Nearly one month ago to the day, Moshi, the west coast maker of premium backpacks and bags, headphones, protective cases, and other digital lifestyle products, introduced their Autumn/Winter 2017 bag collection. With Autumn right around the corner across Europe and North America, what better opportunity than now to review their latest offerings. So without further delay, let’s take a closer look at one of the three recently released products in this Moshi Helios Lite backpack review.
• Well constructed modern design
• Durable fabrics and weather-resistant materials
• Fashion and technology conscious design
• Four beautiful color schemes
• Designed solely for women
• Cannot hold a 15″ laptop*
• $120 price may be deemed high by some
Moshi Helios Lite Backpack Review
If you’re familiar with this website, then you know that after doing a dozen reviews on Moshi products, we’re fans of this lifestyle brand.
Per the press release: “Moshi is excited to introduce its A/W 2017 bag collection featuring the Urbana briefcase, Helios Lite backpack and Costa travel satchel in two new colors: Slate Black and Sandstone Beige.”
“Whether it’s the twill-patterned Earth color option reminiscent of sturdy tweed jackets or the silky Coal color option with a luxurious herringbone pattern, Moshi’s new seasonal bag collection adds both class and sophistication to the everyday carry.”
[envira-gallery id=”9218″]A Stylish Backpack for the Younger Business Woman
Once again, I’ve done something different for this review. I had no choice but to enlist the help of others. As I’m not the target consumer for this fashion backpack (being a guy and all), I needed a woman’s perspective and a younger one at that. So I asked and received the assistance of my friend Smiley (I won’t disclose her actual name) on the review of this designer backpack. Photos of her sporting the Helios Lite are sprinkled above and below.
First impressions are important, and the ones I received from her were excellent. When Smiley first saw this fashion backpack via Moshi’s website, she was impressed and wished she had one. If you saw this product online, what would your first impression be?
To present the proper perspective on the Helios Lite backpack, it must be compared to similar fashion packs from the likes of Grafea, Kelly Moore, Vinta, just to name a few. Visit any of the brands’ websites and you’ll see that Helios/Helios Lite stack up well against them. You’ll notice similarities and you should since they’re all designer backpacks. It turns out that the quality and craftsmanship of their products is a non-issue. Along with more features, what you’ll see is a much better price, and to the high majority of us, that’s a deciding factor. Pretty much everything the others manufacture is over $200.
I welcome you to compare Moshi’s bags and backpacks to those more expensive brands. Only then will you know you’ve found the right bag or backpack for you.
On The Outside
You probably noticed that the Helios Lite laptop backpack for women is made from the same high-resilience polyester materials with the same weather-resistant surface treatment that appear on most, if not all of Moshi’s 2016 and 2017 bag collections. The similarities don’t end there. The Slate Black and Sandstone Beige colors that now grace the Urbana briefcase and Costa travel bag appear on this product as well.
On the front, you’ll see one left-to-right zipper with black vegan leather trim plus two faux-adjustable straps with magnetic snap latches. This 5″ x 9″ zippered pocket is a perfect place to store (sun)glasses and in-ear headphones like the Vortex Air. You can’t help but notice this zipper stand out. The metal handle is rounded with a stamped or engraved ‘moshi’ logo. Like the one on the rear, this rounded handle offers a contrast to the 90-degree angles of the bag, as well as to the square metal ‘moshi’ logo located on the lower right front of the Helios Lite.
[envira-gallery id=”9223″]On the rear of this 11.2″ x 3.9″ x 15.1″ designer backpack is one top-to-bottom zippered 8″ x 9″ hidden pocket. If you want to hide those items that’ll make you most upset if lost or stolen (identification cards, wallet, passport, etc.), then I suggest this pocket is where you hide them. What’s truly magical is a portion of the metal handle can be tucked away. Although you barely notice it, it’s a wonderful addition to the backpack.
One can’t forget the long, durable, padded, and adjustable shoulder straps. Each shoulder strap has two attachment points for items like a padlock or carabiner. Wrapping up the exterior is the thick vegan leather coat rack handle. What you don’t see on this backpack are water bottle holders or a cross-body strap, and I for one believe this is a good thing.
And finally, we come to the underside which has a durable and hardened surface with padding behind it to protect contents against drops.
As stated in the past Moshi reviews, “The zippers and straps are of high-quality, and the stitching is put together well.” As this product dates back to CES 2016, this fashion backpack is now available in four color patterns. (Sky Blue and Titanium Gray are its original colors.)
What’s On The Inside
Just like it’s big sister Helios, the interior of the Helios Lite is broken down into three compartments. Directly underneath the top front flap, the first compartment is capable of holding a 10″ iPad or tablet, plus a notebook. It’s accented with black vegan leather trim.
The next two compartments are within the bag’s wide-mouth opening. One is a thickly padded laptop compartment which protects your 13″ laptop in case of drops. The second is wide and deep. Internally on the front side, there’s a zippered pocket for your most sacred items, i.e., wallet, passport, etc., plus three loose pockets for items like a pen, a toothbrush, USB cables, or a Moshi IonBank 5K.
On the opposite side of the laptop compartment are two equally sized padded pockets running just under half the height of the pack. Each pocket is capable of holding one large mobile device. In the middle, feel free to pack some clothing, gloves, headphones, and lunch. We were surprised how much we could place in here while maintaining the backpack’s appearance. There’s also an adjustable strap down low to tighten or loosen the 4″ width of the pack.
[envira-gallery id=”9221″]The lining of this Moshi bag is luxurious, and it’s throughout their 2017 lineup. On this particular model, the lining is dark gray.
This bag weighs 25.74 oz and as stated earlier, has dimensions of 11.2″ x 3.9″ x 15.1″. For you Metric System users, the weight is 0.73 kilograms, and its dimensions are 28.5 x 10 x 38.5 cm.
Final Thoughts
The Moshi Helios Lite backpack delivers much with its feature-rich, fashion approach. Whether you’re a fashion-conscious Instagrammer girl or a young urban professional who likes to accessorize with a great-looking product, I believe you’ll be quite pleased with the Helios Lite. Smiley sure is.
All four color patterns of the Helios Lite are available for purchase on either Amazon (see link below) and the Moshi website.
Based on everything above, Moshi’s Helios Lite is one beautiful designer laptop backpack which fits nicely within the A/W 2017 bag Collection. If your needs steer you to something larger, then I direct you to Moshi’s Helios*.
The Moshi Helios Lite backpack delivers much with its feature-rich, fashion approach. Click To Tweet
What do you think of this Moshi Helios Lite backpack review? Do you agree or disagree that this is one of the best fashion backpacks for women in 2017? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.
Don’t hesitate to head over to the Moshi press page to see their latest product announcements. To learn more about service and support, click here for their Support page. There’s a one-year limited warranty on all Moshi products. There’s also an extended warranty via product registration. We highly advise you take advantage of this.
FTC Disclosure: Moshi provided Beantown LLC with one (1) Helios Lite laptop backpack sample (in slate black) for review purposes. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador.
All photographs are the copyrighted property of Beantown and Moshi © 2017.