Which Backpack Brand Wins?

(also described mid-test as 'just over 2 and a half lbs', consistent with the earlier stated 2.51 lb figure)

described as 'just under a pound' at introduction and 'close to a pound' later; no more precise figure given

stated as both '1.12 lbs' and, in the same sentence, 'the lightest yet at 0.76 pounds' - two conflicting figures for the same brand in the same breath; both recorded here rather than picking one, likely a caption/number error

described as 'just over one pound' and later '1.08 lb'

described as the heaviest yet at that point in testing (before heavier brands were introduced)

cushioned landing, did a pretty good job protecting the flashing; finished third place with a rating of two

very stiff reinforced back panel and a large air gap prevented any visible damage to the flashing; best possible rating of one, tied with Nomatic

landed upright with a substantial dent in the flashing but no hard contact with the Chromebook (no numeric rating given in narration)

impact sounded milder than other brands but damage was pretty extensive, flashing made very hard contact with the Chromebook (no numeric rating given)

Chromebook experienced a very hard impact, similar to Under Armour (no numeric rating given)

impact sounded more cushioned than previous brands; some damage to the flashing but no hard contact with the Chromebook (no numeric rating given)

sounded bad and looked even worse; Chromebook made very hard impact with the angle iron (no numeric rating given)

laptop compartment too small for the test Chromebook so it was placed in the main compartment; flashing experienced a lot of damage and made hard contact with the Chromebook (no numeric rating given, described as offering pretty much no protection)

quite a bit of damage to the flashing, which compressed and made significant contact with the Chromebook; backpack provided very little protection (no numeric rating given)

bottom of the bag did not insulate the Chromebook well; more damage than MATEIN and ZORFIN, flashing made a lot of contact with the Chromebook (no numeric rating given)

aluminum flashing compressed and made contact with the Chromebook, damage very close to the same as MATEIN (no numeric rating given)

top handle sewn and riveted, still looked as good as new after three impacts; shoulder strap also still looked as good as new; best possible rating of one

grab handle held up fairly well with threads beginning to show but no rips or tears; shoulder strap still looked as good as new; rated 1.5

top loop failed on the first impact ('one and done'); top handle and shoulder strap were more robust and survived without damage; rated 1.5

loop survived shock loads without damage, shoulder strap handled impacts fine with no visible damage; best possible rating of one, tied with Carhartt, LTT, Nomatic

thread securing the loop began to fail, shoulder strap also struggling with threads beginning to fail (no numeric rating given, but described among the weaker performers)

top strap and shoulder strap still looked as good as new after three impacts, though some threads began to stretch (no numeric rating given)

top loop and shoulder strap both still looked as good as new after three impacts; best possible rating of one, tied with Under Armour, LTT, Nomatic

small amount of thread stretch on both the top loop area and the shoulder strap, held up well overall (no numeric rating given but described positively)

top loop showed damage after three impacts and would likely fail with a couple more; shoulder strap also damaged and likely to fail with more shock loads (no numeric rating given, described as one of the weaker performers)

top loop failed on the first impact ('went from happy to snappy'), but the top handle and shoulder strap were much more durable and still looked as good as new after further shock loads; described as the most durable backpack tested up to that point aside from the loop failure

loop let go on the second impact; shoulder straps also weak, with threading torn away after three impacts and close to failure

crater about 5.83 mm; finished third overall in this test (behind the North Face/Nomatic tie for first)

steel ball bounced instead of creating a crater, about 1 mm; tied for first place with Nomatic

crater measured approximately 7.29 mm (transcript caption repeated the trailing digit pair, discarded as noise), described as good enough for second place behind the North Face at that point in testing

crater about 14.7 mm, described as not too bad considering the light weight of the backpack

crater over 19 mm, the most damage/least padding of any backpack tested

crater about 9.68 mm, moved into the lead over Volher at that point in testing

crater about 13.74 mm, described as expected given the backpack's weight and lower padding than BANGE

crater 15.8 mm

crater just under 18 mm

crater around 13.5 mm, described as the best (lowest) result up to that point in testing

crater just over 16 mm, slightly smaller than MATEIN's roughly 18 mm

fit 15 shirts; finished third place in comfort with a rating of two

fit 16 shirts; back described as very comfortable but shoulder straps less so than some other brands

fit 15 shirts; shoulder straps and back both very comfortable, described as the most comfortable backpack up to that point in testing; finished second place in comfort with a rating of 1.5

fit 17 shirts; shoulder straps and back not as comfortable as MATEIN or Volher

fit 16 shirts; shoulder straps and back described as not comfortable at all

fit 20 shirts (tied with MATEIN for the most up to that point); shoulder straps a little uncomfortable, back described as the best yet at that point

fit 17 shirts; shoulder straps about the same comfort as BANGE, but very little back padding

fit only 9 shirts (fewest of any backpack, described as a compact commuter pack); shoulder straps not comfortable and very little back padding

fit 20 shirts (tied with BANGE for the most at that point); described as surprisingly comfortable for an $18 backpack

fit 15 shirts (about 5 fewer than MATEIN); described as surprisingly comfortable for its roughly $30 price tag

fit 19 shirts, approximately the same capacity as MATEIN; shoulder straps and back described as uncomfortable

best possible rating of one, tied with Nomatic

very smooth and easy to work with; rated 1.5

rated 1.5, tied with North Face

not explicitly rated in the qualitative zipper section

called out as one of the two most difficult zippers to work with, alongside Carhartt

not explicitly rated in the qualitative zipper section

called out as one of the two most difficult zippers to work with, alongside JanSport

not explicitly rated in the qualitative zipper section

not explicitly rated in the qualitative zipper section

not explicitly rated in the qualitative zipper section

not explicitly rated in the qualitative zipper section

small amount of water made it to the bottom of the front compartment, but the laptop compartment repelled water well; rated two, tied with Osprey and Nomatic

repelled water well from the first two compartments, but plenty of water made its way into the third compartment

one of three papers became wet, quite a bit of water made it past the zipper (no numeric rating given)

paper stayed dry, interior dry; best possible rating of one, tied with JanSport

both pieces of paper remained dry; best possible rating of one, tied with Under Armour

repelled water well from the small compartment, but water began leaking into the larger compartment

small amount of water made it into both compartments (no numeric rating given)

repelled most water, but a small amount made it past the zipper; rated two, tied with LTT and Nomatic

one of three paper pieces mostly dry, water beginning to seep through the zipper; the other two papers had a little water or were wet

no result found in the transcript; the water resistance section moves directly from ZORFIN to Under Armour with no Volher result narrated, a probable gap rather than a stated skip

all three pieces of paper became wet, described as less water resistant than MATEIN; water seeped into the back through the first compartment and both other compartments also got wet