No, not a dad bag, and no, not a laptop bag/briefcase, but another type of bag thread... the travel backpack! The bag kind of needs to do a bit of what the other two do, plus a little more and a little less.
some basic criteria:
- hold 5-ish days worth of clothes (e.g. two pairs of jeans, 5 t-shirts, 5 underpants, 5 pair socks, perhaps a jacket, etc.)
- hold a 17" laptop (15.5"x10"x1.25")
- has a separate compartment for an iPad (plus if it's easily accessed from the outside)
- has at least one externally-accessed pocket (pills, ID, sunglasses, phone, that type of thing but not all at once)
- at least one water bottle holder, prefer two, on the sides (may not be a deal killer)
- be as big as it needs to be, but not bigger than it has to be (ability to cinch down when empty a plus)
- prefer a "clamshell" design, particularly if it includes zipper stops to keep the whole thing from flopping open)
- doesn't need to have compartments for electronics (chargers, etc.) or toiletries as those are in dedicated pouches I can just drop in
- probably goes without saying, but needs to fit in overhead bin (can't imagine I'll get it under the seat)
- the lighter the better
- needs to be at least passable in an office environment
this one doesn't have the water bottle pouches on the sides, but I'd love it if it worked for this because I've wanted one since they were announced.
ETA: It also happens not to fit my laptop
Tom Bihn Synik 30