XD Design Bobby Pro: The Remake We've Been Waiting For

Backpacks are booming. About ten years ago, they were worn by schoolchildren and tourists, and today every second one is walking along the street with a backpack. XD Design Studio combines innovative backpacking values ​​with sophisticated pickpockets. Talk about her new urban backpack XD Design Bobby Pro.

What does it look like

Bobby is a backpack well-known in narrow circles that was born thanks to crowdfunding platforms. He and his clones are often found on city streets. You can read more about the origin of the XD Design line of protective urban backpacks and the first Bobby in this review.







The new Bobby Pro launched at the end of January 2019 on Kickstarter with its twin brother Bobby Tech. For a month the couple raised 245,000 €. Bobby Tech has its own solar panel. Bobby Pro is an upgrade of the very first backpack. Its improvements are not so obvious and are revealed during use.



The volume of the Bobby Pro has increased compared to the original Bobby - from 13 to 18 liters. The size of this has not changed much. But the base has become wider, and now the backpack is quietly standing on any surface.







The design has remained minimalistic. No fanciful details, simple lines and muted colors. Bobby Pro does not seem redundant in the office. Non-marking fabric almost does not get dirty and is easy to wipe with a damp cloth: the backpack is waterproof.



Reflective stripes are applied to the front of the backpack and strap. They increase the visibility of the backpack owner in the dark.







The back is breathable, soft and comfortable to the body. The straps are also soft, thick and fit well on the shoulders. The left shoulder strap has acquired a special magnetic fastener for fixing a smartphone or bottle.







The fastener works with a complete Velcro strap for the bottle and a smartphone case. They are fixed on the strap at any angle, but are pulled out only from the bottom up and remain in place when shaking.







Fly in the ointment: only iPhone 6, 7 and 8 (not Plus) and similar-sized smartphones are placed in the case. This aroused the anger of the backers on Kickstarter, so it is not clear why the cover was left in this form and why it is needed at all.

Do not cut, do not open

The Bobby line is loved for protection against pickpockets.







As with previous models, Bobby Pro is made from five layers of different materials. This time, an eco-friendly fabric made from recycled plastic bottles - RPET, fell into the “sandwich”.



The front of the backpack is covered with smooth eco-leather, under which are hidden anti-cut polypropylene, foam and thick RPET fabric. The sides are composed of two layers of “green” fabric, foam and anti-cut material. To the touch, the Bobby Pro is denser than the original Bobby. Like the first version, it is almost impossible to cut.





Owner can open Bobby Pro, pickpocket - no



Durable fabric is not limited to: the design itself does not allow outsiders to get into the backpack. Zipper runs along the edge of the back and is covered with a thick fold of fabric. When the backpack is hanging on the wearer's back, it’s impossible to get to the zipper. To the pockets, too, because they are all hidden.







Bobby Pro has acquired a third line of defense, which was not in some previous models. Holes for a padlock are provided in the sliders of his zipper. Close the backpack to the castle - get an impregnable bastion.

What to wear and how to use it

Bobby Pro has two purposes: a backpack for carrying gadgets and carry-on luggage for travel. You can use the backpack for work and study, and then leave the city for a couple of days.



The back of the backpack is responsible for storing gadgets. It has a 15.6-inch laptop compartment and a 12.9-inch laptop compartment. In the “tablet” pocket are placed “yogabuki” - Lenovo transformers and their clones. It turns out that in the backpack there is a place for two useful devices.







Additionally, there are four pockets: two regular and two mesh. It is convenient to store in them charges, mice, adapters, wires and other trifles.



Outside the back are two hidden pockets. One, vertical, is designed for a tablet or e-book with a diagonal of 12.9 inches. The second, horizontal, shielded (has RFID protection). A smartphone and a wallet are placed in it, you can put documents and tickets. Strap on top of the pocket - to secure the Bobby Pro on the handle of the suitcase.







On the right shoulder strap there is another shielded pocket for plastic cards. All previous versions of Bobby had such pockets, but they had a drawback: they did not close. The Bobby Pro zip pocket closes with a zipper. Now the card will definitely not fall out with an awkward movement.







A key pocket is hidden under the left shoulder strap. He is at hand with the owner, but not accessible to the pickpocket. The pocket is equipped with a retractor - a special “leash” for keys. The retractor itself pulls the keys into its pocket and prevents them from accidentally falling out.







The second half of Bobby Pro is used to carry bulk items. It has mesh pockets, but the main feature is the removable dividers on the Velcro.



The separators are three pieces: one long and two short. They are removed and placed arbitrarily, for specific things. When you need to fill your backpack with books for study or carry something voluminous in it - remove the dividers to gain access to the entire space of the backpack.







Need to carefully sort your gadgets, clothes, and toiletries for your trip? Put the dividers back in place and put things in the resulting two, three, or four compartments. Then “turn up the locks” - lift and close the fabric partition with a zipper. Now things will not fall out and will lie still, without interfering with using a laptop.







The partition is cleaned in its own compartment at the bottom of the backpack. Two short separators will fit there.







On the side is a pocket with two wires for a bank. Outside, under the right shoulder strap, is a triangular block with USB and USB Type-C inputs. These are ports for charging gadgets and for charging the power bank itself.







From USB Type-C comes a cable with microUSB and a USB-C adapter. Connect it to the corresponding input of the bank, and to the output - the second USB cable.







Now you can use the external battery without pulling it out of the backpack.

Characteristics in comparison

Since we called Bobby Pro a “remake” of the Original Bobby, it makes sense to compare them in detail:

As you can see, Bobby Pro is better in all respects. There are no too revolutionary changes, so the owners of the original should not worry.







Bobby Pro can be purchased at Madrobots.ru. Together with the backpack, we give an external WOLT battery with a capacity of 16,000 mAh. In addition, for Habr's readers, until September 15, Bobby Pro and Bobby Duffle have a 20% discount on the PRO promo code.



Like the idea of ​​a Bobby backpack? Here are reviews of other models:



Original XD Design Bobby - 13 liters, 15.6 "laptop compartment

XD Design Bobby Compact - 11 liters, 14 "laptop compartment

XD Design Bobby Bizz - 10 liters, 15.6 "laptop compartment

XD Design Bobby XL - 15 Liter, 17 "Laptop Compartment

XD Design Bobby Urban - 27 liters, 15.6 "laptop compartment

XD Design Bobby Urban Lite - 27 liters, 15.6 "laptop compartment

Backpack dualism: after 3 months of using Bobby Bizz.