Brompton Roll-Top Bag Review: 28L Laptop Bag for Commuting
Gear · Published 11/12/2022 ·
With an ankle injury, there are really only two kinds of cardio you can do.
First, swimming. Second, cycling.
Anything beyond that — anything that twists the ankle side to side — just leads to re-injury, so it’s three months of rest and rehab for me.
So cycling it is. That’s the only thing I find myself reaching for these days.
My hiking boots and running shoes are probably going to rot away before long.
I bought a Brompton bag that fits a laptop.
I paid for it over in Yongsan and had it shipped to me.
The roll-top bag comes in two sizes, and I went with the large — the bigger one.
A friend helped talk me into the bigger size, so that’s what I got.
The color is a safe, understated gray/black.
The other colors didn’t really do much for me.
There are stretchy pockets on both sides, just like on a hiking backpack.
They’re big and stretchy enough to easily hold a water bottle, of course.
Here’s the back. At first I wondered whether it had too many external pockets.
But really, you should listen to people who’ve actually used the thing.
If you want one bag to handle everything, you need plenty of external pockets. The pockets on the left, right, and back hold a water bottle, phone, gloves, and so on —
basically all your everyday carry, which is a huge plus. Riding with your stuff stuffed into your pants pockets or other pockets
is genuinely uncomfortable and a real hassle.
You roll up the roll-top opening and tuck it into the side buckle so it doesn’t come undone.
It’s the kind of feature you’d really miss if it weren’t there, and it’s done well.
Back to the rear pocket — it’s bigger and deeper than I expected.
It runs the full height of the bag, so it’s quite deep.
The other side even has a partition inside the pocket, and the included rain cover is meant to live inside that partition permanently.
This is the external zipper at the front. The zipper opens and closes from both sides, and the pulls have rings
so you can work them even with gloves on.
Inside there’s a spot for a laptop, a mesh zip pocket up front, and the rest is one big open storage area.
It isn’t divided into lots of little compartments, and if I had to guess why, it’s because when you get hot mid-ride you want to peel off your jacket,
shove it in, and keep riding comfortably. Too many partitions and details often just add weight for sections you never actually use.
If you want to split up your storage, a pouch should do the trick.
The laptop compartment fits a 16-inch MacBook Pro, 2021 model.
The M1 Max version is the slightly thicker newer model, and it slides in without being a tight squeeze.
There’s a little room on the sides, but front to back it’s not generous. Since the new MacBook Pro is on the thick side, other laptops or even
a gaming laptop should fit without trouble. And it sits raised slightly off the bottom.
The idea seems to be to give it a bit more protection from the constant jolts of riding.
This is the zipper in front of the laptop section. For anyone who carries a separate keyboard or mouse, those should fit in here. An adapter and the like fit too.
There’s a ton of room left in the front compartment.
A jacket, a change of clothes — plenty fits.
At 28 liters, it’s a pretty big bag.
It’s listed as waterproof, but I think that’s referring to when you use the included rain cover.
The luggage system refers to the part that clips into the front carrier block of the Brompton.
It’s said to be made of durable nylon. The rest I don’t really know, though they do note it uses YKK zippers.
This is the part that clips into the luggage system. You just slot it in. Nothing to it.
The back just has the product barcode and such.
This is the included rain cover, in a bright color so it’s easy to spot even in the dark.
You actually end up using it more than you’d think when you’re out riding in low-light situations.
I tried putting my MacBook Pro in.
In the photo it looks like there’s room to spare, and there is on the sides — even a 17-inch might fit — but front to back there’s almost none.
Because of that, pulling it out with one hand like that is a bit tricky.
You really need to take the bag off the bike and use both hands to get it out cleanly.
I also bought a game bag, but my style has changed, so I’m planning to sell it off again.
I haven’t used many of Brompton’s own genuine products, but it struck me that the gear made by the people who’ve thought about it the hardest is the most efficient.
Starting next spring, I’m thinking of commuting by bike a few times.
Before then, I really hope my ligament fully heals.
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