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For looking the part in and out of the office, these will lend you a hand.

I often find myself stunned by the simple man I see out in public: He is really just out there, him against the world completely raw, with no backpack! Just a pedestrian on the avenue, hands in his pockets, with nothing but a phone, earbuds, keys, and some nice clothes to conquer the world.

Well, I’m not one of these simple men. In fact, I always carry a laptop with me in a travel-friendly backpack. Not that I’ll need to use it though. A workday in the office? Sure, maybe. But, a Saturday morning on Astor Place’s Starbucks, I bring my laptop with me just in case work comes up. While it never ends up happening, it's the assurance of “if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready” that matters. With that, I can easily say that a good laptop backpack to safely—and stylishly—store my essentials is much needed.

Thankfully, the par for backpacks these days is having an interior padded sleeve that locks in laptops of different sizes (often in 13”, 15”, and 16” at most). Nonetheless, some options are undeniably better overall and better-looking than others. Thus, we’ve picked 9 best laptop backpacks for men below that’ll match your life in and outside the office, and last you from a morning commute to a noon conference and beyond.

Herschel is the real deal for just about any types of backpacks. Whether it's the Classic, the Heritage, or the cult-favorite Little America, they all make great laptop backpacks with padded, fleece-lined sleeves. But we recommend the Pop Quiz. Not only because we like how it looks, but also because we like how it works—easy-peasy and tough. A reliable first home for your laptop, shall we say.

Everlane's ReNew Transit is the jack-of-all-trades. At a volume of 27 liters, it's palatial and makes for a great travel backpack. But it probably looks too refined to be associated with such a rugged bunch. In fact, its life belongs in the city, in some office in a soaring skyscraper or the roaring underground metro world. And it packs like a beast, with catch-all zip pockets, interior slip pockets, and two water bottle holders—like we said, jack of all trades.

$99 at Bespoke Post $99 At Rei

Topo Designs makes modest (price-wise, at least) backpacks that are still always the star amongst stars, courtesy of its retro, playful color-blocking aesthetic. The Rover Pack is timeless, rugged, and pocketed for the delight of your laptop and other essentials. Take it to the campground where you'll use it as a rucksack. Or bop around town with it like a solidly cool guy in a solidly cool backpack. Your call.

Rains' waterproof backpack caught my eyes a few years ago—first on my friend, and second when I saw some stranger carrying it in MoMA. Each time I asked, what is that backpack with a remarkable silhouette? It's Rains' signature as I found out later on. Smooth and clean, easy to open and stack—it's got one main compartment and a few inner and outer pockets, that's it—this durable waterproof backpack is about that no-fuss everyday life.

Shop Premium Version Bellroy made a super-nifty backpack for stowing your tech life—one laptop compartment, one padded tablet pocket, one mesh pocket for cables, one front pocket for power banks, and one top pocket for smartphones and earbuds—discreetly. And you can rest assure wherever you go, you need only worry about your destination; Bellroy's comfortable, sturdy build will take care of the lump on your back.

Dagne Dover's signature Dakota will do the organizing for you, with a dedicated spot for every necessity, in and out; just prepare the bits and bobs. It'll then guard them with a water-resistant, quick-drying outer, keeping them safe and sound where you can effortlessly access them. As for where it'll suit best, judging by its look: Office, gym, downtown, subway, bar, Guatemala... Just about everywhere in this planet.

When you're out in the woods or on the trailhead, do you really need to be lugging around a 16" gizmo on your back? Hell no. Get a MacBook Air or something nicely around 13", and load it into the Hanover 2, whose removable padded insert will protect it from the overflowing curveballs of everything else you'll put inside for your excursion.

When you pack heavy with a laptop inside, get a heavy-duty backpack to match. Troubadour's pioneer is an absolute monster: Big, tough-as-nails, and ridiculously useful with pockets on top of pockets, compartment next to compartment. If you've seen far too many laptop backpacks crap out when the occasion calls for more is more, never again will you be disappointed with the Pioneer. It's got a shtick for everything you can possibly put in there, shoes included.

WANT Les Essentiels lets you house your laptop with a backpack perfectly balanced between style and substance. It simply looks good, we can all concur to that. Then there's the inside-and-out function—multiple interior pockets plus some exterior rings and straps for hanging onto more stuff. Coming from a designer home, it's the backpack fitted for your expensive laptops.