Briggs & Riley @work Slim Backpack

I was surprised there were no reviews of this model of bag. I usually don’t buy something like this without any reviews but I took a chance on this one and thought I would post a review so the next guy will know a little more about what they are getting here. First, let me be clear here, I am a certified “bagaholic”. I have had them all. Mostly Tumi but a number of B&R as well. I am a very frequent traveller. EXP and a 2M miler on AA so I know what a travel bag needs to have, and I am hard on them. That said I was not a fan of backpacks. I am just over 50 y/o and always felt they looked a little silly with a suit but times are a changing and I was jealous of the space, so I decided to give one a try. First, I went to TUMI. Of course, way overpriced but they are quality and the snobbery of the brand helped offset some of my concerns about a backpack. I tried them all and hated them all. The baseline Alpha was pretty good, but it looks like something right out of 1998 and the rest have odd accents, weird pockets, none of them grabbed my attention. I then tried Everki and it was pretty good but I bought the new Suite model and the dang thing didn’t have a dedicated pocket for my cell. Really? They have a built-in hard case for sunglasses and no place for your cell? Not to mention when I returned it only 3 days after the purchase with all tags still attached I had to write their customer service desk and open a ticket. Then when they agreed to the return I had to pay the full shipping cost and that cost me $20 bucks. Not the greatest approach in today’s Amazon world. Are you listening Everki? Then I got to B&R, I tried a few that I found in the store like the Verb line but they just looked a little plain and dated. I could not find the new @Work cargo packs in the store so I took a risk and ordered it here and it is a keeper. Is it perfect? No, but it is close. It has a good professional look without being too boring. IIMHO a good step in the right direction for B&R. Good quality zippers, the right size and just generally feels like a quality executive bag but like I said, it's not perfect. For one thing, no key keeper? I can buy a $20 bag at Target that has a key keeper. All of their other bags have one and they removed it from this model. I know, who carries keys anymore right? But I want a solid safe place to hook my car key fob when I traveling and this doesn’t have one. There is no quick access pocket to slide a boarding pass or whatever as you approach TSA. This is a great feature in most all TUMI and the Everki bags but they left it off here. I love the side pockets for a bottle of water, too bad a normal bottle barely fits in there. I found a skinny re-usable one that does though. It has great overall space and splits it into the notebook area and the cargo area but there are very limited separate compartments in either space. Today’s traveler has more tiny dongles than ever. I broke down and bought a separate organizer bag for them but just seems like a few pockets inside would have been a nice touch. I keep my Dell XPS13 in a separate sleeve and it slides in perfectly. I am sure a 14” notebook would as well but a 15” in going to be tight. I was happy to see they got rid of the annoying orange interior. I got the concept of it but I always thought it cheapened their look. Finally, it comes with a nice badge for your embossed initials. Problem is they give you no information as to how to get them embossed. You can bring a 20y/o TUMI bag into any TUMI store and they will slap your initials on there for free but since B&R doesn’t have dedicated stores I have no idea how to get this done. I did send a note to B&R asking how I can get this done. I will update with their reply. So, all in all it’s a dang nice bag. Just the right amount of grown-up manliness with the right touch of executive presence. It looks like you are on the way to the boardroom as opposed to the mailroom. It has well thought out organization and seems very well made. It is generally a great bag I will use diligently until the next best thing catches my eye. I am giving it 4 stars (4.5 is more accurate) but I would have gone a full 5 if it had the key keeper and quick access pocket. In the meantime, B&R, bring back the dang keykeeper! UPDATE: As I mentioned, I contacted B&R customer service about the badge and received the following response in less than 24 hours: "The promotion is for bags that are purchased on our website. As a courtesy, I will have a patch embossed for you. Please provide the initials that you would like and the color of the bag." Just the kind of reply I was hoping for! I replied with a thank you and my initial request. I also told them that speaking as a frequent traveler who has used their bags for years, the embossed badges are a great idea. It was one of the little things that TUMI always had on them. However, they might want to work on a way to let people order the badges from the website. TUMI will let you stop into any TUMI store and get the initials installed or changed for free on their bags regardless of where you purchased it for the life of the bag. A lot of people are going to buy this bag from places like Amazon and most people don't want to carry around a $300 bag with an empty initials badge on it. Most would prefer to log onto the website, register their new bag and order their badge that way. Regardless, great customer service B&R. If the badge actually shows up, and if the bag performs well during my travels the next couple of weeks I might just change it to 5 stars. UPDATE 2: Not only did the badge show up, it showed up via FedEx next day delivery! Only one problem though, the initials were wrong. I replied back to B&R customer service and not only did they FedEx out another badge, they actually sent me 2 just in case. I am impressed! I also had the chance to take the bag out on it's first cross-country trip and it performed perfectly. Again, are there a couple of things I would change, sure. However based on not only the quality of the bag but the outstanding B&R customer service, I am changing my rating to a full 5 stars.

