SteelSeries, Targus team up for Sniper Gaming Backpack

Gaming peripherals specialist SteelSeries is officially moving into the luggage market, having announced a partnership with Targus to build what the pair claim to be 'the most versatile, protective gaming backpack' for the gamer on the go.

Known for its laptop cases, which it has been producing for more than three decades, Targus' partnership with SteelSeries on the backpack makes sense: SteelSeries brings brand recognition among gamers, while Targus certainly knows how to make a backpack. The result is the SteelSeries x Targus Sniper Gaming Backpack, a daft name for a wearable bag which includes a padded laptop compartment with 'SafePort Sling Protection' to suspend the device and attempt to protect it against sudden impacts.

Features designed to make the backpack stand out from the crowd - including other Targus creations - include a large main compartment with pouches designed to hold a rolled mouse mat, mouse, keyboard, and gaming controller, further storage for two headsets, 'hidden water bottle storage' so nobody knows you need hydration to stay alive because that would apparently reveal weakness to your opponents, and a rather more sensible secret pouch for personal belongings like a wallet or smartphone.

The front of the backpack includes two detachable pouches, with the larger of the two containing the second headset storage area and room for cables. The smaller, meanwhile, is free for whatever extra accessories you feel you need. The outside is, naturally, weatherproof nylon, with an integrated reflective rain cover which can be deployed during inclement weather.

Sadly, these features all come at a cost: SteelSeries and Targus have positioned the Sniper Gaming Backpack at the top of the market with a £129.99 (inc. VAT) retail price, putting it above rival devices like the £69.59 Asus ROG Shuttle II and £89 Lenovo Y Gaming Active Backpack and only barely below the MSI GT Series Christmas Bundle which includes branded backpack, mouse, headset, and 'Dragon Key Chain' for £149.99 (all inc. VAT).

More information is available on the official product page.