I've had this bag for over a year now and I can say it hasn't failed me yet. I bought it for a trip to D.C. on which I knew I would be away from my hotel, out walking all day (sometimes a dozen miles). It was only for this trip, but I found it so useful that I have used it every day since, forsaking all other bags (and I have quiet a few). I am a bag fanatic, always looking for "the perfect bag" to fit my needs. I've left rave reviews of other purses here on Amazon, but sometimes, a purse isn't what you need to get through the day.

The only size issue I have with this bag is it's just a little bit too small to fit my 13-inch laptop. I could fit it in if I didn't put anything else in the bag. However, the number of times I need to carry the laptop with me are rare, so 99% of the time, this bag holds everything I need and then some.

I found that the outer water bottle pocket works for my travel cup (a slim, 16 oz Contigo) really well. It also holds a small umbrella (not at the same time as the travel cup, of course). There are just enough pockets and places to put things, though I do wish there was a better way to hang keys in the bag. I ended up putting a carabiner on the top loop and tucking the keys into the top of the bag (it stays zipped).

As a left-handed person, ideally I would love for the bag to zip on the exact opposite sides (I wear it slung over my left shoulder). Someone wearing it over the right shoulder can slide the bag around to their front with the zippers all facing upward to get at the main pockets in a hurry without taking the bag off. I do love that the clips make it readily convertible for both ways of wearing though.

There is a great pocket toward the back of the bag that is roomier than it looks and easy to use to stash either things you don't use as often or things you don't want in the outward facing pockets and possibly available to pickpockets. There isn't a way to lock the zippers, so maybe for long trips where grabby hands might be an issue, this bag would fall short.

Now, if they'd only make this in red or purple, I'd have three of them.

Pros: sturdy, roomy, easily convertible, small enough to not be bulky, handy pockets

Cons: for a lefty, I'd want the zips reversed exactly, after a year, the slide to shorten the strap is a little looser