Toffee Berlin backpack review: Stylish bag, best for light travel or work

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Whether you’re a frequent traveller, a student, or even a commuter that just needs to transport various items between work and home, a backpack is a popular and convenient means of doing so. Available with an incredible number of sizes, styles, and features, finding the right backpack for you may be difficult. The Toffee Berlin backpack is a stylish option that may hold just enough for your commuting needs. We’ll talk more about the bag in this full review.

Specifications

  • Outer Fabric: 100% waxed cotton canvas and genuine leather
  • Side pockets: 100% genuine naturally milled leather with a subtle pebble grain
  • Lining: 95% Cotton, 5% Spandex
  • Bag Size: 260 mm/11.4 inches (L), 410 mm/15.3 inches (H), 14 cm/5.5 inches (W)
  • Compatible With: MacBook Air/Pro, Surface Pro 3 & 4 and other similar sized notebooks up to 13-inch.

What’s in the Box

  • Toffee Berlin backpack

Design

The Toffee Berlin backpack is available in black, blue, or grey. The black and blue bags feature brown leather accents while the grey bag includes black leather accents. For this review, I’ll be talking about the grey version of the bag. The bag, as mentioned above in the specifications, is largely made of waxed cotton canvas with leather accents. It’s worth mentioning that the bag does have a rather strong odor (somewhat similar to the smell of mothballs) straight out of the packaging, though it does dissipate pretty quickly.

Toffee Berlin backpack review Full front

The front of the backpack includes a small leather accent in the center near the top featuring the Toffee name mark. Also near the top is a metal key clip, attached via a leather strap. Near the bottom, you’ll find the large outside zippered pocket, which gives you roughly 6” x 10” of storage. The sides of the bag each feature a leather pocket, suitable for a water bottle or umbrella. One thing to note, the leather does not stretch, so you won’t be able to squeeze a large bottle or other large item in there.

The back of the bag includes a leather top strap which doubles as a handle and a leather strip holding the shoulder straps in place on top. The straps are a nice sturdy fabric with adjustable padding that slides up and down to sit where it’s most comfortable for you. The straps are adjusted using a thick metal slider and are attached at the bottom with a similar thick metal bracket. The bottom of the bag includes four metal feet that help not only keep your Berlin backpack standing upright, but also help keep it up and off of the floor or ground.

Opening the main zippered pocket, you’re greeted by a thin striped inner cotton and spandex liner — the same striped fabric is located in the outside zippered pocket as well. The inside of the front flap is padded, while the back wall is padded and features a quilt stitch pattern. At the top of the back wall you’ll also find a nameplate where you can write your name, phone number, and email address in case your bag ever gets lost or stolen. Just below the nameplate, you’ll find the main laptop storage pocket, with a smaller tablet storage pocket just below that. The remaining interior space is a large open area for files or any other items you’d like to carry with you.

Toffee Berlin backpack review Inside Pockets and Nameplate
Laptop pocket (top) with smaller tablet pocket underneath.

The laptop pocket is meant for smaller laptops (13” and below) while the tablet pocket can accommodate a tablet no wider than 7.5”. I did find that my 15.6” laptop would fit in the laptop pocket, but only just barely. You’d have to kind of stretch the top of the bag up over the top of your laptop in order to be able to close it, and I just really wouldn’t recommend doing that. My Chromebook fit quite a lot better with its smaller size. You’re going to want to stick with smaller devices because this is somewhat smaller than some other backpacks.

The Toffee Berlin backpack is beautifully designed. The construction is top notch, and it is comfortable to wear. Its smaller size may not work for all people, though. I’ve mentioned in more than a few of my reviews that I’m a big dude (6’6”) and this backpack honestly looks almost comically small when I wear it, though it is perfect for my wife.

Protection

The front padding has a nice, squishy feel to it, though it isn’t particularly thick. The back quilted padding doesn’t have the same sort of “squish” to it, although with that side on your back, it will be more protected that way. The inside of the laptop and tablet pocket both feature a softer lining facing towards the front of the bag, so you’ll want to face your iPad or other tablet forward in order to benefit from the softer lining as well as the padded front cover.

Toffee Berlin backpack review Bottom Feet
Four metal feet help keep the bag standing upright, as well as off of the ground/floor.

This isn’t the type of bag that’s going to protect your device from a fall down the stairs, though it’s not intended to be. The Toffee Berlin backpack will, however, hold up to the occasional bump or scrape that a commuter might face in their daily travels. There is some protection there, but that’s not the bag’s primary focus.

Price/Value

Priced at $149.95USD, this backpack is definitely priced based on the quality of its construction and its beautiful design. I personally would prefer to have a few more pockets on my backpack, but this backpack will definitely hold value for a light traveler or a commuter that wants to transport their smaller laptop and other documents in style.

Wrap Up

The Toffee Berlin backpack is solidly built and very stylish. It would work best for someone that doesn’t have a lot to carry, but it will comfortably hold your smaller laptop and tablet along with their chargers and other accessories. If you just need something small but want something that looks great, is comfortable to wear, and is built to last you should give the Toffee Berlin backpack a look.

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*We were sent a review sample of the Toffee Berlin backpack for the purposes of this review.
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