Briggs & Riley Luggage Compact Byte Brief

I spent a lot of time carefully searching for a professional-looking, well-constructed, light-weight, black nylon briefcase/laptop bag for my 13" laptop, and when I came upon this item, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. I had also looked at bags from Tumi, but most of their bags were in the $350-$500 range, and despite being more expensive, were heavier at least 1.5 lb heavier and not as sleek as this item. I had also previously reviewed a 13" bag from RooCase, which is much less expensive (~$30) which I liked for the price. However, this bag looks far nicer, has a lifetime warranty, and I think it was time for the upgrade, given an upcoming job change. I had also looked at bags from a variety of sellers, including eBags, Victorinox, etc; none of them were as sleek, light weight and well constructed and professional appearing as this bag.

1. Briggs and Riley is one of only a few luggage makers that offers a lifetime warranties on everything they make. It goes without saying, all of their products are extremely well designed & thought out, made of durable materials that are carefully put together. If there's every a problem, they will fix or repair it for free. I have one other B&R product that has served me extremely well and looks/works as good now as when it was first purchased.

2. Aside from holding a 13" laptop (fits my macbook 13" perfectly), it has a separately zippered compartment to hold an ipad + papers. If you do not need the second pocket to hold additional papers (ie, you only need a bag that will hold a laptop + smaller front pocket, B&R makes a Speedy Mini Brief, which is slimmer/lighter, but I find that its nice to have the extra space)

3. It has a strap on the backside that allows you to hook the briefcase onto the handle of your rolling luggage. There is also a separate detachable and adjustable shoulder strap.

4. This thing OOZES quality-it's made of abrasion resistant nylon and the self-repairing zippers that open and close very easily. It's very comfortable to the touch, and looks like it will last a very long time. I've gotten several compliments on it.

5. The front pocket has an area that holds 3 pens, a USB stick, key chain, cell phone, business cards, etc. The bag has a unique serial number (like many Tumi bags), and you can register the item at B&R's website; that way if its ever lost, the owner can be identified.

6. The interior of this bag is orange; this makes it obvious when the bag is open, reminding you to close it.

7. There are orange accents on the zipper, and a small portion of the stitching on the front and side is orange as well; I dont find it distracting.

8.The straps are held together by two magnets inside a padded foam wrap; the magnets snaps together and the foam handle VERY comfortable to hold for extended periods of time with two hands.

9. There is an additional slim pocket that is zippered from the top of the bag, about 4 inches long, and another that runs along the front pocket; I dont have any use for them, but they dont get in the way.

10. If there are any problems that arise I will update this review as needed.

If you are looking for a genuinely light laptop travel case, and you don't have a laptop larger then a think 14" 15", then this case is ideal. I use it for my 13" MacBook Pro. It is of the quality you expect from B&R, namely the highest, and it is astonishingly light. But if you are someone who packs a lot into a briefcase this is not the case for you. I used to, but I am glad that this case forces me to travel sensibly.

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