I am a returning adult college student. I have had the bag for over one year. Twelve classes later, the bag still looks like its brand new. The stitching has held up amazingly well and there are not even any worn spots on the bottom. I've had so much in the bag, I could barely carry it and it has never wavered. The zippers are very strong and sturdy. It's was well worth the price i paid.
There are two drawbacks, I can't fit my 15.4" laptop into the pocket and the strap isn't made to adjust for short people. I am 5' 3" and even though I have it at the shortest length it's still just a bit too long for me. But these tiny issues are sooo worth dealing with because the bag is so amazing.
I just purchased three bags for my kids and am glad to spend the extra money for such amazing quality.
My oldest went through backpack after backpack with none of them lasting the whole school year. I finally broke down and bought this bag 4 years ago. (it might have been an older version, but looks the same) He still has this bag, it looks just like the day we got it. He carries a lot of heavy books and has been known to drag it on the floor. This is indestructible! Well worth the money!
I was looking for a carryall for occasional day trips into Manhattan. A backpack looks a little odd on a 49 year old walking around the city and I wanted to avoid the dreaded "murse" (man-purse) look. This bag in black fits the bill pretty much perfectly - holding stuff actually needed for errands as well as a book, newspapers, water bottle, iPod, etc. for the commute. I originally went with the large but it was really gigantic. I sent it back and exchanged it for a medium.
One minor qualm. The cell phone pocket on the strap seems to be for the older bar style cellphones. Its too long for a flip phone (phone drops to the bottom and gets lost) and too narrow for an IPhone or Blackberry type of phone.
Finally, it will fit a laptop but really doesn't have the padding to protect it. When I do carry a computer, I use a neoprene laptop sleeve.
i read a lot of reviews about this bag having a weird strap that doesn't adjust enough, but it worked just fine for me! i am 5'3'' and the bag rests right on my booty where i want it to, and i have no problems. i got the large size, which is a little big, but i thought the medium would be too small. i love it! very happy.
