Admittedly, I’m a sucker for waxed canvas and leather, but only with modern feature sets and modern hardware. None of this retro military surplus for me. There are few manufacturers that fit that bill, Waterfirld bring the best, in my opinion. So I’m a bit of a fanboy.
I’ve never carried a laptop much. I’ve been an iPad user when mobile, and my old school Waterfirld hip sling and my iPad Pro 11 were a perfect fit.
But then circumstances changed and I found a need to start carrying my laptop more as I spent more time in more varied places. So I turned to Waterfirld with a mind on minimalism and picked up the large Sutter sling.
And it’s great. Truly. You’ll never go wrong with their quality, materials, hardware, and service.
That said, there are a couple opportune areas on this bag.
The first is the organization pocket internally. It’s great, very visible with the orange fabric, and has a number of pencil slots. But that’s it. Bring a vertical bag, gravity will do to your loose odds and ends what gravity does. I would love to see a reyainmrnt strap to hold the laptop a bit more snug, perhaps a zip pocket below the pen and slash pocket, or move the organizer to the opposite side with a full zippered stash pocket in its place.
But these aren’t nitpicks. The quality is still great, just would love a revision two.
My only other preference is on the swivel clip. It’s good quality, sure, but those clips are too common on lower grade bags, don’t appear as secure, even if they are, and are a bit too easy to get caught up during donning and doffing whereas something more akin to what they had on the original hip sling may have been more robust, more secure, and sleeker from a design standpoint.
But, I still love the bag. So much so that I ordered the smeller version as I find the vertical carry quite comfortable for my iPad days as opposed to the hip sling. Both are great, but the Sutter is just more ergonomic for my back.
I don’t think it needs the triangular flap on the top side, though. I’d stick a little more rectangular lay if it were me.
Otherwise this is a great bag from a phenomenal domestic manufacturer and small business.