One of the last places you are going to look for a well-made backpack is from brands that make laptops. While they do make some decent bags, you don’t get the same level of making as brands that specialise in that area, like WANDRD, Lihit Lab – to name a few. But ROG has been nailing the accessory scene for a while, and after using the ROG Slash Backpack 4.0, it’s safe to say, if WANDRD ever made a gaming backpack, this is exactly what they’d make.
ROG Slash Backpack 4.0 Review
Design and Build
A little fun fact for y’all – the ROG Slash Backpack 4.0 was in development for 6 months – and why is that important? Every brand that specialises in making gears takes time to design and make the right kind of bag. We have seen this with brands like Peak Design, WANDRD, Kokuyo and so on. And just this time taken to develop the ROG Backpack is already indicative that they did think things through.
And I can happily tell you this – the ROG Slash Backpack 4.0 is easily the sexiest backpack around – and while it screams techwear in more ways than one, it screams TechWear for the right reasons. You’d think the Stealth Black finish ROG has opted for isn’t going to grab the attention – well, that’s where you are wrong. A good bag deserves the attention it gets, and this is doing that job well, especially at the airport, where people would ask me what bag it is.
The monograms all around the backpack are subtle; you have a small tag at the bottom, with Pink and Blue stitches, which is a dead giveaway that this backpack has something going on.
The choice of material is excellent: specifically designed to be travel-friendly and safe too. On the top part, you do have this “PU Leather-like” material, which is smooth to the touch and easy to clean with a simple wipe. There’s an entire guide on how to take care of the bag.
The rest of the bag uses a fabric which I do prefer over Cordura for two reasons, and that’s Ripstop. This specific nylon fabric is designed to be water-repellant and tear-resistant, and in places where slashing bags are pretty common, it can protect your things from such instances. Cordura is good, but it can get heavy depending on the fabric you go for, so opting for Ripstop is good. (Again, personal preferences, and I still do use my Cordura Bags).
That doesn’t mean this bag is light, as it weighs about 1.4kg; however, oddly and surprisingly lighter than my go-to ROG ErgoAir Backpack (1.6kg).
Usually, a bag’s structural integrity falls apart after a while, and two months is a good duration to put that to the test. I am happy to report that the ROG Slash Backpack 4.0 is constructed very well from the ground up. The bottom part of the bag has a definite shape, so placing it on surfaces is easier, and it can stand on its own. The weight distribution of the bag design is good, too. If you don’t choose to keep anything in the main compartment, the laptop compartment alone can keep the laptop balanced.
There are certain areas of the bag where you’ll notice the Nylon Strap, which adds flair to the bag; however, it has more function than you think, which we will address in the later part of this content.
Comfort-wise
Starting with the Strap, the soft-touch PU Leather finish is very nice. On the inside, you have this micro-fibre lining, which, in my opinion, is a really good option because if you sweat heavily, you need a strap that dries faster and has moisture-wicking properties. It does that very well.
Support is equally crucial on a backpack: there are supports stitched with the nylon straps, to give better support and adjustability. The first one is the shoulder support, which can be adjusted to each individual’s height and to have the padding supporting the right areas of a person’s back.
Then you have the chest buckle to evenly distribute the weight around, which is very useful and can be adjusted accordingly to a male or female anatomy.
The thought process that has gone into this bag is extremely commendable because these are the features you must look for in a backpack. It doesn’t end there.
The Back padding is good with support offered around the shoulder, back and the lower back as well. Unlike the ErgoAir, which uses Air pads for support, this one uses a foam pad to keep the back supported. It’s firm enough to know that it will last a good while.
Functionality
This bag has features that offer the best kind of functionality you can expect from ROG. For starters, I am a huge fan of Fidlock and magnets, and this ROG Slash Backpack 4.0 has them. The main compartment uses magnets to close instead of drawstrings, which helps with the more minimalist look and less clutter around.
After you roll down the roll-top, you can then secure the contents of your bag by locking it with the FIDLOCK. Now, if you want to access the main compartment without opening the FIDLOCK, ROG has designed a zipper on the side for you to access the content of your bag.
Next up, you have the Quick access compartment on the top, which is nice – this is a good place to store your quickly accessible essentials, such as your phone, earbuds, business card holder, sunglasses and so on.
While the compartment is small, it uses soft fabric, so you can place enough things without worrying about the space limitations. There’s also a secret compartment tucked behind the lower-back support of the bag. While this may not be able to hold a lot of content, it is a great place to put your passport holder, phone and Airtag – because this bag doesn’t have a dedicated slot for it.
ROG has done a great job in giving a proper soft-touch material in the laptop compartment, which can fit up to an 18-inch laptop, and yes, it can fit the ROG Strix Scar 18 (We tried lol). But the compartment has the right width to fit a thick laptop with no issue whatsoever. In my case, the Zephyrus G14 was sitting in that compartment with no problems. Due to the small laptop size, I could fit my tablet in the same compartment as well.
Experience
Immediately, I’ll say this – the ROG Slash Backpack 4.0 is not for those users, who need multiple compartments to separate their things – which has its benefit – but this bag is more for users who prefer a one big compartment with 2-3 dedicated compartment to have quick access to the things they require access to immediately. In this case, the laptop, a quick compartment on top which holds your essentials and a secret compartment.
Forget about the little space on the front, which is only ideal to hold a pack of wet tissues, which I guess is better than nothing. Using this backpack for over two months, it has done some airtime with me as well, like, during my Singapore trip back in March 2025.
Throughout the trip, I found this bag to be the best kind of bag to travel with, especially to countries where pickpocketing is rampant. The clean finish and the lack of any immediately accessible compartment keep the bag accessible to prying eyes, and you need to organise it properly in your bag to make life easier.
In my case, I do pack my things in pouches, which makes my life easier – like my camera and lens in one pouch, my charger and powerbank in another pouch, the headphones and Walkman in a separate case and the ROG Ally X on its own. So, maintaining this discipline while packing helps a lot and works wonders. So, you won’t be fumbling when the Baggage Check asks you to take all the electronics.
Unlike the ErgoAir backpack, which comes included with a Tech Pouch – a very useful addition, this does not come with one, so you will have to buy it separately or get a different kind of pouch that works to your advantage. Either way, the single compartment is versatile for users to organise things however they would like to. There are little pockets on the top for you to store some stuff, which is a little hard to access if you use the quick access zip on the side.
Speaking of the quick access zip on the side, it does help a lot at times – especially to take my umbrella for instance, quickly whip out my camera to take some photos and put it back in, or access my headphones before I board the flight (which funnily enough I lost it at the airport and got it back, which is a story for another day). That said, everything with this bag is thoughtfully put together.
The FIDLOCK and the magnets to close the compartment are absolutely genius. This isn’t the first time we have seen ROG use FIDLOCK, as it goes way back to the first ever Slash sling bag. The quick latch is easier to close and open, and doesn’t open that easily if some stranger were to yank it.
Conclusion
A good backpack is worth the investment, and the ROG Slash Backpack 4.0 is a fantastic backpack for RM 629. What’s more shocking is that a gaming brand has created this backpack, and they have not missed the mark at all. Keep us excited, ROG, because it’s not just a brand at this point, ROG is truly a lifestyle – and the new ROG Slash Backpack 4.0 lives up to that.
That’s not all, because the ROG Slash 4.0 Lineup has two other products, which we have reviewed as well: the ROG Slash Sling Bag 4.0 and the ROG Slash Sleeve 4.0.
The ROG Slash Backpack 4.0 gets our Vesper Choice Award for being a great, functional backpack for gamers and casual users out there who are looking for this specific build.
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