SOLO New York: Hybrid Briefcase... Reviewed!

This review has businessmen and women in mind, but... before jumping into it... let's unbox it!

Happy 10th Anniversary... SOLO! I love unboxings, so when this package arrived... I was like "ALRIGHT!". It arrived just in time for my trip.

This review... answers the question I've been asked multiple times by busy professionals. You can have a briefcase and a bookbag... you don't have to tuck a big drawstringer... in your bag to deploy when needed.

I present to you, SOLO's... Hybrid Briefcase Backpack... which allows you to switch between briefcase and backpack in as quick as 5 seconds or so. If you travel and you need a briefcase that gives you the benefits of a bookbag, this is the type to consider. Sometimes you don't mind carrying your briefcase when it's just the briefcase, but when you have to grab luggage to head to and from the airport, work, or school campus... this hybrid is perfect.

When you have to carry a briefcase and hustle over to a convention hall (or where ever you go), in addition to food and a beverage... that extra hand can spare you some unnecessary stress. Shoulder straps generally come with briefcases (excluding the hard-shelled ones I know of), this one is no different even if my experience using shoulder straps isn't the best. Using shoulder straps usually leaves me with this unpleasant feeling on the side of my neck from the weight pressing against it. That's not a warm fuzzy feeling... and I hate adjusting it only for it to slide right back against my neck (like "It's nice to see you again"). This may or may not just be a personal problem I've had... but that's why I don't really use them.

Here are images of the shoulder strap for this hybrid briefcase. The strap isn't bad, it has padding... but shoulder straps, in general, are not for my thing. I didn't carry it for a long period of time using the shoulder strap... but there's nothing specific about it that would prevent it from delivering the same experience as others. To each your own preference, it comes in handy... but the other carrying options are better for me. It's cool though... you get 3 options in this bag, so keep calm and... "carry on" literally! The backpack straps have the same mesh padding and look on the underbelly.

As seen in this image, I'm holding the bag and comfort wise... it's been good. I haven't carried the bag for a long period of time as a briefcase, but... considering the times where I may have to... I'd prefer more padding. If there were a revision, I'd like to see a gel insert added or something matching the shoulder strap padding... and since it isn't visible, it won't be noticed.

One thing the handle has going for it though is the grey polyester material covering it, its easier on the hands. This material is the same as the bag... except for the bottom (i'll get to that in a bit). It's a nice clean professional look, even when its worn as a book bag... it looks good with casual or formal businesswear. They didn't overdo it in the looks department, but the small touches such as the magnetic snaps, and the black material at the bottom of the briefcase + the lower area of the pockets are just right.

Here's a closer look. I know the more professional look is to carry it by the handle or the shoulder strap... but when its time to hike it, pull out those straps so that you can benefit from the backpack feature (its better on the back when there is more weight inside). It doesn't look weird and cheesy either... the straps are tucked away in the back compartment of the briefcase until you need them. Once you connect the straps... it wears like any other bookbag and it feels normal.

What I mean by "normal" is that it isn't just a makeshift backpack feature that feels weird on your back. As you see in the image below, you can't even tell that its a briefcase here.

Since it is a briefcase though, one thing I do advise is... when you're going from briefcase to backpack, shift the zipper pulls up.

Don't leave the zipper pulls to the side or aimed toward the ground like seen in this image, pull them around until they face north. They didn't open on me... I'll admit that, but do you really want to take the chance of having them unzip and your items fall out? Didn't happen, but better safe than sorry. By the way, the zipper pulls are nice... and I appreciate the fact that they seem to be maintained across SOLO bags. This specific product would benefit from zipper pulls that lock together in some sort of way... based on the fact that it can be used in two ways, then no worries about shifting the zipper pulls.

I was able to place a laptop in this briefcase + cord, camera, phone, notebook, some in-ear headphones, and... a game controller (I didn't attempt to insert large gaming headphones, but DJ style should fit comfortably). You have room for other things like business cards and pens, and I was even tempted to try and stick a digital drawing tablet inside, but I didn't aim to over pack this thing. I was trying to pack it according to scenarios where I might take a briefcase, like to an event or... whatever. I included the game controller because... some of us have gaming laptops, and sometimes that's part of the agenda once back at the hotel or wherever downtime will commence. Break time for some conventions can be long and... if you've already networked... game on! I can't forget about delayed or long flights, train rides, etc.

