Gotta love LLBean. I used this bag continuously for over 3 years, loved the rugged good looks. It sprung the piping on the flap and I called to see if they would replace it. They did. Not only that, a real human being answered the phone--no phone menu AT ALL. I am a fan forever.
The only thing that is lacking on this bag in comparison to it's larger look a like is the cell phone pouch on the side. That would make it the perfect bag!
I've had this shoulder bag for several months now, and I love it and use it almost every day.
First, I love the way the bag looks. I chose the olive color, which I find attractive, good for all seasons, and easy to keep looking clean.
The quality of the construction is excellent, which is important to me; after several months of use, the bag still looks great.
The bag just the right size for me -- not so big as to be unwieldy and bulky in my travels about town, but not so small that I can't stash extra items like a paperback book in the main compartment or a 16 oz. water bottle in the open outside back pocket along with the staples I usually carry.
The wide, adjustable shoulder strap makes the bag comfortable to carry even when the bag is heavily loaded.
I like the fact that the inside of the bag does not contain zillions of little organizer pockets for pens, credit cards, and cell phones, which is one of my pet peeves about many other shoulder bags. I like small internal organizer pockets in larger pieces of luggage like book packs and briefcases. However, I don't care for organizer pockets in handbags and shoulder bags, because I often find that when I'm trying to slide items into the main compartment, the items get snagged on the pen loops, etc., which I find annoying. So I'm especially happy that this bag doesn't have any internal organizer pockets, etc., aside from one zippered pocket at the back wall of the main zippered compartment and a key clip in the front zippered compartment.
This shoulder bag is perfect as far as I'm concerned -- I hope L.L. Bean doesn't change a thing!
This is my second bag. I absolutely love this bag it is perfect for everyday use with a lot of room for everything I need. My first one was in the light khaki color and of course through wear it has gotten extremely dirty so I decided to go ahead and order another one just in a darker color and I love the color. This bag is perfect for me. The only con is when the leather starts to get too loose and it can have trouble holding but this takes a long time to happen.
