The Harber London leather Office Backpack is one of the best MacBook-ready examples I’ve had the pleasure of testing out in years. The brand is the maker of all things tech carriers, laptop sleeves, wallets, Apple Watch straps, and a series of leather backpacks like the one on display here today. It is a family run business based in London, England delivering its goods with a serious attention to detail and fine craftsmanship alongside a combination of 100% recycled and entirely premium materials. And today we are taking a closer look at its Office Backpack for review as part of the ongoing Tested with 9to5Toys series.
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Hands-on with Harber London’s Office Backpack
Harber London’s Office Backpack is of the leather MacBook-ready sort and made using a combination of sumptuous full-grain leather as well as 100% recycled plastic bottles. It presents a luxurious carrier that wouldn’t look out of place in some of the highest end designer boutiques and is loaded with ample storage compartments for just about anything you might need to take with you, whether that’s to the office, a board room meeting, when traveling, or otherwise.
On the inside you’ll find a series of zipper closures, magnetic sleeves, and padded compartments for your up to 16-inch MacBook, 13-inch tablets, cables, chargers, and there’s even a nice Apple Pencil slot. On the outside it’s more the same – a top-mounted pocket for quick access to smaller items, a pair of zippered front compartments for more of what you need to get at quickly, and a particularly nice detachable magnetic keychain.
The Harber London Office Backpack retails for $402 and comes in four colorways: All-black on black alongside mocha, olive, and camel variants with black leather accents.
Here’s a closer look at the spec sheet:
- Rich Full-Grain Leather.
- Comfortable Swivelling Shoulder Straps.
- Detachable Magnetic Key Chain included.
- Special Pockets for Cords, Business Cads and more.
- Padded Laptop Compartment, fits 16″ Laptops.
- Padded Tablet Compartment, fits 13″ Tablets.
- Custom Made Aviation Grade Aluminium Buckles.
- Handmade by expert craftsmen in Spain.
9to5Toys’ Take
Despite its extensive collection of leather goods, tech accessories, and more, Harber London is a brand that is new to me personally and one that I’ll be paying more attention to moving forward.
My first question regarding the office Backpack was whether or not it was actually worth the more premium price tag here. And if there’s one thing I can say for sure, this thing looks, feels, and functions like a high-end carrier or piece of luggage through and through. From the materials to the extra soft and cushioned straps, the quality is ever present in just about every aspect of the design. There are extra details and features hidden all over the place – metal key and accessory straps, an Apple Pencil-ready slot on the inside, individual pockets and slots for water bottles, MacBooks, tablets, cards, and much more.
I’ve tried out several different types of backpacks over the years, whether it’s some high-end fashion piece from the big European houses or say, some kind of all-American, pure leather handmade take, and one thing they tend to lack are comfortable shoulder straps. In my experience, a $40 backpack on Amazon can be more comfortable on your shoulders than something that can cost thousands or several hundreds of dollars, it just might not look as good.
Harber London has struck a wonderful balance in this regard on its Office Backpack, delivering both a high-end look and some of the more comfortable and cushioned straps I have ever used. And as a not so trivial side note here, the aviation-grade aluminum buckles are brilliant. You can tighten and loosen the straps with complete impunity and just the right amount of resistance, effortlessly resizing the shoulder straps while the bag is on your back – these things are like butter.
While I might have personally preferred something like the brand’s City Backpack or Leather Backpack from a purely aesthetic point of view, the Office model on display here today seemed like a nice middle ground in terms of materials and price to get a handle on the quality of the lineup overall. And I honestly couldn’t have come away more impressed. There’s no denying the investment it requires to own one, and I certainly would have appreciated a warranty longer than the one year on offer here. But if I’m going to spend this kind of cash I want to feel the quality around every turn, and in that regard, this leather MacBook backpack really delivers.
In the end, despite its not so affordable price tag, the Harber London Office Backpack actually looks and feel more expensive than it is to me. At $402, in my opinion it looks, functions, and feels like a $2,000+ backpack that comes in at a quarter of the price.
Buy the Harber London Office Backpack
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