Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this bag a little over a year ago now (as a work bag so it gets a lot of use) and there is enough wear and tear (more tear than wear) that I now need to replace it. If I knew how to sew or knew someone that could I could no doubt get my bag repaired with ease and use it for several more years but I don’t so that’s not an option for me. I don’t want to get too long winded with this review but I’ll try and hit all the main points. #1 Large freaking bag. Tons of usable space. Great use of mini inner pockets (usually at the top of main pockets) to take advantage of those wasted upper areas that usually just holds air. Best combination of laptop compartment, main compartment, front compartments that I’ve found in any bag thus far. #2 Comfortable to carry. Good straps (although that’s where the ‘tear’ eventually took place). The elastic actually really helps to keep them from ‘digging’ into your shoulders. The handle is tough and well anchored. I have used the handle to move my bag around, fully loaded, and for over a year it’s held nicely, just a little cracking in the plastic. For future improvements on this I’d suggest going to a more malleable rubber with cable reinforcement or a sturdier metal handle. #3 It looks good. At the least it is not an ugly bag. #4 My only con is the middle pocket. The pocket between the main compartment and the front ‘pen’ pocket. I’ve found this pocket to be fairly worthless since it directly competes for the space used by the main compartment. It would almost serve better to cut the material out between the two pockets and use the zipper as a smaller access for the main compartment…or just do what I have and not use it. Either way. I guess if you want to add to the con pile I’ll talk about the wear and tear. So, on my bag the stitching on the shoulder straps is giving up the goose. The fabric is fine and if I can find someone that knows how to do it I’ll see if they’ll stitch this bad boy up again. One of the metal eye hole grommets has popped out, big deal. The picture of the circle of melt is due to a stovetop accident….don’t ask. It didn’t go all the way through and that was about 2 months after I got the back so it’s still plenty sturdy. All that said, I took some pictures to try and give a good idea of all the freaking pockets this bag has and some idea of where the wear and tear is likely to occur over time. Oh, and one picture to the Drifter II next to the Oakley Kitchen Sink and all the stuff I put in each to compare. I ultimately sent the Oakley back and ordered another Drifter II. Enjoy!