Call it a man purse if you must, but I don't go anywhere without a laptop bag holding all the essentials: a water bottle, umbrella, NYC guide book, and whichever other book I happen to be reading. On some days, however, my load is fairly light, so the bag's weight is always noticeable. At 1.6 pounds, the LowePro Messenger Factor M ($30 street) is perfect for such occasions, yet durable enough to also support a full load.

Like other notebook bags I've tested, the Factor M's padded compartment does not extend to the full width of the bag. While the bag appears to be wide enough to hold 17-inch notebooks, LowePro claims that the laptop compartment is limited to 14 inches, though I was able to fit a 15.4-inch MacBook Pro with little effort. The Factor M uses relatively little material, which helps keep the bag light (while keeping cost down)--there's just enough padding to protect your notebook from contents in the bag's main compartment, which is really all you need.

In addition to the notebook pouch, the main compartment also includes three smaller pouches without padding, large enough to hold a cell phone, small camera, or your notebook's power adapter. There's also a small hook to hold a set of keys.

The bag offers plenty of room for storing additional gadgets in front, with two lightly padded compartments roomy enough for an MP3 player or point-and-shoot camera, and a small zippered mesh pocket, which I used for securing my headphones and various cards. There's also a transparent business card holder, so good Samaritans will know where to return your lost bag.

I never travel anywhere without a full water bottle, so I was pleased to find that it fit easily in a mesh pocket on the right side of the bag. There's also a zippered compartment on the left side of the Factor M, which I used to store a small folding umbrella.

Excess padding adds weight, and there's not much here. The bag's rear is covered in a layer of thin padding, which I found to be sufficiently comfortable with a lighter load. The shoulder pad was the thinnest I've seen on a notebook bag, as was the strap itself. With the bag full, I noticed that the added weight was not as evenly distributed as with pricier bags I've tested, such as the ThinkTank Photo Airport Check In.

Perhaps the least expensive notebook bag on the market, the LowePro Messenger Factor M is one of the best values I've seen. There's plenty of room to store all your goodies, and the bag's light weight and durability makes it useful for carrying both light and heavy loads. A steal at $29.99, the Factor M is available from eBags.com in black, parsley (green), or espresso (brown).