Targus Terminal T-II: A bag for business travellers

The world has become smaller, yet business travellers seem to be clocking up air miles like there was no tomorrow. Whenever I meet people, I always ask if they travel with their toothbrush in their pocket! While they laugh as if it were a joke, they hasten to explain that they always have a backpack packed and ready at home; this contains all essential items for a corporate warrior; and an overnight case containing their clothes and personal items. They just slip in their notebook and phone into the backpack, and are good to go.

While we may not talk much about backpacks, they are often our lifesavers. Thus, one needs to research and then invest in backpacks. PC peripherals major Targus, which already has several lines of backpacks, is launching a new range soon. I got an opportunity to try out their Targus Terminal T-II Advanced Backpack, which would be priced at Rs 5,999.

The backpack has an understated look with red accents and would feel at home in any business class lounge. It’s also light and the material looks tough enough to handle trans-continental trips. The bag has three compartments — front, middle and back pockets. The front compartment holds your phones, media and papers, while the middle one is meant for miscellaneous stuff and the back compartment houses your notebook.

I slipped a super-slim HP Envy notebook into the back pocket, my camera and a change of clothes in the middle pocket and my phone, iPod, chargers in the front pocket. Then I carried the bag down four floors, walked five kilometres and climbed up four floors.

It wasn’t too much of a hassle carrying the bag on my shoulder; the straps did not cut into my skin and the weight didn’t make me lean back or forward. There was good all-round support and I didn’t feel fatigued the whole time.

Next, I went to buy monthly provisions, accompanied by my wife, to the neighbourhood mall. Normally, since both of us prefer backpacks over anything else, we tend to carry back two such bags with stuff bursting at the seams. Along with the T-II, we carried our regular backpack, and another cloth bag, just in case the bag wasn’t able to handle it.

We needn’t have. While I won’t recommend anyone stuffing a business backpack with provisions, fact is, the T-II could handle it, and while we did stuff a lot of things into it (and my wife felt the high-quality zippers could take more abuse), do remember it’s not to be used as a rucksack.

Besides being tough and light, the T-II and its range (comprising one lower priced and one higher-priced product) has an important function up its sleeve. In case you use devices with RFID (radio frequency IDs), the front pocket ensures the person next to you at the terminal can’t steal it using a cheap receiver — such thefts are quite common, especially in the US where RFID debit and credit cards are common. Thus your information stays just for your eyes.

 
The question is, would I buy this bag? The answer is a yes — maybe not because of its anti-RFID function, but for the ease and comfort.