While shopping I saw someone with this bag and it appeared to be what I was looking for. She was using it as a purse, which is the same as I planned to do. I didn't know her, so, of course, I didn't ask to examine the bag. When I received the bag it turned out to be bigger than I realized, even though I had read the measurements before ordering it. My fault, not the product's. I haven't done it, but she told me that it washes well. It has a LOT of pockets with zippers. The cell phone pocket on the strap is too little for my phone. Plus, it is assumed that you will wear the strap on your right shoulder. I don't. I wear it on my left shoulder, which puts the phone pocket behind me. So even if my phone fit, I wouldn't use it. Also, there is no zipper pocket inside. As I am using it for a purse, I miss that feature. It is big enough to carry my book with me. You could even put an umbrella in it on a rainy day. When traveling I will be able to put my maps, travel books, etc in it. It is nice to be able to use it as a purse plus book bag. It seems to be very durable. I expect to get many years service from it.
My son wanted to upgrade from a backpack this year. He thinks this bag is v. cool. He likes the pockets, especially the phone pocket on the strap. It seemed large, but he will have it for years. We looked at the medium as well, so while the large is a bit big for him now, the medium seemed too small, even for 5th grade. It holds everything!
Just returned from 15 days in Italy where I was leading a small tour. I had to carry all my papers, maps, books, umbrella, water bottle, first aid, etc, every day and knew these items would be quite heavy. The strap on this bag is SO comfortable and distributed the weight so well that I never got sore shoulders. The bag was knocked around and used heavily on the trip and stood up extremely well. The seams are sewn tightly, and the exterior never even showed any dirt or marks. This is a great bag!
Great bag, good size and lightweight. Nice monogram by LLBean. Shoulder strap is very long, and although it is adjustable, I still can't make it short enough to be comfortable - I'm 5'2''. Front flap clip is also a little hard to operate. Full of organizational spots. B+
