Bag Week: Booq Boa Flow XL

Matt Burns

@mjburnsy / 5:00 pm PST • December 15, 2009

The Booq Boa Flow XL is huge! You can stuff a small dog in it and still have room for your computer and DSLR.

Features

Backpack-style
Holds up to a 17-inch notebook
Constructed out of ballistic nylon
Expandable DSLR pocket
Terralinq serial number
$199 MSRP

Pros

It’s gigantic
Super comfy to wear even when it’s loaded
Neoprene side pockets expanded to fit odd-shapes

Cons

It’s gigantic
Expensive

You could pack for a multi-week European vacation in the bag. You might even be able to get away with stuffing your kid in the bag and sneaking him on board as a carry on. And you’d still have room for a laptop or two.

I managed to load this bag up with everything I needed for a LAN party. The bag weighed in at 37 lbs when I was done and I still managed to zip it up.

Check it:

17-inch gaming notebook
15.6-inch notebook
11-inch ultra-portable
Viliv X70
Viliv S7
Full size Apple keyboard
Notebook cooler
Two external hard drives
Two power bricks
Two mice
Three pairs of earbuds
Other random cables

If that isn’t a testament to how big the bag is, I don’t what else to tell you. The bag felt fine on my back even with that much stuff. In fact, this bag, with its waist and sternum straps, feels more comfortable than some hiking packs I’ve used.

Structurally, the bag is sound. It’s constructed out of tough nylon and the inside is lined with a fleece-like material. Some of the pockets are made out of neoprene that allows them to stretch and store over-sized items like water bottles or notebook power bricks. Just like the other Booq bag I looked at, the Boa Squeeze, this one has a ton of pockets hidden all over the bag.

There is even a pocket meant for a DSLR located at the bottom of the bag. It’s large enough to hold nearly any DLSR I suppose, although I don’t know if I would put an expensive camera on the bottom of the bag. I mean, the camera will be the first to hit the ground if the bag’s dropped. That doesn’t seem safe.

Because the bag is so large though, I couldn’t see myself using it all that much. It holds its large shape even when there is nothing but a notebook in it. So unless you plan on hiking the Appalachian trail daily, you may want to look at other options.

Product Page

Bag Week: Booq Boa Flow XL

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