I first used my messenger bag in place of a handbag on a trip to visit my daughter in Seattle. It was too heavy to use all of the time and I resorted to a simple tote. I used it on a recent trip for my laptop and books. It was terrific. The nice wide straps supported a rather heavy load and it fits easily under an airplane seat.
I bought this bag to use for work (carrying laptop and files). The good -- its a large bag with lots of room and the shoulder straps are long enough to go over my winter coat. Things to improve -- it has no outside pockets -- one or two for keys/blackberry, etc. would be good. Its heavy without anything in it -- the leather is very thick, which will likely make it very durable. Also, the fold over feature adds to the weight and the buckle doesn't stay fastened all the time. There are no dividers inside it -- would be nice to be able to separate things a bit. And finally, the bag is more of a sandy beige color in my opinion as opposed to brown -- not as dark as I thought it would be although still an OK color. I'm still looking for the perfect tote bag for work -- something that looks professional and still feminine. This one I'll save for weekend trips.
I love my new leather messenger bag! It's so roomy. The leather is so soft and I know that this bag will last me a very long time. I'm so glad I ordered it.
This is a great bag, however, for ladies who are considering this bag, it has a bit of a masculine feel to it, so I'm giving it 4 stars only to alert shoppers. The buckle hardware on the black bag is a dark, smokey color. If the buckle hardware were a bright silver color (and the zipper, too) it would be perfect for me. I just can't get into that dark, smokey metal hardware. It bothers me. For those shoppers who aren't persnickety about such trivial things, I give it 5 stars. KEW
