The Verge staff talk about their favorite laptop bags

It’s surprisingly how attached you can get to a bag — especially the bag that you use to carry your laptop, your sweater, your lunch, your notebook, your exercise shoes, and all the other stuff you need. Whether you’re heading to the office, visiting a friend, hanging in a coffee shop, going on a hike, or just sitting outdoors to read or work, having a bag that can accommodate everything on your “gotta have this” list can help you avoid a lot of aggravation.

We asked the staff of The Verge to tell us about their go-to laptop bags. We got a variety of answers, including messenger bags, camera bags, backpacks, well-worn bags that have lasted for years, and leather bags with lots of style.

So here are some stories about why we like our favorite laptop bags.

Timbuk2 Classic Messenger Bag

I got a large Timbuk2 messenger bag in 2015 — just in time to haul it around a CES show floor — after wearing out a few smaller options from fancier brands. (According to one company’s associate, in hitherto-undiscovered ways; I am very hard on my accessories.) It’s comfortable, low-profile, fairly affordable, and has a big main compartment with as many little sub-pockets as I could ever want. The only downsides are a) I feel sort of basic when a co-worker shows off some gorgeous Peak Design product and b) I like it so much that I feel like I must have struck an unwitting faustian bargain with a trickster god. Unfortunately, it looks like Timbuk2 doesn’t offer the customization options I got anymore, so maybe the catch is that I can never buy another one that feels just right. — Adi Robertson, senior reporter