The Sealand Upcycled Slim Laptop Bag merges fashion and function as seamlessly as it does affordability and sustainability. Digital nomad Lance Branquinho fell for it hook, line, and sinker and reports on the ownership experience after one year.
As the coffee shop or café has become our office of destiny in the remote working world, how you carry your laptop is essential. Style, function and statement most likely influence your choice. Cape Town’s Sealand provides an attractive solution in its slim laptop bag.
Key product features
- Construction: Canvas and rip-stop
- Dimensions: 370mm x 20mm x 280mm
- Weight: 450 grams
- Volume: 2 litres
What is it and who is it for?
The Sealand Upcycled Slim Laptop Bag is designed to do what it says – carry a 15” laptop with ease and convenience. But the broader theme of this laptop bag is how Sealand manufactures it.
Sealand has championed upcycling and the use of smarter materials. The company’s production methods are on trend in a world where some of the premier fashion and industrial design brands are reframing their supply chain and material usage. You can read the Sealand story here: Our Story | Sealandgear.co.za
As a legacy ocean sports person, Sealand’s use of yacht sail, canvas and rip-stop materials appealed to me.
What’s in the box?
True to its minimalist sourcing and abhorrence of waste, there is no box or packaging attached to the Sealand slim laptop bag. It comes ready to use without any wasteful plastic packaging.
Setting up the Sealand Upcycled Slim Laptop Bag
The shoulder strap is all you need to configure and works with a simple buckle adjuster.
True to its mission to create durable and practical bags, Sealand uses YKK zippers, a proven Japanese product manufactured locally under license. YKK zippers are resistant to environmental contaminants and widely used in the wetsuit and marine industries.
Using the Sealand Upcycled Slim Laptop Bag
Laptop bags triumph or fail on the quality of their zippers and overall fabric construction. There’s nothing worse than a zipper that ingests bag material, gets stuck, or doesn’t close securely.
Zip me up, before you go-go
Sealand’s slim laptop bag is a joy to use, thanks to those YKK zippers and the fact that they have threaded and knotted rope extensions looped through the zipper eyelets. That means you can easily grip, pull and open any of the zippers, without having to fiddle and overpower the tiny metal zipper tabs.
Practicality is superb, with the bag’s main laptop compartment holding a 15” device. There’s an internal divider section, too, for keeping paper documents safe.
The front pouch is generously sized in length but isn’t that wide once closed.
What we like about the Sealand Upcycled Slim Laptop Bag
Upcycled products are less likely to trigger fears of spillage, staining and tearing. You don’t mind a Sealand slim laptop bag being handled a roughly or making contact with a coffee spill.
The honest materials and their upcycled nature give you the confidence to travel with this laptop bag, without being too precious about it. It’s lightweight, too, at only 450 grams.
You can see some of the available fabric designs here: Upcycled Slim Laptop Bag | Sealandgear.co.za
Where Sealand can improve the bag
The fit is tight but true to Sealand’s claim of accommodating a 15” laptop.
This bag’s weakness is in its name: there isn’t much additional pocket volume to accommodate bulky adapter plugs and large headphones.
Some padding for the shoulder strap would be welcome, to make cycling with it more comfortable.
Conclusion and score
Deny it if you will, but in the remote working world, image is everything. The Sealand Upcycled Slim Laptop Bag projects an authentic message about sustainability and local sourcing.
It’s also robustly made and should wear well, giving the excellent durability of marine canvas. The materials will crease and wear into a lovely fabric patina over time, reminiscent of well-used water-sports and adventure bags.
Priced at R1 350 and entirely capable of lifetime use, the Sealand Upcycled Slim Laptop Bag offers excellent value.
The Sealand Upcycled Slim Laptop Bag scores 4 out of 5.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
