Developer: Axio
Price: $160
Trial: None
I know what you’re thinking. “Isn’t $160 kinda expensive for a backpack?” Well, in the market niche occupied by Axio’s line of hard-shell backpacks, the answer is no, and for good reason: making a hard-shell backpack that actually protects its contents is costly. Whether Axio’s Swift does this any better than its few competitors remains to be seen.
“Few” is probably an exaggeration. As far as this motorcyclist/bicyclist/avid laptop user knows, there is precisely one other competitor in this market, namely Boblbee. The top-of-the-line Megalopolis was reviewed here at ATPM just over two years ago and, until the introduction of Harodesign’s Axio line a year ago, seemed to be the only realistic option for hard-shell wearable laptop protection. Saddlebags are a much better option on a motorcycle than on a bicycle, as anyone who has pedaled a bicycle up a hill with extra weight on board can attest, and you can’t take a saddlebag off the bike and into the office very easily.
Without making this too much of a shoot-out between the Swift and the Megalopolis, how does the Swift stack up? Well, the Swift encloses 1200 cubic inches, according to Axio, making it the second-largest hard-shell pack in the Axio line. Only the Fuse is bigger (see the review below); and, while not cavernous like the Hybrid (again, see the review below), it doesn’t feel terribly small, as the Megalopolis sometimes does.
It’s clear that the designers put some serious thought into the bag’s ergonomics. The Swift is a very comfortable pack, with contoured and very well-padded shoulder straps that fit the wearer’s torso. It’s fairly heavy for a backpack—about six pounds—but the limited size works in its favor here, as you can’t stuff it so full that it becomes a real burden. A laptop, AC adapter and miscellaneous other accessories, and a couple notebooks or large textbook aren’t going to be any more of a burden in this pack than they would be in the ubiquitous nylon Jansport packs you see on college campuses across the country. Conversely, if you’re the type who carries four textbooks and two three-inch binders around for eight hours a day, you’ll want something bigger. You probably don’t want to cram your laptop into a backpack with all that other stuff anyway, not to mention that your chiropractor is going to love you when you get to be 35.
The Swift does well on most details. All Axio bags come with a detachable nylon cell-phone pouch that can clip onto either shoulder strap. If you leave the pack in a locker during the day, you can take the pouch with you and clip it on your belt. It’s a nice touch, and it’s no worse than most $20 mall-kiosk cell-phone covers. The pouch can work with an iPod (sort of; you can’t really control the iPod, but it’ll hold it snugly and protect it) if you don’t have a cell phone, or if you carry your cell phone elsewhere. Also included is a protective cloth bag for storing your Swift, tossing it in an overhead luggage bin, etc. to prevent scratches.
We here at ATPM take reader satisfaction very seriously, and we’re dedicated to fair, thorough reviews that give useful buying advice. My useful buying advice about that cloth bag is this: Axio should have given you a rain fly instead. I’m going to get all Consumer Reports on you for a minute and describe the Official ATPM Worry Wart’s Wild and Wacky Western Washington Winter Weather Water WorkoutTM.
It all started when Lee directed my attention to a little feature I very nearly missed. Axio’s entire product line has a headphone cord pass-through port at the top of the backpack, near the carrying handle. This is ostensibly so riders can listen to a portable CD player (apparently enough people still use these for Axio to have designed an appropriately sized pouch into each pack) or iPod (a product Axio has apparently never heard of, as iPod-sized pouches or pockets are conspicuously absent) while they’re on the go. A fine idea in theory, if a bit dangerous. (Headphones in traffic? Just Say NoTM.)
Unfortunately, Axio forgot to put any sort of covering over this hole.
Any motorcyclist or bicyclist who’s ever been caught out in the rain knows exactly what that means: a leak waiting to happen. After much hand-wringing over how to deal with this potential problem, I decided to put it to a test, and the OATPMWWWaWWWWWWWTM was born. This test basically consists of the following:
- Turn on shower.