The hybrid briefcase is part of the downtown collection, inspired by the "spirit" of lower Manhattan (NY). The briefcase is able to hold up to 15.6" laptop's in its padded laptop compartment, an additional pocket for a tablet + two front access pockets. The bigger front pocket has the pen and card holders. The smaller pocket has a zippable compartment in front for various things like cell phones... as seen in the video above (pretty spacious). I actually put a game controller in that compartment.

When it comes to the price of this hybrid briefcase... no need to brace yourself, it's only $49.99. This doesn't feel like it's over or under-priced... they nailed this one, even if it would've been super safe at $59.99 based on its versatility. It comes in two colors, grey and black... but I like the grey just a bit more. When it comes to durability... it doesn't feel like this bag would just fall apart, but... at the same time, I wouldn't overfill it either. It's not one of those bags that I see being overfilled anyway (without looking deformed), but if you want to pack it up... go with what works for the body of the bag. Use the right size laptops, forget trying to stuff a game console in it... unless its a Nintendo Switch and leave it at that. Take care of it... and it should be good for the long haul, I even recommend having multiple bags for different occasions... because adventures vary. Did I forget to mention that this briefcase has a 5 year (limited) warranty?

Overall, I think Solo's Hybrid Briefcase Backpack is a very nice useful bag. It feels comfortable in my hand and on my back, and if you want to use the shoulder strap... you have that option too. No only does it allow you to free up your hands, but it looks good with various dress codes... and the price is right. Two thumbs up.

Design 5

Quality 4

Comfort 5

Price 5

4.75 out of 5 Cool Points

Brought to you by the... Baby Fu Clothing Co!

This product was provided for review by Solo New York!

Mobile Edge Corporate Briefcase... Reviewed!

Always an honor to review products directly from the showroom floor... but I won't get all mushy on you, let's just dive in! Opening the box, I knew we were receiving a product from Mobile Edge... I just didn't know which one in particular. Regardless, I was excited to find out. Opening up the box, the bag was wrapped in some durable plastic... which I appreciated and I hope they maintain this because you never know where a package is going or when it will rain.

After taking the bag out of the plastic, it's safe to say that I will gear this product review to those of you interested in getting your hands on a new briefcase. Since this is SDGT Entertainment, gaming will be included in one way or another... so stay tuned because this briefcase might be for you, whether you're in business, a student or a superhero who needs to blend in.

Right off the bat, you see the three compartments in the front of this MOBILE EDGE... Graphite Corporate Briefcase. The first horizontal compartment has two sleeves for pens... which is great for those of us who own drawing tablets or anyone else who may want a place for other writing/drawing utensils. The other two compartments you see don't have those sleeves (which is okay), but that space comes in handy for things like your phone, AC adapters, cables, etc. Just above these compartments is a quick access pocket with nice soft material that should serve well for your pocket change, keys and things like that... so you don't have to worry about digging in your pocket for certain things when on the go (i.e. emptying your pockets at the airport).

Going back to the compartment that holds the pens... I like that it's separate because I've had experiences where a pen would break and I'd get a horrible surprise (some of you know exactly what I mean).

Opening this briefcase up, I immediately felt the quality of the product... both inside and out. It feels nice and... you know how you can just feel something and tell that it's durable? That immediately came to mind when I took it out of the plastic, but I found out why. The briefcase has a 1680D Ballistic Nylon exterior which is heavy duty and resistant to things like... abrasions. To give you a better idea of what this is, you can find this material used for tool belts, heavy duty protective covers, safety jackets and things like that.

The interior you see below feels like it should protect the interior from outside liquids spilling and possibly causing damage. I appreciate the added level of protection, but not only that... take a look at the front and back compartments of the interior:

The front compartment has an info slot... which is always a plus in hopes that someone does right by your property in that scary situation of it being misplaced. This is something I've come to expect out of products like this, but not the memory storage... that was a pleasant surprise.

