eBags Slim Professional Backpack Review

The eBag Slim Professional is a backpack for those who always carry a laptop, tablet, phone, and all the plugs along with cables that they require. The bag has many well thought out features that come in handy for when you are carrying a lot of cables and plugs with you, and things that will make your business or school travel easier.

The eBags Slim Professional bag can be purchased in three colours; solid black, which is the colour of the bag I received, dark blue1, and gray2. In all three colour variants of the bag, the lining is a bright orange.

The bag itself is made out of a woven polyester fabric, that feels sturdy and tough when you touch it. The bag also has a coat of Teflon, that repels water very well – when the bag gets wet or rained on, the rain drops simply roll down the bags surface.

One of the main features of the bag is how slim it is – and it certainly is if I compare it to my other bags. This is useful if you commute in the tube (subway), and you are always in cramped spaces and you don’t want to be swinging an huge backpack around. The base of the bag is wider than the top, and this gives it the ability to stand up on its own which I found really handy.

With clips that attach to the straps, you can transform the bag to a briefcase if you want by removing the clips from the straps and tucking them behind the bags back. This can also be used to slide your bag on top of a suitcase. The shoulder straps are very well padded and are really comfortable, and I found that I didn’t have any pain in my shoulder or back when carrying heavy weights in the backpack. On the straps is a sternum strap to allow the backpack to sit better on your back and be more comfortable. The back of the bag also features padding, and this also allows for airflow around the back of the bag. One thing that I don’t like about the straps if the fact that the clips could break – even though I have carried a lot in the bag and they have held up fine, I’m always worried that they will break. However, the eBags website says that they were added because of customer request, and they feel very sturdy. When you remove the straps, there is a handle on the side of the bag that lets you carry it around. The bag also has a lifetime warranty against defects.

Right on the front of the back is a zippered pocket that is designed for things you need to quickly access, like passports and papers, and allows you not to go routing through the bag.

My favourite feature of the bag is the amount of storage options that it has, and the side opening cable, pen and organiser compartment. It’s easy to open, and as its side opening you don’t need to dig deep into the bag to find what you actually need. It also has lots of netting, holders, and also two pen holders at the top of the bag that let you easily store styluses and pens that you can grab for easy and quick access. The netting is perfect for putting cables, earphones and other small things that you want within easy reach. The front compartment features three zippered pockets, great for cables, business card pockets, two elastic pen loops and a pen pocket and an elastic pouch – I find this really useful to store my smaller portable batteries. A key leash is also included in this section of the bag. The zippers on this compartment are lockable, so you can buy a lock and add it if you want to keep items safe.

The side opening compartment
The side opening compartment

On the side of the bag, there is a water bottle holder. The nice thing about the bottle holder is that if you are not using it, you can zip it up and tuck it away at the side so it doesn’t stick out and spoil the clean look of the bag.

At the bottom of the bag, you’ll be able to find a hard pouch at the bottom of the bag. This is one of my favourite features of the bag – I can put in chargers, adapters and other things that I don’t want damaging my devices screens. It’s easily accessed by opening the bottom of the bag. The hard pouch is also removable, so it’s useful to use as a cables case, and you can close it even if you have removed it.

The hard pouch at the bottom of the bag, along with the bottle
The hard pouch at the bottom of the bag, along with the bottle

Now the main pockets – on the top of the bag, you’ll find two large pockets that open in an ‘l’ shape. This allows you to easily open a pocket and access anything inside. You have a main compartment on the front of the bag, for storing papers and bulkier items. The main compartment also has a slash pocket that is designed for putting loose paper and folders inside it. The main compartment can hold several standard size folders. If you remove the hard pouch at the bottom of the bag, you can expand the storage of the bag so you can easily fit something that is 17.25″ high.

The main feature of the bag is the laptop compartment at the back. The compartment is completely isolated from anywhere else in the bag with thick padding, so you’re laptop won’t get scratched from the gear you store in the bag. At the bottom of the laptop compartment, there is removable padding that protects your laptop when you put the bag down. However, I did find that a slim laptop could slip between the cracks that the padding left. This can be easily fixed by removing the gaps with a sock, but it’s still worth mentioning. eBags says that you can fit a 13″ laptop or larger in this pocket, but I could easily fit a Dell XPS 15 and an older 15″ laptop in it too.

A Dell XPS 15 in the bag
A Dell XPS 15 in the bag

Between the main compartment and the laptop section is a handy tablet pocket. Accessible from the top of the bag, you can simply unzip the zip and slide your tablet in. I was easily able to fit my iPad Air 2 in there. The section features soft padding so your screen won’t get scratched, and also has reinforced sides so objects in other parts of the bag won’t damage your tablet.

All compartments have d-rings that allow you to lock them easily. The three top compartments can all be locked through one d-ring.

I really love the bag – it fits all the folders and textbooks I need, and the slim profile means that I can easily walk in crowded areas without having my bag hit everyone. The laptop compartment is very well padded and protects my device, and the front organiser lets me access my cables, portable batteries, and pens very easily and without having to spend ages finding them in the bag. The hard compartment at the bottom of the bag is also very useful.

The eBags Professional Slim backpack is available on their website for $103.99 (at time of writing), and I really recommend that you check it out if you are looking for a slim bag that can fit a lot.

Thanks for reading!


  1. Known as Brushed Indigo on the website.
  2. Known as Heathered Graphite on the website.
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REVIEW OVERVIEW
Factor
9
Comfort
10
Organisation
9
Construction
10
Aesthetics
8
ebag-slim-professionalThis bag has been my daily driver for over two years, and has withstood the test of time brilliantly. If you are looking for a sturdy, slim, and easy to organise backpack, look no further.