Keen's Airport Way Backpack Hands-On: Mobile Tech Bag for the Airport and the City

Keen's Airport Way backpack keeps you and your gear on the go. It puts notebook protection first, but it may get you through airport security a little faster too.

This bag's spacious laptop compartment--accommodating for even our hefty 16-inch Toshiba Satellite A665 with room to spare--kept our notebooks strapped in, elevated, and protected on all sides, just the way we like it. Inside you'll also find two sections for the smaller items, both were filled with a plethora of close-able Velcro and zippered pockets, including two big enough to hold a notebook power brick. The Airport Way also has a specially padded pocket for phones or MP3 players, but it lacks a dedicated headphone port for running the headphone wire though. The backpack doesn't offer a full size cargo area inside, so don't count on using this bag to tote a change of clothes or a bunch of extra gear. Instead the main storage area shares space with the laptop compartment and is only set apart by some polyester and nylon dividers.

The Airport Way is meant to hit the road, and Keen's gone to lengths to make it as durable as possible. The exterior is a water resistant polyester shell with more than enough stitching and recycled aluminum strap fasteners. The backpack is TSA compliant, making trips through airport security easier by skipping the hassle of removing a notebook from the bag. Instead the bag can split open leaving the laptop compartment on one side and the rest of the bag on the opposite, ready to pass through a x-ray machine.

A big backpack, the Airport Way measures at 11.5 x 20 x 8-inches, but it really does not look that way while we were wearing it all due to its slimming half dome shape. Its plenty light at 2.7 pounds, plus the padded back and shoulder straps made it comfortable to carry. The urban, two-tone design is formed by curves and rubber strips. The tough underside sports some of the same recycled rubber that Keen is uses in their footwear.

This backpack comes in three color combinations, including Black Olive and Rust (as shown above), Black and Dark Shadow, and True Navy and Dark Shadow.  The Airport Way goes for $130 with a free one year warranty and can be had over at Keen.