Herschel laptop sleeves and bags review

Shopping for a new job, back-to-school season, or an upcoming trip? Herschel laptop sleeves and bags are a stylish, efficient way to keep your tech safe during transport. These classic accessories from Herschel Supply Co. are the perfect kind of basics that look great and will stay in style for years.

Why is it important to buy a laptop bag or sleeve?

You can toss your devices into any style of bag—so what makes buying a dedicated laptop bag, backpack, or sleeve so important?

Part of the answer to this question is style and convenience. A dedicated product is more likely to check the boxes of all the things you’re looking for, like great pockets or cushy padding. But another big reason why people buy laptop sleeves and bags is to help protect their device. Ample padding and the right fabrics offer cushioning in the event of a bump or a fall, with minimized chances of scratches, dents, and dings. A great laptop accessory won’t make your device invincible in the face of damage, but it can lessen the impact on your device.

So, should you go with a sleeve or a bag? That depends on your lifestyle, but most people will go with both. A laptop bag is convenient for getting from point A to point B; a sleeve offers more direct cushioning for your device. In combination, the two work together to make sure your laptop or tablet stays protected no matter what.

Herschel laptop sleeves with plush padding

Whenever anyone asks me for a laptop sleeve recommendation, Herschel is my one and only suggestion. I mean it: I really love these laptop sleeves. They’re well-priced, well-made, and really consistent. While the brand puts out new prints on a regular basis, the design of Herschel’s classic/basic line doesn’t budge. So, if you loved using a Herschel Anchor sleeve with the 13″ laptop you bought in 2012, you’ll still love using a Herschel Anchor sleeve with your brand new 15″ laptop years later. The quality of these products hasn’t changed since I started blogging, which in today’s consumer market is pretty notable.

There are three basic laptop sleeves from Herschel that Best Buy carries. There’s the 15.6″ Herschel Heritage laptop sleeve, which features the brand’s iconic faux leather lash tab and a matching, reinforced base. These laptop sleeves have a soft, thick canvas exterior with pleather accents and a smooth zipper. Inside of a Herschel Heritage, you’ll find a plush, soft lining with striped canvas detailing and piping. The Heritage has a zippered closure.

Next, there’s the 15-16″ Herschel Anchor laptop sleeve. The Anchor is what I think of as Herschel’s “fun” line—this is where you’ll find all of their punchy prints and stretchy materials. These laptop sleeves are plusher and thicker than the Heritage line, with a polyester exterior that reminds me of neoprene and the same soft, velvety polyester interior as the Heritage. Anchor sleeves also close with a single zippered closure, and I find that they offer the most drop absorbency thanks to their slightly thicker construction. They don’t have the lash tab, but they do have a large Herschel Supply Co. logo in the bottom right corner that can help you identify them.

Finally today, this post features the 14″ Herschel Spokane laptop sleeve. (This one is in Ash Rose.) I love the Spokane: It’s thin and very stiff, which offers a different laptop sleeve experience. The lining on this magnetic flap closure bag is still very soft and velvety, but it’s thinner than the lining in Herschel’s other laptop sleeves. Reach for this one if you want something that’s more like a compact, hard shell than a cushion. My 13″ MacBook Pro fits into this thin 14″ sleeve with some wiggle room but the Spokane is great for larger tablets and iPads, too.

The basic Herschel backpack for back-to-school

The Herschel Supply Classics XL backpack is like… The iconic back-to-school backpack. It’s enormous, lightweight, roomy, and contains pretty much zero interior organizers so you can stuff as much into the bag as possible. At 26 litres, this is a big bag—big enough to take lunch, a hoodie, a couple of textbooks, and a laptop with you. It has a top carry handle, padded backpack straps, a front zippered pocket, and an interior laptop pocket. That’s it!

Because the XL is designed to be such a basic backpack, I’d recommend pairing it with a laptop sleeve.

Herschel laptop bags with great organization

If you want a little more out of your backpack, don’t worry: I’ve got you. The Herschel Pop Quiz is what you’re looking for. It fits a 16″ laptop and has a massive 25L capacity, with an interior laptop pocket, two exterior water bottle pockets, a top zippered pocket for earbuds, and a design that’s made 100% from recycled water bottles. Its straps are padded and its front pocket holds a surprise: An flat interior organizer that’s sewn in and can hold your keys, bus pass, pens, and more without taking any space away for other things.

The base of this bag is reinforced (like the brand’s Heritage laptop sleeve) and the entire thing is super lightweight. For extra protection, I’d use a laptop sleeve in conjunction with this backpack as well.

For even more organization, check out the Herschel Gibson laptop messenger bag (reviewed here) or its backpack-style sibling, the 18L commuter backpack (not reviewed or photographed in this post). These are out of the brand’s Tech line, which I just love because it means they’re packed with tiny organizers and details in every seam. In this messenger bag, you’ll find a huge main pocket with a plush lining, a clip-to-shut laptop pocket, and two roomy interior pockets—large enough for something like a laptop charger. The bag has a super-padded removable crossbody strap and thick, smooth top-carry handles. Its roomy main pocket is double-zippered with smooth, easy-to-zip pulls and its front pocket has a single zipper.

The Gibson’s front pocket has a nylon lining with an additional inner zipped pocket and a few elasticized organizational pockets (including space for pens or styluses), and its back side features an open-top pocket that unzips to secure the bag onto a telescoping luggage handle. So, not only is it stellar for school and office use, but it’s really handy at the airport, too. In addition, all of Herschel’s new backpacks and Gibson bags are made with EcoSystem™ recycled fabrics, making the Gibson (and these other backpacks) a more eco-friendly option for buying a new bag.

Find your Herschel bag or laptop sleeve at Best Buy

From back to school to weekday work trips, Herschel bags and laptop sleeves have you covered. Choose your laptop accessory based on exactly what you’re looking for—or mix and match a bag and a sleeve so your device is protected from any angle.