Traveler Briefcase

Very good purchase

Beautiful leather, expertly crafted, with tight stitching and thoughtful features. I needed a day briefcase for short trips to the coffee shop and local meetings with clients. I have a beast of a briefcase for business trips and travel, but Land Leather's Travel Briefcase hits the sweetspot when I don't need to haul around an arm-stretching amount of whoop-dee-doo in my big leather case. The Traveler's Briefcase fits my 13-inch notebook, although removing the padded casing creates room to hold a 15-inch machine. Plenty of space for the power brick, headphones in their case, a notebook, file folders, a couple of books and a bagged lunch, if necessary. The front compartment has pockets for business cards, a phone, pens and other small items. Yes, and I really love the Vachetta leather -- smooth and soft, yet obviously durable. In just over a year I've turned into a Land Leather addict, buying the San Fran duffel, Odyssey backpack, the Alpha Spinner carry-on and the Dopp kit. Every piece is a winner and appears likely to last another century. These Land Leather bags will give my kids something to argue over when my travels finally take me away to the sweet by and by. Until then, as for terrestrial journeys, accept no substitutes: Land Leather is the way to go. Best regards, a happy customer.

I spent a lot of time looking at different leather bags, because I was hyper-specific with what I wanted.

I wanted a briefcase (not a messenger bag); real, quality leather (not fake or crap); two handles (for better balance); more than one top-load pocket (and no flap); quality zippers (busted zips make me choose violence over peace); a front pocket (for stuff); isn't bulky (but still big enough to be useful); a luggage pass-through (for convenience at the airport); doesn't bleed dye onto my clothes (for obvious reasons); has a meaningful warranty (because no manufacturer is perfect); is from a reputable brand (or at least one I've heard of); and I want all that for <$400.

Many would say "Good luck Chief, let me know how that works out for you.", and it was looking like their sarcasm would be my fate for a while there.

Then I found this bag.

Skeptical at first, I scrutinized the pictures, read up on Land, read the reviews, read reviews of their other products, watched the vids, scoured their website, checked the BBB, asked Mr. Google if he thought Land Leather was legit. I cursed. I prayed. I called my lawyer and told him to fire up the false-advertising language on his firm's letterhead just in case.

Then I took the plunge. I ordered this baddie and waited with cautious anticipation to see if it was destined to land on my porch. It did. I cautiously opened the box, expecting to see a hairy animal hide, held together with duct-tape and Leatherface stitching, and coated with a substance the State of California knows to cause cancer. But alas! It was the bag I ordered, looking like the picture I obsessed over, and the smell...oh that distinctive smell. I looked up at the heavens and gave Thanks, because I finally have a bag that fits all my needs. It wasn't too good to be true. My faith in humanity has been restored.

All kidding aside, I'm really very happy with this bag so far. I travel a lot - like Delta Diamond by early-August a lot - and I've learned the virtues of not spending $1K on something that I'll stress over if it gets dirty, so I need a bag that has all the conditions listed at the top. I'm really surprised to say this, because it's rare to find a product that checks all the boxes at the price you want, but this bag meets all the conditions I listed. Not one miss or sacrifice.

Warning: I'm not a total fan-boy yet because I'm still in the honeymoon phase. For this thing to really impress me, it needs to hold up over time - so time will tell. With that said, since receiving it I've taken it to the office everyday, a handful of cross-country trips, and a couple of international trips...so far, so good.

As an added bonus, the bag gets lots of looks, a handful of compliments, and even had one guy ask me to send him the link to the product (so Land people, if you're reading this, I expect a refer-a-friend bonus. Your Valet Snap Tray in Burgundy is nice.)

Thanks Land for producing a quality product for an affordable price.

I received my briefcase which came well protected and nicely packaged. Excellent leather work and stitching. I am very pleased and plan to add more soon!

Met my expectations....very satisfied