I recently married and moved from a NY suburb to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, NY. I'm a full time ELA teacher, Cross Country Coach, and tutor 4 days a week ALL OVER the island.
When I first moved to Manhattan the everyday hustle and bustle on trains and walking around was very tiresome. Without the right bag, it can be very burdensome. I was using a one strap over the shoulder bag which served it's purpose, but would give me intense shoulder and back pain. Not to mention I needed to shift and fidget the bag constantly to alleviate pain. I began looking into getting a bookbag type bag with two straps to remedy the pain while walking around. The issue was that I wanted a bag that would be big enough to hold materials from teaching, coaching, etc, but I also wanted it to look nice. I stumbled on this LL Bean ruck, and have never been happier. It's very large and can hold just about anything I need it to. The two pockets in the front are stellar for holding my small everyday things like pens, medications, chargers, etc. and the ruck sack is really just stellar. It is big enough to hold anything you may need to.
The leather and look of the bag is superb and beautifully crafted with the classic LL Bean touch. The leather has aged to perfection over the 4 months I have had it so far, and it continues to look even better as the days go on. Perhaps the best part about this bag which stands apart from any other bag I've encountered is it's weather proof ability. The ruck drawstring and interior lining make it near impossible to penetrate. I have been caught in monster NYC rain storms without any type of umbrella. Although my clothes were ruined, my important documents and paperwork were held to perfection in my ruck.
The only slight drawback is that my back sweats sometimes when walking with the ruck for extended periods of time. This is not a major hindrance though.
This bag is beautifully crafted and very attractive. I receive compliments on it regularly. However, it is quite heavy with nothing in it.
When wearing it around, unless you have a jacket on and it's cold outside your back will almost surely be covered in sweat, which is uncomfortable and doesn't do the leather any favors. Further, the small zip pocket on the inside that is against your back is poorly protected, anything you put in there (i.e. keys, lip balm, wallet) will press up against your back and be very uncomfortable. It doesn't come with waist straps as you can see, and for the weight it really doesn't make it worth it, also doesn't do your back any favors.
It's a nice backpack, but it's unreasonably heavy, very expensive and lacks in pockets. I'm conflicted about giving it a 2-star rating, but I think it deserves it. This one is getting sent back.
I bought this backpack to take to London for the Olympics last year. My initial impression was that it was quite heavy. Now, one year later, after trips to the US, Europe and South America with the backpack, my opinion has changed slightly. It is REALLY REALLY heavy! I think it is an ok bag for around town, but as part of your luggage scheme, it is heavy even for superman! But, it is beautiful.
the spring loaded fasteners do not work come open all the time dumping my jacket on the ground. Even when I don't a jacket placed under the top flap the spring loaded catches come open when I pick it up or when I'm carrying it over my shoulder. Have to be careful how I carry it and how I pack it because I may be picking some of the contents up off the ground, had to pickup broken glass a few times when soda bottles fell out of bag and smashed on the floor. Then during the first week of everyday use for work the stitching let go on the shoulder straps so the fabric ripped out on one side of the strap. Strap still works but looks cheap, and it wasn't cheap! I should of sent it back but I was just to lazy. Just ordered a dufflle type bag from L.L.Bean hope the quality of this bag is better
