The best feature about this bag is the padded strap. It's extremely comfortable and makes heavy loads tolerable. It's made with high quality materials and assembled to be durable for years to come. The pocket that holds pens/pencils is a little awkward because of the vertical zipper - you have to pull a handful of pens out at once to see which one you're looking for, but that's really a minor thing. I bought one of these bags for myself, and my 11 year old daughter loved it so much, we bought her one for Christmas. The bottom is not padded, so if you plan to carry a laptop in this bag, you might want to use a laptop sleeve with it for cushioning.
My father found this practical and lightweight. He works at a hospital and it is useful for all kinds of things, plus he said it is comfortable. It's not fancy, but very nice in black.
ProsDurable, Great Value, Performing as Expected, rain doesn't scare it
I walk one mile to/from work daily. My shoulders are sore from using my LLBean backpack. I am really happy with having changed to this bag.
Capacity is not huge, but I have other bags I can use for travel. This holds my lunch, papers, a book, and has compartments for my iPod, headphones, keys, etc. It's well made, strap is comfy and easily adjustable, and secure once adjusted, it doesn't slip. Feels comfortable on my hip. The cell phone pocket in the strap is tiny, but has mesh, so I've put a bike flasher in it to help with visibility. The piping on the bag is Scotchlite, but I would have preferred a bit more of the reflective material: I commute in dark, rainy Oregon on a street without sidewalks. The flap keeps things dry, and if I'm fearing a downpour, there's an inside closure that looks like it could _almost_ keep things dry if I dropped this in a river. Great quality as ever. I really value dealing with LLBean.
Bag makes a good casual briefcase for work. It's lightweight and easy to wipe clean. Had to return first one because the snap in the back was broken. The strap is really long though, even for an adult.