- Put on backpack, zipped up, with zipper pulls paired at top center (worst-case scenario with the gap at the leading edge).
- Get in shower.
- Stand in artificial downpour for three minutes.
- Point shower head away from you, or turn it off. Don’t get out of the shower unless you have floor drains in your bathroom.
- Note the amount of water (if any) that ends up in the pack, where it ends up, and where it seems to have come from.
Remember this, because you’ll be quizzed on it later.
Admittedly, this is an absolute worst-case scenario test. The only way you’d see rain this heavy in the real world would probably be to ride your motorcycle into a hurricane, to ride your motorcycle behind a semi truck with no mud flaps driving through a hurricane, or to take an off-pavement detour into a lake on your Scuba-Doo. Keeping that in mind, after three minutes under the shower, I poured at least half a cup of standing water out of the bottom of the Swift. Judging by the leakage patterns inside the bag, most of this water came in through the headphone pass-through, but some of it definitely came through the zipper. Most of the zipper leakage could be avoided by making sure the two zipper pulls meet anywhere but the leading edge of the bag, but I recommend a piece of black duct tape—or a proper backpack rain fly—for riders who don’t anticipate using the headphone pass-through.
That zipper, by the way, works very well. Its nearly circumferential design allows the pack to open very wide for easy loading and unloading of your laptop, books, gadgets, and other stuff. The interior presents a multitude of pockets for storing accessories, and the layout of these pockets makes them useful even when the bag is stuffed to capacity. This is something that cannot be said for the Megalopolis, and I’ve gotten very good at untangling cords as a result.
Unfortunately, that interior design is also responsible for the second of the Swift’s three major drawbacks. Due to the small panel that separates the laptop compartment from the rest of the interior, you really need to buy a laptop sleeve to protect the laptop from being scratched by the rest of the contents of the bag. Making this panel six inches taller (and, optionally, lining the compartment) would have entirely obviated the problem.
Tom Bihn’s Brain Cell is an excellent sleeve, but don’t expect to fit anything larger than a 15" Brain Cell in the Swift’s laptop compartment. With something thinner like a wetsuit-style sleeve, you might cram a 17" PowerBook in there, but it’ll be tight. Smaller PowerBooks and iBooks should fit easily. Keep the cost of a sleeve in mind when you’re making a purchasing decision; expect to pay at least $20 and possibly as much as $50 to get a feature that most laptop bags in this price range include by default.
The last major drawback may simply be a matter of perception, but it deserves mention. The polycarbonate shell on the Swift is very thin, so thin that it flexes when you push in on it. Polycarbonate is the generic name of GE’s famous Lexan plastic, and it’s tough stuff—so tough that it’s claimed to be “shatterproof” in many applications. That’s all well and good, but if you’re sliding along on your back at 20 MPH or so, how long is the thin layer going to hold up to the abrasion of the road surface? I don’t have any real-world testing on which to base this concern, but the thicker ABS shell on the Megalopolis gives me greater peace of mind.
One final (minor) word of warning: if you do get caught out in the rain and the bag really gets wet, or if you sweat heavily while wearing the pack, the red fabric on the back pad may bleed onto your shirt or jacket. I’d recommend washing the back panel in warm water when you first get the bag to bleed out as much excess color as possible.
All that being said, I prefer the Swift to the Megalopolis, as it’s more space-efficient, looks less like a prop from a B-grade ripoff of The Rocketeer, and holds more stuff in a more organized fashion. If I were riding my motorcycle more right now—and keep in mind the Swift was actually designed for motorcyclists, so this is pretty significant—I would have to pick the Megalopolis, which is totally waterproof and has a thicker shell.
So should you buy a Swift? If you’ve read this far, you’re probably looking for the same thing I am—a roomy, highly protective hard-shell pack that looks good and works better. The Swift is almost it. If you can live with its disadvantages, or if you just can’t stomach the design of the Megalopolis, it’s a good choice. It’s attractive, it’s competitively priced, and it’s very comfortable. Just keep your duct tape or rain fly handy.
