It does have a leather smell - don't ignore those reviewers. The bag itself is pretty nice if you can get over the smell. I've mad mine for a couple of months now and the smell is still strong. Your clothes will smell like it, too, which isn't good. Build quality seems good enough, though not incredible. I'm going to treat mine with some leather cleaner over the course of the next few months and see if I can get some more of that smell out. If I can, I'll be a big fan of this bag.