Granite Gear Rat Race Geek Pack : Take Your Office With You

Even though I've been an internet junky for years I long resisted getting a laptop for fear of becoming one of those carry-your-gigabytes everywhere people that I see at my local coffee joint, clicking away in a cacophonous mix of conversation and heavy metal music. After spending too much time on the road paying to use the internet in hip coffee joints with loud music, I broke down and got a laptop. For a while I carried my precious cargo in a sweat-stained back pack but recently I switched to the Rat Race Geek Pack by Granite Gear and, as the IT specialist said, that has made all the difference.

The Rat Pack has a padded front, back and bottom. as well as an internal sleeve for even more protection. There are so many pockets to in which to stow my iPod, cell phone, chargers, keys, calculator, pens, notebooks, magazines, books and... well, you can see why they say that the Rat Pack allows you to carry your office on your back.

On my last road trip - a two-week stint in Hawaii to compete in a 32-mile ocean race - I also stowed a novel, notebook, duct tape and plenty of snacks. There are so many zippered pockets inside and out that my biggest challenge was remembering which pocket contained what? Another great feature is the tuck-away padded shoulder straps that allows me to wear the pack comfortably on my back or, if I chose, to carry it as a briefcase. A hip belt and glow-in-the-dark reflective strips allow me to ride a bike at night with my gear secured on my back.  

Bottom Line : Part back pack, part laptop case, the fortified, pocket-rich Rat Race Geek Pack is made of durable nylon that's ideal for students, business travelers and hipsters who frequent wireless coffee joints with raucous rock 'n roll playing in the background.--J.G. (June '08)

Price : $175.00 (on sale for $140.00 at www.backcountry.com) , Click to Purchase Online at Amazon

Manufacture's Site : www.granitegear.com

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