Portland Leather Goods Men's Leather Crossbody XL Messenger Bag Review
If you are unfamiliar with Portland Leather Goods, they are well known for their full-grain leather totes. From a local Portland leather workshop, they grew into a sizable company that expanded its production in Mexico and added a distribution center in Texas. I love their totes, but I have always wanted one of their messenger bags. Unfortunately, the messenger bag was unavailable when I discovered the company. It was likely because they focused solely on their tote production to meet market demands. Fortunately, the company continues to grow, and after a year of waiting, they finally brought back their messenger bag!
The mentioned bag is their Men's Crossbody XL Messenger Bag, and it is available under the Men's section on their website. PLG used to provide two size options for the messenger bags; thus, you see "XL" in the name. I hope they will also bring back their smaller messenger bag or introduce more colors. Right now, only their Canyon color is available for the messenger bag.
After buying over 100 bags, I can confidently tell you to get this messenger bag if this is a bag style you like. I say so because this is the best value for your bucks! For a similar style and material, this messenger bag could easily cost you over $500! However, depending on the sale they have, you are likely to be able to snag one under $250! Although they are no longer making their products in the states due to their production move to Mexico, I haven't seen any quality change after buying so many leather bags from them. The quality is comparable to some other made-in-America bags but with a more affordable price tag; hence their popularity has been skyrocketing.
Although Canyon color wouldn't be my first choice, it is a popular color from what I have heard. I opened the box and saw the messenger bag for the first time, and it was thrilling! I was amazed by the bag's quality. For that instant, I could understand why they decided to use the Canyon color. It is a firm, smooth leather with some color variations pull-up. Canyon leather is likely to age well under rough use, considering this bag was designed for men. I said so because leather with color variation tends to hide the scuff and marks better. In addition, the scuff marks on Canyon leather can easily be buffed out by using a leather conditioner like Chamberlain's Leather Milk Healing Balm; it is quite magical if you haven't tried it!
The elephant in the room for this review would be the weight. Is this a heavy bag? Due to the bag's construction, it is slightly more weighty compared to their totes, but not by much. To be exact, the Crossbody XL Messenger Bag I own weighed 3.8 pounds. The weight you feel when carrying a bag often correlates with the strap's length. So if you tend to carry your bag with a longer strap and let it hang lower, you will feel more weight once you have stuff in your bag. Personally, I love to carry my bags with a shorter strap and have my bags closer to my upper body. I found that my bag seems to be lighter compared to using a longer strap. In addition, carrying the messenger bag crossbody will help distribute the weight better and more balance in general.
In terms of the style and design, it leans more traditionally, and is similar to an old English briefcase. It has a solid and durable top handle and a front flap closure that you can secure with double magnetic closures or the traditional buckle closure. Although I would let the buckle closure stay unbuckled for everyday use, it would be a hassle to unbuckle it every time I needed to open the bag. So instead, it could be secured by the double magnetic closures, which are pretty strong, and won't detach when I shake the bag. However, the buckle closure could be a helpful feature when I use it for travel since it does come with a leather sleeve to attach to your luggage handle.
This messenger bag provides multiple strap connection points with D-rings beside the top handle and on the side of it. You can connect your crossbody strap either way, and both look great, depending on your preference. The crossbody strap has the construction of a double layer, so both sides are smooth, and it has the perfect thickness to ensure durability. The lobster clasps on the strap are chunkier than those you usually see on their crossbody totes, and they have this beautiful antique brass finish to give you the classic, timeless look. The strap also comes with a shoulder pad, so even with a heavier load, it will help to ease the stress on your shoulder.
The XL Messenger Bag has two main compartments, and the bag is sewn together using outer stitching construction. Thus you see the ridges around it, in the middle, at the bottom of the bag. Because it was made with full-grain leather, when layers of leather are sewn together, it still gives you ridges that provide good support for the bag, even if it doesn't have metal feet.
Open up the bag, and you will see it is unlined. The suede side of the leather was nicely shaved down to give you an even texture on the inside. On the back compartment, it has a built-in laptop/iPad divider to separate your laptop from other items in the bag. You will find two sizable slip pockets on the front compartment, big enough to keep your phone in place. Beside the pockets, there's a snap button loop to attach your keys.
Products from Portland Leather Goods are well-made and durable. There's no exception for this Crossbody XL Messenger Bag. However, if I may, I have a few suggestions if they ever consider modifying it. First, I would love to see a single compartment messenger bag. With it divided into two compartments, I have fewer options of what I can put in the bag. Without the divider in the middle, I can always use a bag organizer if I need one. Otherwise, I can use it to carry more oversized items, like my cameras and lenses. Second, I am unsure how long the magnetic closure will last, and I think a push-lock or a turn-lock closure would be a good alternative for easy access and security. Third, I want to see the D-rings by the top handle riveted down instead of the stitches. Fourth, an external pocket at the back would be perfect! I love having the feature so that I can easily put my phone away without having to open up the bag. Lastly, I would like to see the stitching color match the color of the messenger bag. Contrast stitching design could be interesting, but it could become a little much when you have so many elements sewn onto the bag.
In conclusion, this is easily one of my favorites from Portland Leather Goods. The messenger bag is well-made, and the leather is thick and durable. I honestly can't find many flaws that I can share. For example, I love how they can hammer in the rivets in near-perfect positions; instead of like other companies where the rivets are off center by miles and trigger my internal OCD as a longtime graphic designer. If you love an excellent briefcase-style crossbody messenger bag, this is the bag to get! I am afraid you will have difficulty finding a bag in a similar price range that gives you the same quality and value. Get it before they take this bag off their production line because I don't think the messenger bag is as profitable as the simple totes they make.
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