As a traveler and tech gear nut, I’m constantly searching for functional bags to house all my gear whilst on the go. You see, I constantly travel with usually two laptop computers, multiple mobile phones, and my recently acquired Canon Digital SLR.
In the past few months, I have received many requests for reviews on bags for carrying this type of gear. Today’s post kicks things off with a review of a bag from Booq, a company that carries many types of bags for all kinds of needs.
Introduction
I am pretty needy when it comes to the type of bag I’m willing to call upon when I travel. I carry a lot of gear that comes with a lot of accessories including: chargers, memory cards, cables, tripods and more. Therefore, I need a bag with all types of compartments and pocket types. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt if all this functionality is combined with a bag that looks good too.
The Booq Boa Flow is an all black bag that has a stylish color to it with orange as a trim color. The Boa Flow has a ton of padding and pockets of all sizes for all your accessories.
One unique feature on this Booq bag is Terralink, a cool little barcode that makes it possible to retrieve your bag should you ever loose it. If a bystander picks up your bag, they go to a link on the bag and enter in a code unique to each bag – then you get a call/email with the finders email.
The main laptop compartment will carry a laptop that is 13-15″ in size, or 13-17″ if you carry a Mac laptop. The special compartment that holds the laptop is separate from the main pockets, a feature I really like – the laptop sits directly against your back (with full padding), protecting it even further.
Pockets and Sleeves Galore
There are so many types of pockets and mesh compartments in the Boa Flow, this bag is perfect for almost any situation. The main cargo area has two pockets that I use to hold lenses for my Canon, but could hold anything from power supplies to mice. Side pockets in this main compartment can hold pens, business cards, or any smaller item.
Also, there is a fancy compartment on the front of the bag for a mobile phone or iPod. This is perfect for when you have headphones that need to stick out.
On the underside of the Boa Flow is a specially sized compartment for a DSLR camera. It is very padded and is the perfect size for a camera body and a smaller lens. One criticism: I wish the compartment for the camera wasn’t on the bottom of the bag..this means any time you put your bag down, you run a small risk of damaging your valuable camera. It seems padded enough, but this factor is in the back of my mind.
Conclusion
The Booq Boa Flow M is a very practical bag for hauling around all your digital gear. It’s large enough to handle multiple devices and all the accessories that go with them; but the bag isn’t so big that it weighs you down or makes you feel like you’re dragging it.
The Boa Flow is exceptionally well built and I’m confident that I could use it for years without any worry.
This sharp looking bag is stylish, durable, and highly practical. It’s ‘cool’ enough for a student and even styled for the casual business professional too. To me, this bag is a blogger or social media person’s best friend for toting around all our gear and looking good in the process.