Polare Thick Genuine Leather Backpack Vintage College Laptop Bag

I received this Polare leather backpack 24h earlier than expected with prime service ! less than 36h after ordering !I paid for this backpack so my short review is not biased and totally honest.Packaging is great and the bag comes in a nice fabric pouch, just like high quality/fashion items, perfect in case of a gift.This bag is beyond my expectations and looks much better than the pictures. The leather quality is great ! thick and robust but still smooth with a nice touch feeling.Build quality is great and stitching finish is better on mine than the one advertised. Color is as advertised, not too dark with a very nice patina.My 15 inches laptop fits perfectly inside and I still have a lot of room for other stuff like documents, accessories etc...I feel this bag will travel with me for many years !This backpack is a steal for the price, I could not be more happy and trust me I own a lot of leather items.Highly recommended purchase !Quelques mots en Français,J'ai acheté et payé ce sac à dos, donc ma revue est parfaitement honnête.J'ai reçu mon achat 36h après l'avoir commandé, soit 24h plus vite que prévu !L'emballage est parfait, le sac est livré dans une pochette en tissu qui protège le cuir comme pour des articles haut de gamne de marque. Parfait s'il s'agit d'un cadeau !Je suis très agréablement surpris par le look et la qualité de ce sac, mieux que sur les photos !Le cuir est d'excellente qualité, épais, souple et très agréable au touché. Le fini est très bon, les coutures sont de bonne qualité, les pièces métalliques sont également de qualité avec un fini laiton.Mon ordinateur portable de 15 pouces rentre sans problème et il reste de la place pour des documents et accessoiresJe suis vraiment très satisfait de cet achat et je le recommande sans réserve !

lets start out by saying the package arrived on time.Their is a bag inside of the shipping box that the backpack was wraped in.Used to keep the elements out , and the wear and tear of the mailing system.This is a Christmas present for my wife. Not so sure about this now. I might have to put it underThe tree with my name on it.First thing you will notice is the scent of leather, in a good way.Ordered the dark brown color, and it's very nice, as shown in this picture.Nice rolled edges.Stitching is right on.Draw leather cord used to close the bag topside.The main cover and the front pocket have a roller buckle in brassThe two side pockets are a magnetic type which seems to lock just fine and are of matching color ,brass .On the right side there is a small "D" ring , it will hold a clip for your watch,keys,coffee cup but not all three.On the back there is a grab handle , this is a nice convenients.Shoulder straps are wide up top.The shoulder straps are attached and run through two more brass buckles on each side at the bottom of the bag.These two buckles on either side are also gustted in at the right angle to carry on your back comfortablyWell thought out in my option.Inside the bag is an added zippered bag for keys, wallet and such to quickly get at.I have done a lot of searching to find this pack. I new when I saw it , quality jumped right off the page.I'm a picky guy and enjoy my things. I like quality.I don't mind paying for quality.The size is right on as stated.The more you use this , the more it will " break in " if you will.I guess the only thing that bugs me is the small "D" ring, maybe you could change this for future sales.Other than that , I give it full marks.

I've been searching for several years for the perfect leather rucksack/backpack for my husband. This was above and beyond my expectations...and my husband loves it! Top quality workmanship and excellent customer service. Highly recommended.

