Bellroy Duotote Review

Finding a bag that is appropriate for the office can be challenging for people who prefer the backpack form factor. Schoolbag-style backpacks with some structure and clean lines will do, although it’s hard not to feel you are back in high school. “Tactical” bags, with their molle strapping, their Velcro patch fields and paracord zipper ties send a particular message, but for the white-collar office, it tends to say “I’m about what goes on after work”

Bellroy’s line of backpacks are a great place to look for an office bag. They might force you to bring a second bag for your gym gear, as they tend towards slender, close-to-the-body, strap-free, clean lines. Their materials are elegant with leather touches. There are several different models with distinct shapes for someone who is shopping for an office bag to look.

I was enamored with the most expensive bag in their line (a frequent occurrence I fear), their “Duo Tote”. When a bag came up second hand on Ebay for a very reasonable price, I jumped at it. I eagerly awaited its arrival.

Being a pre-owned bag, it didn’t come in the typical Bellroy presentation bag that their products typically arrive in. TNSTAAPP (There’s No Such Thing As A Perfect Pack) principles apply, and of course when you anticipate something as much as I did this bag, disappointment is inevitable.

Looks

The bag I bought was black, which is the color I think I wanted the most. I’d heard mystical stories of the unique fabric in the blue bags, but this one seemed to be your basic Cordura. It was really nice, make no mistake — but not unique. The interior materials were also quite nice and felt high end — but again, not unique. The package of black Cordura and very nice grey interior materials created a package that achieves what I wanted when I bought the bag — something that I could carry into my office.

Organization

Elegant bags are plentiful, so organization is meant to be the key to what makes this bag stand out. There are lots of pockets — “features”, if you will — in this bag, and one almost feels like they need an instruction manual to figure out how everything works. In an effort to create a clean look, the pockets aren’t always easy to find (particularly the quick access pocket at the top of the bag that hides particularly well).

There are pockets on the back and front of the bag and one center section. The center section has 3 dividers. The front pocket of the bag has two inner pockets, while the back pocket is meant for the stowed backpack straps. The center section has two zippered pockets against one wall, a water bottle holder (I suppose could be used for a large computer charger), one divider connected to the next one by a magnet (why?) and two padded dividers. Personally, I think it’s one divider too many — I would have preferred more open space.

The inner organizational pockets are too tight for my bear paw hands. It’s a problem because they are deep, and I have to go fishing with my fingers to remove something small from them. I don’t really see the point of the zippers on the inner pockets — I never turn my bag upside down, and they are deep enough that it’s unlikely something would come out on their own.

There are two fidlocks on the side of the bag to compress it down — they tend to self-engage (as magnets do), so you pretty much have to fill out the main compartment to keep them from engaging again. With those buckles open, it’s a pretty spacious main compartment. However, this is really a vertical briefcase (more on that), with top access only. This means that it’s difficult to take advantage of that part of the volume at the top of the bag without stacking things as gravity does its thing and drags everything to the bottom of the bag.

If you are a pouch person (as I am), I go for tall, thin pouches such as pencil cases and other stiff slim long pouches that stand up and take advantage of the vertical design of the bag.

The laptop section I think is the middle section between the two cushioned dividers. I suppose a tablet is supposed to go between the dividers that are connected by a magnet, but why the magnet? There’s another section created between the last divider and the wall of the bag, but I really don’t understand its purpose either, unless you have a lot of papers. I haven’t carried a lot of papers with me in 20 years, so I don’t really get that.

Carrying this bag

First, this bag isn’t a tote. It’s a vertical briefcase. The handles are far too short to put them over your shoulder. That’s ok, it’s still a very attractive briefcase. Semantics.

The bigger problem is with the “Duo” portion of this bag, the bag pack straps. They are awful for me. The padded section of the straps is too short. I don’t want to ride this bag up to my neck because it feels better when the top of the bag is at shoulder blade level — but when I do that, the straps end at the bottom of my shoulder, and my rib cage is greeted with straps. There is also a sternum strap which is sort of misplaced — this bag isn’t meant to carry weight, so I don’t really know why that is there.

What I would change

I’m sorely tempted to just cut off the backpack straps altogether. I found that I could clip on a third-party shoulder strap at the connection point of the backpack straps, and I stuff the straps into the back pocket creating unnecessary bulk. I think about either replacing them with more comfortable backpack straps, or just turn this into a more traditional, vertically-oriented shoulder bag.

I would also like to add one more pocket, perhaps mesh on the back inner wall of the main compartment near the top. I would like to make better use of the top volume of the bag. I would remove the zippers from the front pockets, and maybe not separate them so I could fit my hand in them.

Conclusion

This is a pricey bag. $289 is no joke for a 16l bag. Is it worth it for a Cordura vertical bag? That’s not clear. I probably wouldn’t have bought it if I hadn’t been able to find a pre-owned bag in nice condition for a discount.

But I have it now, and I do like this bag despite the fact it’s not a tote and the “Duo” is really bad. It’s a really beautiful bag, carries quite a bit, and is well organized. TINSTAAPP applies, and there are changes that should be made by Bellroy. This will forever be in a battle against Waterford Design bags to be carried to my office.

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