Fidelis ALCON Backpack, Black

I am an early supporter of Fidelis via a crowd funding platform. I have this backpack, and the duffle. My decision to fund was based on what I read and saw in the videos. I travel a lot for work, including a ton of international travel, so the fact that this is so light, spacious, and smartly designed was a home run. After I received mine, I used it everyday, it traveled to many parts of Europe, Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo, and just about every state in the United States. I noticed, though, that the handle was pulling away from the material and I was a little disappointed. Now, before you think the quality is poor, think again. I carry a 15" Macbook, iPad, mini power strip, a ChargeTech battery charger (the biggest one), all of my cords, power adapter for my mac and chargetech, etc. All in all, probably about 20-25lbs. Then add reading material, book or two, notebook (for note taking), etc. and I have a lot of stuff I'm carrying in this backpack, exceeding the basics that weigh in at 20-25 lbs to probably over 30lbs. So, that fact that it was pulling way wasn't a surprise to me. So, I emailed the team at Fidelis, and one of the founders got back to me almost immediately. He asked for photos and a description of how I use the backpack and what I carry. Then he offered me two options. First was, a brand new replacement. The second, and the one that I took, would take a few weeks since they would essentially take the bag apart and reinforce it in the areas where the stress was showing. While it was hard to be without that bag for the few weeks, it was well worth it. When I received my reinforced backpack, I found a hand written note from the co-founder who I had been communicating with during this process thanking me for my business and explaining what had been done.The point to this review is, when you buy this product you are not just getting a backpack, but you are getting an amazing team that stands behind the product, 100%. I was completely blown away by the customer service, attention to detail, and personal interaction. I still use this backpack today, and I still load it up well beyond what I probably should, but it is holding up to my abuse.PS. for about the last four months I was carrying 15" macbook pro, 11" macbook air, iPad Pro and all of the other accessories I mentioned before...and again, it held up! Yes, I know that's a lot of stuff to haul around, but I had a reason. ;-)

I really hate to do this because I really love this bag. But it is useless to me now as one of the straps has pretty much come undone at the top seam. I could repair it myself and make the seam much more robust (which I will get around to), but for 300 smackers?? This thing ought to make my lower middle class behind eggs benedict in the morning. I sort of took a leap of faith thinking that the price would reflect care of manufacturing and impeccable quality control protocols. I suppose that is always a dubious proposition, regardless of the cost of any product, or even considering where it is made for that matter. I'm probably just one of the "unlucky" ones as the consumer jargon goes. My 20 dollar Jansport made in the Zhang-Shou province has seen more abuse than my ALCON, and its still holding fast.

I use it for work and have enjoyed it for the past 8 months. Held up well so far. I got it at a huge discount on clearance and for the price i paid it's great.

Pretty expensive (for what it is- not a lot of value), average quality bag. Okay design I guess, not worth the premium. Rec'd as a gift, would never had bought for myself.

Update: I've had my backpack for over a year now. Put in washing machine. Overstuffed many times. Use for school. Stilll good as new! This backpack is a must have! Durable and dependable!

Being a student and just someone that’s always carrying way too much at all times, a good backpack is absolutely essential to me. The kind of bags I like are basic, minimal, but practical- and this bag does it all. Just look at it! I absolutely LOVE the military inspired tactical look of this backpack.The bag is perfectly sized for what I need. Notebooks, tablet, laptop, camera, charger/cables and small items like pens and chapstick.For this particular shoot, I used it for the gym and it was so perfect. The bag obviously had more than enough room for all the straps I needed, a water bottle, chalk, pockets to store my keys, iPod, notepad and pen.The bag is made from a thick, but soft canvas so all that chalk I got on the bag was easily cleaned off with just a sheet of wet wipes. I just absolutely love the construction of the bag and the shape. I only had really lightweight stuff in it while I was at the gym, but when I threw in my laptop, tablet and notebooks, it didn’t sag like those cheap JanSport bags and really held up well.Fidelis Co. is highly recommended and this bag is one of the best buys of 2015.

This backpack is awesome! Absolutely love it. I love how tough it is. The unique main buckle is also very neat, never seen anything like it. Used this bag on my trip to Yosemite and it was able to hold my laptop, DSLR camera, all of my cords and accessories comfortably. Most people may see this as an urban/commuter bag but it holds up very well in outdoor/natural environments because of the tough material. The quick access top zipper made it easy to grab gear on the go while hiking. If there was one thing I would change, it would be to have more padding on the bottom of the backpack to improve the safety for a laptop, but this is minuscule compared to all of the other great features. I recommend adding on the optional pocket patches for more variety in storage. Highly recommended, very well made.

I love this backpack! As soon as I got my hands on it, I put it to work immediately. As a working and traveling musician, this backpack has really come in handy for fly dates with the bands I play with. It always seems to find room for whatever I need to stuff into it. I've taken this backpack all over the US and Europe and it's been totally reliable. I highly recommend it. I love the simplicity of this backpack and that I'm not constantly having to search through too many compartments in order to find what I'm looking for, I can place everything in a proper compartment that makes sense. Fidelis ALCON Backpack, Black