Review on 🎒 Vintage Canvas Leather Messenger Bag: Ideal for 14", 15", 17" Laptops - GEARONIC Men's Shoulder Crossbody by Amanda Ellis

I bought this bag after looking at it and it had good reviews for a long time. There are so many great reviews here that you might wonder why I even bother, let alone a review full of photos and information. The answer is simple: the bag is so good that I wanted to write this review despite its value in a sea of good reviews. The photos I have attached show the 3 main scenarios I have for this bag. First of all, these are my artistic walks. I like going out into the world, into the city, into nature, to draw and paint. So I grab some sketchbooks, drawing tools, binoculars, my iPad, phone and iPad charger, my travel journal, a small handy tape measure, a big bag of Copic markers, etc. The second scenario is my daily picks. I take that with me to work. A mixed media album for the final drawing, a smaller album for practice and design, my ever-present iPad, a small case of pencils and pens, my travel journal. I take this to work to spend my lunch break doing what I love, and sometimes I hit my favorite trail on the way home and find a cozy spot to draw or read. Finally my Dungeons & Dragons game nights. I'm showing a photo of this bag full of 6 D&D books (but more on that later) and one of the things I'm actually taking with me. This bag fulfills all three essential tasks excellently. It feels solid, the strap sits well on my shoulder even when loaded with heavy things. Love the look, feel, how strong and durable it is. I love every part of it. SIZE: None of the things I carry are bigger than a D&D book and they fit perfectly. I don't think it will fit laptops much larger than 15 inches like other reviews have said. But for me, the size was what made me hesitant to take it. I didn't want it too big but I wanted it too, I take it to work every day, office work 9am to 5pm so I didn't want to lug around a huge laptop bag with a sketchbook and pens, just floating in emptiness. But I also wanted a bag that could hold all the things I want to take with me when I need them, like art walks or D&D games. I felt like I was asking a lot. To make the bag big but small and stylish but durable and convenient and light even stuffed with things. This bag delivers that being a champion isn't enough. I have to carry around some books, a huge bag of dice, a notepad with all my notes, some binders and my collection of mini monsters. It is obvious that ALL of this will not fit. But I have a separate bag where I keep my minis, notebooks and a few books, and I use this bag to carry the books I always need with me, my notebook and my sketchbook (since I'm going to a party or something like that will sit and draw). . But during the games I play in, it does contain a few books that I need and my character folder and art stuff. I like that even a stuffed bag doesn't dig into my shoulder. It sits comfortably on my hip and takes the strain off the shoulder strap. I also have to say that I'm a tall girl so I was also concerned that this bag would not sit comfortably with a strap across my chest. A lot of the shoulder bags I've had tended to be too high on the side because the strap was too short, or couldn't be a shoulder bag at all and had to be carried like a handbag. I hate that. Well this one sitting right where it should be when I tighten the straps is PERFECT. DESIGN: I'm a girl, but not particularly girly. And over the last few months I have become more and more active. I started hiking to lose weight so will be looking for new nature trails to traverse and take with me so I can sit and paint a little when I find a good spot. I take my binoculars, camera and sketches with me and this bag holds them well. I wanted a bag that wasn't particularly girly because I'm not particularly girly. But it's beautiful and looks cool. I've already received a few compliments and it's only been about a day! I bought coffee color so this is the color in the photos. I'm glad I did. I wasn't sure how accurate the colors were in the product images above, but I knew I needed a rich brown. It looks a little lighter/greyer in my photos than it actually is, but it's not quite the rich brown that it is in the picture. It looks a little greyish in bright or sunlight like my photos and a little dark brown in normal room lighting. I'm not that disappointed that the color isn't accurate enough to deduct a star, but be prepared for the color to vary from that shown above. Rely on the reviewer's photos for the best idea of the color. DURABILITY: It may have been a little over 2 days for me, but I went through a few steps. The other day I stuffed it full of D&D stuff and carried it a mile walk to my friend's house. When I got there my shoulder didn't hurt anymore and I didn't feel like the bag couldn't carry the load. I accidentally dropped it on a gravel driveway and nothing bad happened. Although it's not soft at all, I was afraid my iPad would break. I will be getting a protective case for my iPad soon. The straps appear to be genuine leather and the stitching looks exceptionally good, both as a design element and as strong stitching that holds up. The front straps are attached with magnetic clasps, which makes opening the bag very easy. Instead you can open it, the buckles work. I almost wish they didn't snap and just use buckles as that would have been very aesthetic, but I can understand why they did because the unbuckling of the buckles might have annoyed some. The pockets are spacious. They fit my iPhone 7 plus and are still close, although it can be difficult to reach them when you zip the pockets, so I just let them fold down so I can reach them and pull out my phone, since my phone is also my wallet. . My 7 plus also fits in the small side pockets but just can't close the pocket. A water bottle also fits in these pockets. Surprisingly, they don't close, but you really have to undo the buckles to get at anything. MATERIALS: The canvas of this bag is good. I looked at all the leather bags but I'm glad I chose this canvas bag with leather accents. It is great. The canvas allows to have the desired size, but also smaller. If I don't fill it all the way it doesn't look like it will fold on its own, it holds its shape well. Even with a sketchbook and my iPad this bag looks beautiful. Leather belts look very nice with worn leather. The stitching is a nice accent with threads that are a little lighter and more colorful than the bag. Almost orange color. The effect is pleasant. Inside, it is encased in a thinner greenish-grey interior. The zippers seem pretty solid and I'm not overly concerned about them breaking (although I don't have much luck with zippers in general). The place where the straps connect to the bag looks very, very solid. They knew people would want to stuff things in this bag and it would be heavy and I think they made the straps to match. It feels very strong, and even when you pull it feels solid. I have very little fear of these straps fraying, breaking, or detaching from the bag. To be honest I think the canvas will rip before the straps break. CONCLUSION: This bag is perfect, at least for me and my purposes. There are many questions about the size and a lot of the bad reviews stem from the fact that it wasn't big enough for one person's needs. It doesn't match a massive laptop. It doesn't fit in a ton of textbooks. This bag is perfect for high school when you're studying and using your locker. If you want to lug everything around here all day, it probably won't work (no matter how big the textbooks are, as I recall). I think it fits in a folder or two. For me as a "traveling artist" that's ideal in a way. A smaller inner zippered pocket fits a few small items, my iPhone charger, a small pouch containing my bluetooth headphones, my eraser and small tape measure and any other small items (I don't carry chopsticks, lipstick or any of that, but it would fit in there if I did. I also think it would fit for example a phone and wallet). I can take things and put them down depending on what I'm doing and where I'm going. I want this bag to be my constant companion that accompanies me almost everywhere. And I'll update this review in a few months to see how it holds up. I have high hopes and look forward to adventure. This bag is amazing and if like me you have doubts and wondering if this bag is for you, add it to your wish list and keep coming back to it. Interesting. Just get it. You will not regret it. And hopefully my photos show you the size well so you don't misjudge and buy something too small. i love this bag