Laptop bags designed specifically for women, were until the last couple of years, somewhat hard to come by. Now they are available in all manner of fabrics, colors and styles. Ice Red is a company that specializes in this field and recently sent me their Shine laptop bag for review.
Available in Pink, Black and Silver, I was sent the very girly Pink version of this bag. It is made of a very shiny vinyl material with white canvas piping. The overall size of the bag is 17 x 13 x 4 inches.
The face of the bag has a 12 x 9 inch zippered, unpadded, Orange lined, compartment that contains a flat panel of organizational pockets and slots. There’s a small key fob, ID pocket, horizontal zippered pocket, three pen/pencil slots with an open pocket behind them and another open pocket adjacent to it.
The back side of the Shine laptop bag has one large open topped (held closed with a small square of Velcro) slot that can accommodate large format magazines, papers and folders.
You can either carry this bag by the two handles, or by an included shoulder strap that is both removable and adjustable.
The Shine bag is pretty narrow, so it doesn’t do a good job of standing up on a flat surface. That said, four metal feet are attached to the bottom of the bag to keep it from being soiled.
Dual zippers unzip the main compartment of this bag revealing a padded, fuzzy lined laptop sleeve that is 16 x 11 x 2 inches. My 15 inch Macbook Pro was easily swallowed by this compartment, so I don’t doubt that a 17 inch laptop would have any problems fitting inside it.
In addition to the laptop sleeve, there are two equally sized open topped pockets that could be used to hold any manner of objects.
The style of this bag does not match my own personal style, which some people have said that I lack altogether ;o) The Shine bag seems to be pretty youthful in that I think it would be preferred by teens and early twenty-somethings. I can’t imagine anyone over the age of 25 taking it seriously. I think my 15yr old niece is really going to enjoy it when I give it to her… Overall, I can’t fault the workmanship of this bag. Stitches are even, seams are robust, hardware adequate. So, my only real criticism comes down to the price. $70 seems too high for a vinyl bag like this one. If you like the style and have a 17 inch laptop that you want to carry, the price might seem fine to you. Let me know what you think…
Product Information
| Price: | 69.95 |
| Manufacturer: | Ice Red Designs |
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thanks for the review – was looking to buy this bag without inspecting it in person. It’s on amazon and ebay now for the 40-50 dollar ranged and there is a small version and larger one (small for 11-13 laptops). Anyway, this looks a lot more flimsy than in photos. And yes youthful, as in, a bag you’d carry your barbies around in. LOL I loved the gloss of the vinyl, but to pull it off, really needs a bit more structure or tailoring.