I’m David, and this site started with a Patagonia Toromiro backpack I’ve had since 2017. It still holds a laptop and a change of clothes fine — in fact everything I need for a couple of days away, and more at a stretch. It’s a good design and it’s served me well, but it’s just started showing its years. When it came time to replace it, and I learned that it had been discontinued, I started down a pretty wonderful (if unexpected) journey.
At Buffer, where I work, we are completely remote. While most of us work from home, many colleagues fully embrace the location independence that remote work affords. With a connection to so many smart and stylish people, I began asking about their daily carry: what they chose, what mattered to them, and why. One particular comment stuck with me: “Backpacks are too ‘high school’ for me.” I couldn’t shake it, and that single realisation is the reason this site exists. I stopped looking for a replacement backpack and started exploring leather bags instead.
The first leather piece I bought was an Aspinal Reporter North South. I didn’t get on with the stiff saffiano construction. I then bought an Aspinal briefcase — I loved the ‘of London’ prestige of the brand, even though I work from home and rarely need a laptop-friendly bag. That was in the early summer of 2026, and I learned a lot, quickly. Namely — it confirmed what I’d already suspected — I’m fussy about how I carry my stuff. Every niggle I had with the Reporter came down to getting my hand in and out of it: a front pocket that barely opens even with the zip undone, and a main compartment that needs one hand holding it open while the other digs around. I sold it about ten weeks in.
I’m not going to pretend this site runs on years of trade experience, because it doesn’t. What it runs on: a long-standing pull toward heritage and craft, and a serious interest in what separates a bag worth the money from one that’s just expensive.
Something else I want to be upfront about: no review here has years of ownership behind it. Here’s what each label means: a hands-on review means I’ve handled and used the bag myself; a researched review goes deep on one bag I haven’t carried myself; a buying guide means research and comparison rather than hands-on time; a brand profile is background, not a verdict. Nothing here is dressed up to sound more lived-in than it is.
I use a structured approach, and the eight things I look at are laid out in full on the Carry List Method page: aesthetics, materials, functionality, quality, uniqueness, resale value, fixability, and warranty. Brand history gets folded into the reviews themselves, because knowing where a bag comes from changes how you judge it.
Please get in touch with any feedback, questions, or suggestions of brands or products I should cover. I’d love to hear from you.
Disclosure: I’m not sponsored by any of the brands I write about. Some links on this site are affiliate links — if you buy through one, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It doesn’t change what gets recommended; it just means recommending well helps pay for the site.