PRODUCT:Polare Full Grain Leather Backpack Vintage College Laptop Backpack with YKK Metal ZipperPURCHASE DATE:9/5/2020FULL DISCLOSURE:There was a marketing card inside my backpack offering me a free Polare leather wallet after posting a review. I emailed their Support address with my order number, as instructed, and request additional details. According to Polare only 5% of their customers receive this card.After confirming that there was no time limit on submitting my review, and clarifying my options for selecting the wallet I would receive, I decided to wait until after I had put the backpack to use before proceeding. I wanted to be able to describe my observations from direct experience.Although I probably would not have posted this review without the free wallet offer as an enticement, this review is honest and comprehensive.MY GOALS:I had a canvas backpack with suede cover flaps that I was very happy with. Extremely light, pleasantly casual, exactly the right size for my purposes and with just the right number of pockets on the outside. There were a few pockets on the inside, but because they were oddly sized and unpadded, I did not use them as often as I thought I might.And, of course, my girlfriend decided it was the perfect “adventure backpack” for her. So, I “gifted” it to her for her birthday, which made her very happy.In need of a replacement backpack for myself, I decided to seek an upgrade as well. Interestingly, this new backpack has almost the same design as my old canvas one. There are a few key differences, but the overall size, shape, drawstring top closure, flaps, exterior pockets, and interior capacity are identical. The minor differences are in the buckles, snaps, interior pockets, and how the shoulder straps are adjusted (more on that later). And it’s leather.Upgrade mission accomplished.INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:This backpack is a very attractive, rich, chocolate brown color. It has a wonderfully smooth feel to it and the “leather smell” is sufficient to bring forth a surge of long-forgotten memories. It’s not extremely heavy, but it’s just hefty enough to feel sturdy.CONSTRUCTION:All stitching, seams, fasteners, and leather surfaces are nicely finished. Nothing appears misaligned or sloppily assembled. The leather is firm and functional. It’s not silky soft, nor is it as thick and tough as a construction worker’s tool belt. It’s appropriately somewhere in the middle and will soften up with use, as all leather of this type does.BUCKLES:An unexpected discovery was that neither of the buckle straps can be adjusted. Each has only one hole punched in it to secure the flap. If you overstuff the main compartment or the front pocket a bit, you will need to leave that flap unlatched or unbuckled. Punching extra holes in the buckle straps would not be difficult since there is enough room at the bottom of both buckle straps for one or two more holes. But having them included would be nicer.Before I made my purchase I was unsure if the front pocket buckle had a push-button release like the top buckle does. The marketing photo says “Push Button Latches” (plural) but none of the photos showed a latch on the front pocket. As it turns out, there is only one push-button latch, and it’s on the top flap.The top flap can be opened with the push-button latch or by manually unbuckling the flap. The front pocket can only be opened by unbuckling the flap because it doesn’t have a push-button latch. The top flap latch works well but can be a bit awkward to open when the backpack is empty since there is nothing behind the latch to provide resistance when you push on the button.SHOULDER STRAPS:The shoulder straps are not padded but they are 2” wide, which is comfortable for light to medium loads. They might be uncomfortable for extended periods if you load the backpack with too many heavy things (books, bottles of water, rocks, use your imagination).I was a bit perplexed by the mechanism used to adjust the shoulder straps. Because of how each strap is threaded through the metal “double-loop” the excess strap is folded back upon itself and feeds back upward, between the back of the backpack and the shoulder strap itself. Figure 1 shows what I’m trying to describe.There are a few problems with this approach.(1) The double-loop and the strap feeding through it form a bump/bulge that rubs against my back and is uncomfortable.(2) After I shortened the shoulder strap lengths to my preference, the excess strap was so long that the upward feeding direction didn’t work very well. The excess strap ended up needing to drape downward, which compounded the effect of the first problem by adding yet another layer to the irritating bump.Luckily, I was able to devise a four-step workaround.(1) I reversed the direction that the straps fed through the double-loop. This resolved the problem with the bump/bulge rubbing against my back by moving the “lump” to the outside of the straps. Unfortunately, this also meant that the excess strap draped up and out to the sides before dangling down like a pair of boneless bat wings; a very unattractive and impractical result.(2) I borrowed (stole?) four elastic hair ties from my girlfriend. I figured she owed me for the canvas backpack she stole (received as a gift?) from me.(3) I unthreaded the shoulder straps from the double-loops and slid two of the hair ties as far up each strap as possible before feeding the straps back through the double-loop in the new direction I was using, then adjusted the strap lengths to my preference.(4) For each shoulder strap, I folded the excess strap back over itself and slid the two hair ties over the folds to secure them. Figure 2 shows result of my efforts.Problem solved.If you are not willing to do something similar, then you will need to decide if the shoulder straps work for you as designed. If you leave the straps extended almost all the way you should be fine. My issues arose when I shortened them enough that there was a significant amount of excess strap that didn’t seem to have a good place to go.CAPACITY:I own two 20 oz tumblers (6 7/8” tall, 3 1/2" diameter) that fit perfectly in each of the side pockets. I needed to leave the cover flaps open completely, but the tumblers were seated deeply and securely. See Figure 3.The front pocket is tall and wide enough to store two or three layers of snack bars vertically or horizontally. Large cell phones, wallets, and other such things will fit easily.The interior has one zippered side pocket. It is “just” wide enough that I can put my Apple Pencil in there and lay it horizontally across the bottom. It’s a very tight fit, but that gives you an idea of the inside width of the pocket.The main compartment is an uninterrupted area for storage. I haven’t tried to stuff it as full as possible, mainly because I’m not likely to ever need to do that. My needs are for light trips and simple commutes. My iPad Pro 12.9” (2020 model) fit snugly along one side in the landscape position, and comfortably in the portrait position. I cannot lay it completely flat on the bottom of the backpack, which would probably be a really bad thing to do even if it were possible.SUPPORT:Email responses were timely (within one business day), polite and complete.CAUTIONS:This backpack is not extremely large, so do not expect to pack it with everything you want to take on a camping trip.Although this backpack is sturdy enough that you could load it up fairly heavily, you must remember that the shoulder straps are not padded or excessively wide.Lastly, if it is extremely hot outside and you are only wearing a light shirt you should expect your back to sweat. After all, this backpack is made of leather.SUMMARY:Overall, this is an excellent light-to-mid-duty backpack with a few opportunities for improvement. Because I was able to work around my concerns with the shoulder straps, I am very pleased with my purchase.I believe you will be happy with this backpack if you use it within its intended purpose.SUGGESTIONS FOR THE MANUFACTURER:Change the product feature photo that states “Push Button Latches” to properly indicate that there is only ONE push button latch.Punch one or two more holes in each of the buckle straps to provide additional adjustability when storing more or larger items in the main compartment or the front pocket. Otherwise, update the product description to state that the top and front flap buckles are not adjustable, since there is only one hole punched in each buckle strap.Change the product feature photo that states “Side zipper pocket” since both side pockets have magnetic snap closures and neither have zippers.Rethink the shoulder strap adjustment mechanism or add two “retaining loops” to each strap (similar to what I rigged up – see Figure 2) to keep any excess strap length from dangling down at awkward angles.Add a full-sized interior pocket to separate a paper notebook, iPad/tablet, or small laptop from other items in the backpack.

This bag is gorgeous! For a genuine aged look, play with it. I folded, twisted, wrinkled mine and it is perfect. Good internal space. Quality leather. I bought it for travelling and have used it daily.