This bag is very black, despite what you see in the photos. It is made of a nice quality canvas material and the stitching is great. I can see how the plastic zipper used to expand the bag could break. If that happens I will bring it up to the local seamstress chick to put a better quality metal zipper on it. Even if that costs $15, the bag is still worth it to me. It's hard to find a quality bag under $50.
I like the idea of a previous reviewer to change the closing tabs to metal clasps and may look into that =)