The front compartment allows you to safely store two SD Cards and two memory sticks, instead of them just being tossed anywhere for transport... there's an actual designated spot. This memory slot pouch also doubles as an additional pocket in front of 3 additional pockets (see the card sticking out?). If you look across, you also have two big mesh pockets in this compartment... so you have a good amount of storage so far, but there's more.

The back compartment is a zip-down workstation with two big pockets... which are areas for additional storage and... an accordion file section to keep files and documents neat. For some of us, this might be used for strategy guides, comic books, and sketch pads also. It's a nice touch because at times papers and/or files are placed with other contents and they get bent up or crumpled to a degree. When I think professional a level of neatness comes to mind... and this briefcase has enough to keep things together well.

 

The first thing I notice about the multi-purpose compartment is that its spacious. It stores up to a 16" laptop in the center section (which is common)... but it also has room for an ultrabook and a tablet in the side sections with straps that keep these devices in place. Of course, I had to try it out, so take a look at... the image below this image.

As you see I have a tablet with an added keyboard attachment inside a case (shout out to the Saints Row fans), and a 360 laptop in the center section... with room to actually place two identical laptops in this area. I probably wouldn't chance them clapping together, but I want to give you an idea of the space. I don't like playing tug of war with an imaginary friend at the airport or on a plane while trying to get my laptop out of a case... so I always appreciate a roomy laptop compartment. The velcro on the padded handle is also a nice touch, I don't have to worry about keeping the handles together or unbuckling a strap... you just pull them apart.

I had to tuck gaming in somewhere (literally)... and as you see below, I was able to place a game controller and gaming headset into one of the side sections. So instead of an ultrabook... I was able to comfortably place these peripherals in this area. These would be my go to items for travel along with a laptop, but this area would also work well for external hard drives and other things that fit.

I appreciate that this briefcase is floor-ready because some lack this feature (usually found on hardshell models) like an old one I have that has to be leaned against something. Even when it leaned against a chair in the airport, depending on the type of flooring they have it will usually end up laying on the ground which is annoying. I'd probably be paranoid that this briefcase will fall over regardless... but it hasn't fallen over when I tested it out (and I pushed it slightly from both sides to test it out, still didn't fall over).

On the back of the briefcase... you will find a trolley strap... which is a plus that should come in handy for any professional seeking or required to travel because it connects to your rolling luggage with no need to carry it separately (for those unfamiliar with trolley straps). You might shrug your shoulders if you don't see the value in them, but having this little feature comes in handy whether you're making your way to a plane, train, ship or elsewhere. There are some huge airports that require a crap load of walking, factor in the additional walking through the hotel, down the street or anywhere else you want or have to go and... this little feature is something to rejoice.

The back compartment of the briefcase would've been great in front when connected to your luggage because it would've been like a mobile workstation to get some paperwork done, but the front compartment also folds down... if you want to use it in a similar fashion.

What you also get with this briefcase is a wide padded shoulder strap (seen below). Like the briefcase, this is also very durable... and has a slight curve in the shoulder pad so you aren't walking around taking a pad to the neck. I bring that up because trips aren't always a short duration so the comfort is there when it counts... and I'd expect no less from a business-grade briefcase.

Pricewise you can get this briefcase for less than $90... which is solid, especially compared to other products. I understand why some cost more (like the leather, metal and other hardshell types)... but the quality and features don't always have to be on the expensive end (and all don't have the features this briefcase has).

Mobile Edge added more than enough features to make this a nice briefcase for travel and for business... so that everything isn't crammed in the same sections. There are businessmen and women who prefer a more sleek look (which they're entitled too), and Mobile Edge has you covered with the Graphite Nylon Briefcase... so check out the reviewed product and the other options here.

Overall, the Mobile Edge Graphite Corporate Briefcase is a durable product with the right features, a lifetime warranty, and a good price. These aren't just features, they're fitting for business, travel and if you really wanted to... you can slip in the right sized game console + an ultrabook. I say that to say the features can get the job.

Product Design 5

Product Quality 5

Functionality 5

Accessories 5

Price 5

5 out of 5 Cool Points

Brought to you by the... Baby Fu Clothing Co!

This product was sent to SDGT Entertainment by the Mobile Edge team.