I was looking for a bag that wasn’t too big, as I fly for work, and I need something that can hold all my work items and still compact enough to fit under the airplane seat. I tried a cheap Matein bag that had a lot of pockets and organization, but it was not made from quality materials. The zippers and straps were thin and somewhat flimsy, and one of the straps that go over your shoulder would come apart if you weren’t careful. I also tried the Thule 20L, but it was too small, and the bag didn’t open all the way to easily access your stuff inside. Enter this Briggs & Riley backpack that checks all the boxes for me. It’s large enough to fit all my work items, and it holds my 14” laptop and 13” laptop. The fit is snug, but they don’t shift around excessively. It fits all my pens, notepads, business cards along with all my other travel essentials. The bag is well made, with thick zippers and sturdy straps. It has all the pockets I need for my charging cords and cables. It even has an RFID pocket. One things to note - similar to some of the Tumi backpacks, the water bottle holder won’t hold large bottles, so my Yeti was having some trouble getting into the holder. It would fit, but I couldn’t zipper it up all the way. Note: bought a Zojirushi 16 oz bottle, which fits much better! All in all, a great bag for work travel. I bought the medium, I would guess the large version would be a little too big for my needs, but it could be a good option if you need to carry a larger laptop or more items.

Great quality, thoughtful design, and great looking as well! I am very, very happy with this B&R backpack even after several months of traveling with it. The storage compartments are well thought out, there is plenty of room for the “stuff” you need, and there’s even a lanyard to make sure you keep track of your keys. The bag is a real looker and, yes, there is a sleeve to attach this backpack to your suitcase handle while wheeling through the airport or wherever you are going. This backpack is worth every penny that it costs. Oh, did I mention that I love this Backpack!

Price was comparable to Tumi, but this backpack had a lot more space and convenience of numerous pockets to help keep you organized. Great for travel. Thick, well made, strong zippers, yet lightweight enough to carry all day.

Mochila para un uso más de tipo ejecutivo y de viajes cortos. En mi caso escogí la de tamaño mediano, capacidad más que de sobra para llevar laptop de 14", y compartimentos y cremalleras para Se puede echar en falta un bolsillo lateral de arriba abajo para poder meter el billete de avión; y los hay que echan en falta el compartiemento de más capacidad para meter una botella de agua de mayor capacidad. En mi caso no es motivo de devolución, porque tampoco es una mochila la del tamaño intermedio que sea muy para grandes desplazamientos. Resulta ergonómica, con una distribución de cremalleras y compartimentos bien pensada y adecuada, con el principal intermedio que puedes echar mano para una muda de ropa en caso necesario. Resulta cómoda y se ve que está hecha con materiales de calidad, tanto en el tejido balístico como en las cremalleras. Aparte pedí el monograma con mis iniciales a Briggs UK y en menos de una semana lo tenía en casa. En definitiva, una compra muy recomendable.

Tolle Optik, unglaublich viel Stauraum, zahlreiche Fächer, hochwertige Reißverschlüsse usw. Nach mehreren Lehrertaschen und Rucksäcken mein absoluter Favorit. Angeblich lebenslang Garantie. Da bin ich allerdings gespannt. Gerade die Träger sind oft eine Schwachstelle.

Tamaño ideal con gran capacidad para llevar laptop y todo lo necesario Diseño muy ejecutivo

Ottima fattura e design elegante. Peccato che la cerniera della tasca esterna sia difettosa.

I always wanted a bag I can use for both private and business use. Not too big, yet not too small. This bag is exactly that! It has both the sophisticated and stylish look into it just as promised. The quality and the look is amazing!