When I’m travelling around with various pieces of computing equipment, including at 13” MacBook Air and an Amazon Kindle, life is made a little easier by using a good bag designed for purpose. I’ve tried quite a few bags over the last couple of years and have recently been taking a look at an interesting vertical laptop shoulder bag from Australian manufacturer STM.

There are two versions of the bag available, a 13” and a 15” version, and I will be taking a look at the 13” version.

One thing that is really useful in a bag, as well as being light to carry, is lots of accessible areas to store all those essential gadget accessories including USB cables, spare batteries, cards and card readers, various adaptors, and of course a number of chargers.

Fortunately, it looks as if STM has storage firmly in mind with this vertical laptop bag.

First off, the front of the bag has three main pockets, a large pocket lined with a “soft corduroy fleece and high density foam” for storing a laptop computer (this pocket has its own velcro lid), whilst in front of that is a deeper pocket ideally suited for paperwork, and then a softer pocket for additional storage (the guide suggests this be used as a dedicated iPad pocket).

The front cover flap also has a zippered storage area for things you may need to access quickly. The back of the bag has a much larger (and thinner) pocket area which also holds a firm foam “grab handle” for carrying the bag in the hand. Along the top of the bag is an adjustable padded shoulder strap which can be removed.

On the front of the bag there is a zippered pocket area that contains a further zippered pocket on the inside (as well as a zippered pocket on the outside) which includes four storage areas for things like pens, cards, wallets, keys, and other small things which are all secured by a thick elastic style band.

I have been testing the bag for over a week and have found it pretty light to carry in everyday use, even though it is loaded up with a laptop, Kindle, paperwork, chargers and other accessories. Ideally, it could do with an identification panel (unless I’ve missed it) and if you have a physically large charger you might struggle to find somewhere to put it – but fortunately the MacBook Air and Kindle chargers are pretty small.

Overall, the STM is a surprisingly light, and solid bag, which contains plenty of room for storage. For more information check out the video then head over to STM Bags.