I am leaning towards buying a Brain Cell from Tom Bihn and getting a cheap messenger style bag to tote it in from amazon. It is very hard to justify a close-to-$200 investment in a bag. I do confess to Empire Builder envy though...

Am curious - what do others use? how much are you all willing to spend on a bag?

 

It would be better if you post a thread in the Accessories forum. We can help you find a bag there.

 

Brian- nice review. I have been looking for a lightweight pack for the 12.1" Portableone UX- with the larger battery, the unit is 10.83 x 10.25 x .94" - will it be held securely in the laptop compartment, or will it swim? Also- when you state that other than the bottom it is padded lightly- is it sufficient protection? Lastly, can it hold several textbooks- does it have a nice capacity?

I too have found it ironic that so many of these packs are so heavy, and it kind of negates the benefit of getting a light unit if the case is so heavy. What other cases have you founf that are sleek and light (but have good carrying capacity for textbooks and the like)?

Thanks

 

The elastic band should secure your ntoebook just fine, mine is much smaller and didn't rattle around too much. The bottom of the notebook compartment has their ImpactGuard material, so that's nice. You might be able to fit a text book or two, but there's not a ton of space, this is a compact pack.

I'm reviewing the small Crumpler bag right now, which has les interior room than the Sumdex, if that helps.

 

Brian-
I returned the Salary Sacrifice for that reason- the notebook sleeve was great, but it had less carrying capacity than the considerable embarrassment messenger bag. I need a lightweight backpack that my daughter can use when she has lots of books to carry and her mesenger bag is overflowing (...getting to be close to finals time, so she is beginning to live at the library). Any suggestions since you apparently are researching the lightweight backpacks?
Thanks

 

Oohh, Crumpler

Looking forward to it.

Is it the Beer Back?

 

The lightweights don't have room for a ton of books, you'll need to move up a size or two to accomodate all of that. The Crumpler bag does have more space for such things than the salary sacrifice though, which is the one I'm reviewing right now. The Crumpler bag is narrow in the front, where the Crumpler is more flat, allowing more room for wider objects, like books.

 

Brian- your previous post confused me...I think you wrote Crumpler where you meant Sumdex...
Anyway, can you suggest a bag which has good capacity (as in hold a ton of books), comfortable for a girl on the short side, has a sleeve for a 12" unit, and is relatively light in weight?

 

This bag looks like it could be the main choice for me. Just one thing though. Would this bag accommodate a 15.4 inch laptop, namely the Hp dv4000? It says on a few sites that it can, so am just curious as to what you guys think.

Thanks guys.

P.S. Great review