Pad&Quill’s The Field Is A Whole Lotta Bag [Review]

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The Field byPad&Quill
Category: Bags
Works With: MacBook, iPad, paper
Price: $329

You need to know two things before you read this review. One is that Pad&Quill’s The Field is one of the best-made bags I’ve ever tried. It’s solid, tough, and will ages way more gracefully than I will.

The second is that it’s exactly the kind of bag I will never use: heavy, full of handy pockets and able to put enough weight onto that one strap to crush your shoulder. So bear both these points in mind as we continue.

What It Is

The Field is a vertical shoulder-bag made from 24 oz twill waxed canvas and leather. It is hand-made in Mexico, and each bag is signed by the person that made it. The P&Q logo is lasered into a cherry wood panel in the flap, and the metal hardware looks like it was made back in cowboy times and will last for another hundred years.

In short, this bag is built to be as over engineered and rugged as Pad&Quill’s iPad and iPhone cases. If that’s your bag (pun not only intended but actively courted), then you will love this bag.

The Good

This will probably never ever break.

Details, details, details. From the insanely chunky strap attachments to the disappearing flaps on the front-panel pockets, to the five PQ-logoed metal feet on the bottom, you can tell that Brian and the crew at P&Q HQ took some time getting things right. The leather has a 25-year warranty, the vertical design means it’ll swallow a MacBook without looking bulky, and the inside pockets can organize business cards, pens, chargers and any other junk you toss in.

The two front pockets are deliberately shallow so you don’t lose stuff in them (an iPad mini or a paper notebook will peek out ready to grab and use).

To sum up, then, the bag is sturdy, almost at the expense of all else. It is also great looking, and will age to get even better – you could put a chest-wig on this bag and call it Burt Reynolds.

The Bad

It’s heavy, and even with the padded rectangle on the strap, it will crush your shoulder. I’ve been taking it for a few outdoor spins with a paper notebook (the awesome Baron Fig), and iPad Air, a wallet and a few pens and found that I got tired after a couple of kilometers. The bag’s strap is adjustable, but I found that it was tricky to find a length that was right for me.

Oddly enough, the bag is actually lighter than some others I’m currently testing.

The Verdict

If you’re weight sensitive, and if you’re in the market for a bag that you can load up and carry around all day, you might consider a backpack instead of this messenger-style bag. If you drive, or take the train, and you don’t mind lugging this thing in between times, then you will undoubtedly appreciate this bag’s good looks and handy details. It’s one of those bags that you can load up with your everyday bits and pieces and let them live there forever.

And when I say this bag will age well, I mean it. It’s almost like it’s designed to do just that, which is a peek into the mindset of the folks at Pad&Quill, who are obsessed with craftsmanship.

Product Name: : The Field

The Good: Will almost literally last forever, and get better looking as every year passes.

The Bad: Uncomfortable to carry.

The Verdict You’ll already know if this kind of bag is for you. If it is, then this is one of the best examples of the genre.

Buy from: Pad&Quill

[rating=good]

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