Targus Radiance Ladies Laptop Tote Bag Review

by Niki Breese

Introduction

The Targus Radiance is a ladies tote bag that comes in three colors; chocolate brown, petal pink, and sage. It features a padded sleeve that can best accommodate notebooks with an approximate screen size of 15-inches.

Style

The Targus Radiance Tote bag under review features the chocolate brown color option, this color would be a good choice for a business woman that wants to look trendy and professional.  The brown is certainly more understated than the petal pink option, you'll obviously choose color based on your work environment and fashion tastes. 

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The shape of the bag is very square overall, the exterior dimensions of 15.25" x 14" (h x w) give you an idea of this fact.  The bottom of the bag is black and you have the same color handles to match.  The style is attractively sleek and modern looking.  If you're the more outrageous and like to get noticed type, the pink option offers a faux crocodile pattern on the bottom and handles (faux meaning no crocodiles were actually harmed in making of this bag!). 

The overall bag construction is a brown microfibre.  The black areas you see are a black PVC material. The overall feel of the material is sturdy, with the black bottom PVC area seeming especially resilient and durable.

Features Overview

Unzip the Targus Radiance bag and you'll find it has a single deep storage area. This storage area is a padded compartment that offers a securing Velcro strap to hold a notebook in place.  The compartment can house a 15" screen or smaller notebook.  I have a 15.4" screen Dell notebook and was just barely able to squeeze that into the bag (see picture below).  15" or 14" screen notebooks would be a better fit,  I wouldn't really recommend this as a great solution for carrying a large 15.4" screen laptop.

For organization the bag has four card slips to carry business cards or ID, four looped pencil / pen holders, a large slip pouch that could store an MP3 player and one deep but tight zipper pocket.  There is also included a detachable pouch that could be used to store make-up or money.  The Radiance tote could fill in nicely as a pseudo-briefcase type of carry bag or even fill-in as a large purse that simply has a place for a laptop.

Definitely worth a mention, a breast cancer support ribbon key chain comes with the bag. The little package the keychain came in says, "Funds will be used to support breast cancer initiatives."

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Dimensions:

The recommended largest size dimension laptop that will fit inside this bag are designated by Targus as being the following:  13.19" x 11.81" x 1.69"

The actual overall exterior dimensions of the Targus Radiance are: 15.25" x 4.125" x 14"

Downsides:

The laptop compartment is a tad thin and doesn't offer as good protection as a thick and highly cushioned Targus backpack would.  The frame of the bag can get misshapen if you don't treat it properly and after some rough usage you might see some dints and dings on close inspection.  The stitching could also have been a bit better.

Conclusions:

The Targus Radiance tote is a trendy tote bag for ladies. It offers good storage space for paper, pencils, books, make-up, and of course laptops of up to 15 inches in screen size! One of the major selling points is that this bag is very affordable, it costs $39.99,which is really not too bad.  Additionally, a portion of the purchase will go to support the fight against breast cancer, so you can feel extra good about buying this bag.

Pros

• Durable materials
• Sleek and Modern Looks
• Deep opening with good storage to stay organized
• Detachable pouch
• It is possible to fit a smaller dimensioned 15.4" laptop in here
• Good price

Cons

• Laptop compartment doesn't offer the best protection
• No external storage for quick access to smaller items
• Only supposed to fit laptops up to 15"
• Stitching could be better, dings and dints may show up if used roughly

Pricing and Availability

Chocolate:

Sage:

Pink: