Syon 16-Inches Brown Leather Cross-body Messenger Bag/ Leather Laptop Bag for Men/women

January 3, 2016Bought this for my husband for Christmas and he loves it. I was concerned about the smell at first because of reviews I had seen. The smell was strong at first, but then we were gone for a week, during which I left the bag on the cough near the window (in the cold Michigan weather) and when we got back it smelled like a regular leather bag. I think some of these reviews over-dramatized the truth.The craftsmanship seems good, and I am very picky by nature. There is enough room to put a small laptop, or I-Pad, and organize his work documents. I might even get one of these for myself. This one is perfect for a man, but mine might need a more feminine touch.UPDATE: May 25, 2016After all this time the smell is still there. Doesn't really bother me, and husband doesn't seem to care, but it might be a problem for some. Also, I hadn't seen the bag for all this time because he had been keeping it in his car, I happened to look at it yesterday and noticed the bottom of the bag is losing its color. I don't know if this is normal wear or if the cold weather had something to do with this (he did leave it in his car all winter). Also, some of the threads are coming lose... Suddenly it no longer feels like the fine leather I thought I was getting. Then again, I only paid 50 dollars for it. It does still look nice and gets the job done, but in the end you get what you paid for.UPDATE: January 10, 2018Still smells ... wouldn't not recommend.

This is a very nice bag. I am sure it will last a long time. The fasteners seem to be of good quality. It arrived smelling of leather preservatives and the smell has lingered a bit, but seems to wain after a few months. Files in folders seem to be fine, but loose papers absorb the oily preservative and look like you set your Burger King fries on them. I am hoping this will go away in time. I do have a blemished bit of leather that is hidden in the pocket that does not affect the overall appearance, but does seem like they were trying to use a bit of unsightly material with a few holes in an interior spot. I didn't expect that, but I see why; it is a natural product. I have gotten compliments on the bag, so it does make a positive impression.

This bag is just okay so far. But I'm disappointed right out the box because the leather is only about as thick as 5 sheets of card stock paper. The straps and closures are weak. The front pocket is only partially lined. And as many others have reported it smells funny... not stinky, just like children's Play-Doh. It is rigid as described. The strap is not padded. The dimensions are as described. The carry handle is a flat strip not rounded or thick as in the photo. Part of the strap was missed in the tanning process, so it is rough and speckled in that area. But I guess this is the quality that one can expect for about $50. I bought this for my husband, who has destroyed several man-made material bags, because I figured leather would be tough to demolish. But I'm not so sure about this leather.By the way, all this is just from the looks of it. I will update after a few weeks of wear since that's usually all it takes for my mighty man bag destroyer to conquer a bag.

I wanted a simple, good-looking leather bag that got the job done. This bag delivers in all aspects. There are 3 main pockets inside the bag with 1 zipper pocket on each side. Then there's an additional smaller pocket on the outside. This setup works great for me because I have 2 books that I carry in that bag all the time. They fit nicely in the side pockets on the inside and I store my laptop in the main compartment. The only drawback is that I wished the inside main compartment was a little padded at the bottom. If you don't have a small laptop case that can fit inside this bag then you have to be mindful about placing your bag on the ground gently, otherwise you might damage your laptop. Also the metal buckles on the bag were really greasy/sticky. The buckles definitely needs to be cleaned up, which required me to break out my citrus cleaner. All-in-all, this is still a great product! I highly recommend it!

I love this bag. Other reviews made me hesitate to purchase any of these bags, I can not believe I waited.I use it carry my laptop at times and other times I carry 2 10 inch tablets. I also keep a couple notes books and other office supplies.The bag has a great retro look. As for the smell, I love the leathery smell, unfortunately the smell is fading.I would feel comfortable recommending this to anyone who wants the retro look and feel.

Good satchel for my large MacBook Pro. Great leather. Two things to note: I treated it with a leather polish to make it last longer and weather proof it; also, there is no padding in the bottom of the main chamber to pad the computer when I carry it, so I added some packing material to wrap around the base of the computer for protection. But this was a great purchase to travel with my computer and business whanots to and from from work.

I am really happy with this bag, especially for the price! My only complaint is that the straps aren't as nice as the photo. In the photo they are double stitched and look more sturdy. Also the arm strap is messed up, because after you buckle it to the length you want the left over strap faces upward instead of down and there are no leather peaces (like in the photo) to hold it in place so it looks kind of silly. I am still really happy with the bag and would purchase again. Also, it came with a small leather notebook that was an extra surprise!These bags are very clearly handmade so the strap issue could easily have just been a one time accident.

One of the gold coverings on the snaps was cracked and came off when I took it out of the box. The smell does take awhile to fade, and mine is getting there as far as being gone. I'm not sure what they use as a protective coating but it feels weird and slightly filmy. However, this bag has a lot of space and I'm looking forward in seeing how it handles the upcoming semester.