Tote or backpack: choosing by the machine you carry

Start with the sleeve, not the bag

Outer dimensions are close to useless for this decision. A bag can measure 17 inches across the outside and still refuse a 16 inch laptop, because the padded sleeve inside is a separate pocket with its own dimensions and its own seams. Every listing in this catalog that takes a laptop states the sleeve size. That is the number to read.

In the Fioretto range the sleeves come in two sizes: 15.6 inch and 17.3 inch. A 14 inch machine goes into either. A 16 inch machine needs the 17.3 inch sleeve on most models, because 15.6 inch sleeves are cut close.

The canvas tote line at three scales

When the tote is right

• You set the bag down and open it repeatedly through the day. A tote opens flat, a backpack has to come off first.
• Your load is under about 12 pounds. Above that the single shoulder starts to matter.
• You want the bag to sit on a desk or a passenger seat and stay upright. The reinforced bases in this line do that.

When the backpack is right

• You walk or cycle more than about fifteen minutes each way. Two straps distribute what one cannot.
• You carry a laptop, a charger, a lunch and a change of clothes at once.
• You fly regularly. Trolley sleeves on the back panel let the pack ride the suitcase handle.

The details worth checking before you buy

Dividers sewn to the base rather than floating: this is what stops a bottle rolling into the laptop compartment. Zip tops rather than magnetic snaps if the bag goes on public transport. USB pass-through is a cable route only, so a power bank is still your problem. Water-resistant fabric will get you across a car park in rain and no further.