I purchased this bag to take to Europe last month and had planned to use it as a carry-on. It was great - it carried two knitting projects, my iPad, a light change of clothes, and meds in case our luggage got lost plus even more stuff than that...very roomy.
I bought the sand one and it's lovely to look at and the price isn't bad...until you factor in all the Canadian taxes and duties to get it here :-)
My main two complaints are: 1) the front flap is WAY too long - as in, unless it's bulging full, the flap does this strange gapping thing, even on the tightest buckle setting. 2) the strap is not very comfortable, especially when the bag is quite full and heavy. There should be padding to make wearability a little more comfortable.
I was going to buy the shoulder bag version but I read the same oddly-sized-front-flap issue occurs with that bag too, so I may not after all.
I had high expectations for this bag, as LL Bean almost invariably puts out a good product. While this bag looked to be durable, unfortunately, thats about as much as can be said about it. Clearly not much thought was put into designing the interior - there are no real pockets to speak of apart from a zippered one. The bag is a little small compared to most other messenger bags, and perhaps most annoying of all is that the bottom of the bag lacked reinforcement to allow the bag to hold any shape whatsoever. I ultimately purchased a Fossil Wagner East/West Messenger bag, and feel that LL Bean would do well to learn from the design elements of that bag (slightly reinforced bottom, magnet snaps, intelligently placed pockets, and thick shoulder strap to comfortably distribute weight).
