Don’t Pay $70, Get an 18″ SwissGear Cecil 5505 Laptop Backpack for $25.47

The 18″ SwissGear Cecil 5505 is the best laptop backpack you can buy at this price point, and it’s being offered for just $25.47, originally $70. You get three main compartments: a padded laptop sleeve for up to 16-inch laptops, a secondary pocket for a 10-inch tablet, and a front organizer for pens, cables, and keys. Product page.

Dual stretch mesh side pockets hold water bottles (a Nalgene fits snugly, per user reviews), and there’s a D-ring buckle and web loop for clipping gear like a carabiner. The Airflow back panel and padded, contoured shoulder straps aim for comfort, but more on that later. At 2.2 pounds, it’s lightweight enough for daily commutes but doesn’t scream “ultralight” like some minimalist packs.


SwissGear touts the 5505’s “ergonomic suspension system,” which sounds fancy but boils down to padded shoulder straps with breathable mesh and an Airflow back panel. For short commutes—say, car to office or dorm to library—it’s comfortable enough.

After trying out 3 other “laptop” backpacks, I have settled on this SwissGear laptop backpack. It fits my 16 inch work laptop perfectly, and I still look professional at work. The size of the backpack is just right. It’s small and easy to handle. I only need it to carry work material: laptop, 1 paper notebook, 2 pens, business cards, and keys. It doesn’t balloon out with huge unused space for clothes, toiletry, and water bottles, which makes me look like a vagrant at work. It secures and cushions my laptop so that it doesn’t flop around and annoyingly hit me in the back every time I take a step unlike 1 of my prior “laptop” backpacks. This backpack will suit everyday work in the office,” said one reviewer.