Laptop backpacks with water bottle holders aren’t listed well online. Most laptop bags have water bottles, but I guess places like BestBuy and Walmart don’t feel the need for adding it to their features list. I’ve also added two laptop bags from my roundup post of the best professional laptop backpacks here.
The best laptop backpack with a water bottle holder goes in this order: The North Face Borealis, eBags Professional Slim, American Tourister Dig Dug Backpack, High Sierra Access 2.0, and Timbuk2’s Amory Pack.
1. The North Face Borealis
This laptop bag comes with a large water bottle holder. You can fit a blender bottle or a large thermos. This will fit the needs of someone going on a long hike or someone making a long trek from a free parking garage. The North Face makes comfortable backpacks, so holding extra weight from a water bottle shouldn’t be an issue. If you suffer from shoulder, back, or neck pain you will want to make sure you strap this on correctly to prevent discomfort. I’ll write a guide on this soon.
The Borealis is the perfect hiking laptop backpack that you can bring to work. This is much more friendly to attaching hiking accessories to the back of the pack. You’ll find it weighs less than the other bags with it being a smidge over 2lb. This allows you to be smart with your packing and keeping the overall weight down on your back. The reason I say this isn’t the perfect work laptop bag is simply that the storage won’t work for most people. There’s not enough organized pockets, zippers, or compartments to put things away like chargers, thumb drives, pens, or work keys. There is plenty of room in this bag, but it doesn’t use that room to its full potential as the eBags Professional Slim does.
2. eBags Professional Slim
This laptop backpack made it on to my blog list for a great professional laptop backpack. eBags didn’t take the number one spot like the Timbuk2 Armory Pack did. The reason I recommend this laptop backpack with a large water bottle holder is just that. This has a much larger water bottle compartment than the Armory Pack has to offer. Also, notice this bag can hold a 17-inch laptop. This is a rare occurrence in my world of laptop bags. Not enough 17-inch laptop bags are a big reason why I started this website. This bag also offers plenty of space for a laptop, tablet, binders or other work-related stationery. The water bottle holder is big and can handle a large thermos or even a big filtered water bottle.
This is a perfect laptop backpack if you want something you can carry most of your work to a coffee shop. If you bring your laptop to work in the office you will find this bag has multiple pockets with an organized layout for storage. You’ll find plenty of zipper pockets as well. This isn’t the right bag for you if you’re looking for a more rugged style or expect to take this hicking often. If you are a serious hiker and would like to strap things on the outside of the bag this isn’t as accommodating as the North Face Borealis.
3. American Tourister Dig Dug
The Dig Dug laptop backpack has an above-average sized water bottle holder and a very interesting style. This bag has a more retro casual look to it than a stiff-looking professional styled bag. I think you can still bring this one into the office but it’s not sporting a super conservative look. You can fit a large water bottle, thermos or tin in its side pocket. It’s about 5 inches deep so you can risk it on a high flask bottle and not have to worry too much.
The Dig Dug seems to be the American Tourister version of Timbuk2’s armory pack. They sport similar pocket layouts, organized storage, and approach the same “start-up” look in different ways. I haven’t tested the dig dug backpack yet to know what the build quality feels like. American Tourister is a name brand that we can probably trust, but I know for a fact the Timbuk2 is an awesome daily driver. If the Dig Dug style grips you, I would go for it. I know the Armory Pack is pretty water-resistant, however, I can’t find this feature on the Dig Dug. It’s not hard to pack an umbrella so it’s really not a big difference.
4. High Sierra Access 2.0
The High Sierra laptop backpack has a very roomy water bottle side pocket. Actually the whole backpack itself is huge. This is a full-sized bag with a big storage compartment, a separate laptop sleeve, and a front zipper pocket exposing organized compartments. However, the High Sierra is a less stylish backpack in my opinion. This is also the cheaper option of all the backpacks listed at the time of writing this. I think this is the ole’ faithful backpack of the bunch. This bag will do everything well, but it lacks the specific “great qualities the other bags do in terms of versatility to bringing this to work. This bag does not look like an office accessory. I’m sure there are plenty of places that wouldn’t care if you brought your Access 2.0 to work.
This all-arounder has a massive water bottle holder. If you are trying to drink a half-gallon or gallon of water a day with your water bottle, this bag is for you. This is perfect if you are an athlete, a bodybuilder, or a very health-conscious individual this may be your pick. If the bottle compartment size is the biggest priority in a laptop backpack this is for you. The High Sierra also comes with a rain cover that is stashed beneath the base of the backpack. Unzip the rain cover and your backpack, stored items, and laptop are waterproof. This would be a great backpack to go on hikes.
5. Timbuk2 Armory Pack
This is my current favorite everyday laptop backpack. You can read more about this bag in my previous blog post, professional laptop bags for men. This backpack will offer a more average-sized water bottle holder. The armory pack comes with a 15.6 laptop sleeve sharing the main large storage compartment.
The backpack is 20 inches tall allowing for a ton of space and a tall, average girth water bottle on the side. A bottle that is oddly shaped and very tall will work well with this bag. You’ll find a strap on the side to secure any bottle you place in it. This allows me to promote this as a great everyday laptop bag with a good water bottle holder. The bottle compartment isn’t massive, but if you have a tall water tin, you can get all the other benefits this bag has to offer like clever pocket placement and organized storage. This laptop backpack also brings with it a start-up vibe. You can wear this comfortably on a hike, a long commute to work, or a companion to an all-nighter study session in the library.
Your Laptop Backpack with a Water Bottle Holder
Well, what do you think? Do you agree with my backpack picks? Do you have a great backpack that you know deserves to be on this list? Then please comment below what it is. I’d love to check it out. Also, tell me what you use your laptop bags for. Do you mainly bring them to class or to work? Would you bring your laptop with you on small photography trips? Do you bring them out for Youtube video recording sessions? I bring my laptop wherever I go because I travel and don’t’ want to leave it behind when I’m out.
I’ve been needing some place to put my liquor bottle when I’m getting blathered in the woods. This’ll do