Today we’re reviewing the Commuter Backpack from Harber London. A bag that provides both style and function, we’ll be taking a look at how it handles the typical life of a commuter.
A family run brand based out of London, Harber London offers a variety of handmade leather goods. With a focus on quality products, Harber London provides plenty of products outside of bags, including leather wallets and sleeves made for MacBooks, iPads and iPhones.
Taking a Look at the Commuter Backpack from Harber London
To make things brief, I really like my bag from Harber London. To make things longer, while working for TMO does offer me a chance to work from home most days, doubling as an adjunct instructor means I often have to travel with my work. Often carrying around a variety of notebooks, textbooks and my trusty MacBook Pro, I like to have a bag that provides both style and function.
For me, this bag has both.
Coming in the colors Olive, Mocha and Black, the Commuter Backpack from Harber London features comfortable shoulder straps, zippered main compartment, Aviation Grade Aluminum Buckles, Secure Magnetic Leather Lid, Padded Laptop Compartment that fits up to 16” Laptops and a Padded Tablet Compartment that fits 13” Tablets with Stylus Holder.
Right off the rip, I adore the overall design of this bag. went with the black, and this backpack looks even better in person. I’m not going to lie, I really like the feeling I get while I’m wearing this backpack. Throwing it over my shoulders, I feel like I’m on my way to a flight to New York, or a terribly important business meeting. When it comes to style, this bag is dripping with it.
But how well does it function?
Looking at the Functionality
For the first couple of days that I used this bag, the number one thing that impressed me was the Padded Laptop Compartment. When it comes to my MacBook Pro, I try to remain overly protective. However, at the same time, I absolutely refuse to keep a case on my laptop. I cherish it, yet I also like to allow it to roam free. This means when it comes to bag protection, I want the best, and Harber London delivers spectacularly.
In terms of protection, this is the first bag I have ever owned that truly felt like the Laptop Compartment was able to actually protect my MacBook. While I still wouldn’t feel 100% confident throwing the bag against the wall, I don’t feel like I have to treat the bag as if I was holding a carton of eggs. Even after a couple of drops, and more than one occasion where I accidentally knocked the bag into a desk, the Commuter Backpack left my MacBook protected.
A Bag for Every Occasion
While I have been primarily using the back for work related functions, I also took the bag out during a recent Pokémon GO community day. During the Galarian Zigzagoon event, I decided to take the Commuter Backpack along for my journey. While I soon found out my friends decided to drive around and play rather than walk around and play, the backpack at no point felt cumbersome while I was journeying along with it. (For those interested, I did manage to catch a Shundo.)
This is likely in thanks to the shoulder straps, which, I must say, Harber London did focus on with great detail. Leather on top, and a soft, padded material on the bottom, the padding does a great job of not digging into my shoulders as I move about my day.
In terms of holding things other than my laptop, I would also say that the Commuter Backpack from Harber London also does an excellent job. As I recently started adjuncting again, I’ve been using this bag as my primary for the first weeks of classes. Carrying around several books, folders and notebooks is still comfortable on the shoulders, even with my MacBook in the bag.
Give Me One More Pocket!
The Commuter Backpack from Harber London both looks and feels great, but I do have one tiny qualm with the bag. Concerning holding my stuff, I wish there was just one more pocket for holding smaller accessories. The laptop pocket does a great job of holding my laptop, though I find myself using the Padded Tablet Compartment to hold my USB-C cable and my iPhone cable. Unfortunately, I am not able to hold my pens and markers in there all that well without taking away space for my MacBook.
As another example, the bag provides plenty of space for you to put your laptop (up to 16”), but it doesn’t really give you a specific space for say, your charger. Personally, I really hate the idea of my charger bouncing around with the rest of the stuff in my bag, so I would greatly prefer that it had its own space within the bag.
This is a rather small issue, and one I solved by getting myself a little tin to carry around my pens and markers. However, I feel the ultimate bag should still have pockets for these things on its own. Again, I feel one more pocket along the inside walls would really make this the ultimate bag. Placing the pockets on the inside would still keep the sleek look of the bag, while at the same time providing just a bit of space for the smaller things people like to carry around.
The Final Word On the Commuter Backpack from Harber London
In the end, after spending a month or so with this bag, I would consider it one of the best I have personally used. However, I am not entirely certain that I would recommend it for a student, especially due to the lack of inside pockets. Again, just one more pocket really would have pushed this things over the edge, but overall, there’s ways to work around it. This is definitely a bag for those that like to keep moving, and look professional while they do it.
In the long run, I would highly recommend this bag to most. Even after a month of using it, I will likely continue to use it for quite sometime. While I wouldn’t recommend it for students, I would totally recommend it for those that need a bag while traveling. In that regard, it is just about perfect in every sense. . . though I would still like just one more pocket for my smaller accessories.
Overall, if you’re in the market for a Commuter Backpack, I would recommend spending the extra cash to go with this Commuter Backpack from Harber London. Not only does it look great and make you feel like you’re carrying around something important, but the overall durability of the Commuter Backpack really suggests that it’s built to last.