Note: this item was provided for review.
There are two truths about this Bull Messenger from WP Standard to know: I was super nervous to get this bag for review as I am not usually a leather bag guy; I’ve literally never had as many compliments on any single bag I have ever used. It’s wild how many people love the way this bag looks, including me.
My fears of this being not that useable quickly dissipated as I started to use this bag. It’s a sturdy bag which looks good, and can carry way more than I expected — and it has quickly shifted my perspective on what a good bag is for daily carry.
Materials & Specs
The materials here are simple: leather and brass. Nothing less, nothing more. The leather for this bag is noted as “rare bullhide leather” which is noted for the following characteristics: “thicker, stronger, and loaded with character” and that character is specifically “deep grain patterns and natural wrinkles.” I highlight that because it’s hard to understate how deep the grain pattern is, and how thick (and thus heavy) the leather on this bag is. It works, but know what it is and isn’t.
The bag is listed as 19” wide, 13” tall, with a depth of 4.5”. There’s only three pockets on this bag: one small outer pocket at the back, the large main compartment, with an area for a laptop segmented inside the main compartment. That laptop area is rated for 15” laptops.
The strap is not designed to be removed and is anchored at the back of the bag for both anchor points. The large flap closes with a single prong brass buckle. It’s not overly fiddly in any way, though the buckle is not the fastest thing, but is necessary as the bag will pull open if it is not fastened. There is not hand carry handle anywhere.
In Use
I’ve long admired the WP Standard aesthetic, but I never had the chance to use a bag from them until now. And I wish I had tried these bags sooner, because this bag is fantastic, and looks amazing in person. So amazing, that not only do people I am meeting with comment on how ‘sharp’ it looks, but my wife mentions how good it looks each time she sees me use it — and she’s seen a lot of bags come through this house.
More than that, I, feel like this is a really good looking bag, no matter what environment you are carrying it in. I had it bouncing around in a grass field while we hung out at a swim meet, it looked at home. It’s been at my side when I’m wearing a button down and blazer — looked good. And it’s accompanied me on many bike rides, shopping trips and then some. It seems to always fit in, in a way in which you wouldn’t expect a leather bag to fit in. I attribute that to both the grain on the bullhide, but also the overall design of the bag — casual and simple, but executed at a high level.
Looks alone does not make for a great bag (though it certainly helps), so the next part of this bag that I quickly grew to love is the overall size of the bag. At roughly 18L or so, this is just enough that it can carry about everything you can imagine, while still staying small enough that the bag never feels overbearing to stash beside you in a busy cafe. I can easily carry a large notebook in a leather cover, my iPad or laptop, my camera, a shemagh, and accessories with room to spare.
You do need to bring your own organization for this bag, as it doesn’t have any real built in organization, but this plays well into how much this bag can carry as a more segmented bag would feel smaller. I’ve found this bag works better with soft sided pouches, rather than more rigid ones, as it is rather amorphous in shape and the softer pouches fit better with that.
I had two really big concerns with this bag going into it: durability; and carry comfort. My concerns were unfounded for the former, and not as big of an issue for the latter.
I never actively try to destroy or push anything when I am testing it for durability. Instead I take it with me for whatever I am doing and try to pay attention to wear, marks or other issues which pop up. That’s typically not a very rigorous process, but this time around this bag went to quite a lot of places. It found itself being moved around grass fields, damp concrete patios and a lot more. I can’t see any visible wear on the bag, and I am decently surprised by that.
Surprised because leather typically shows wear faster, and yet this leather seems to either resist wear well, or hide it well — likely a mix of both. That is going to allow this bag to look good for a very long time to come.
On the carry side of things, my primary concern was around weight and balance of that weight. Leather bags are heavier than synthetic bags by a significant amount — before you put anything in them. The leather strap on this bag is simple, and a different leather than the main bag, with a very wide (but not padded) shoulder pad on the strap. I’ve carried this bag for about 90 minutes straight several times, and while I could feel the weight, I never felt uncomfortable or like I was fighting with the positioning of the bag given the rear-only strap anchors (which often cause bags to hang funny).
I would have no issue carrying this bag with me on a long travel day, and I certianly have carried it all around town without complaint. It’s not light, but it handles itself well enough that it doesn’t feel as though it is fighting against you.
There are, of course, a couple of things I would change on this bag if I could:
- I would love for there to be a grab handle at the back of this bag. Anything that I could grab on to would make it a lot easier when repositioning the bag while sitting at a table, or in a car.
- I don’t mind the buckle closure on this bag at all, but I do think the leather strap you weave to buckle the flap could do with being a touch longer so it is easier to fasten the bag closed when the bag is rather full — as it is, I often need two hands so that the leather doesn’t slip out of the buckle before it is secured.
Outside of that, I have no notes. While this bag is basic and slightly heavy, those things are vastly out weighed by how good it looks, and how no-nonsense the bag is to use overall.
Overall
I spend more time than most thinking about bags, and about which bag I want to use for different activities. I have a closet stuffed with bags, and a storage bin full of them too. I am constantly testing new bags on top of all of that.
But this bag — this bag — I felt guilty putting away to test the next bag. Instead I left it out, in a pile of only three bags, each which I consider my favorites I keep going back to. I really like this bag — both functionally and aesthetically. When you have a bag that looks really good, you find that it feels easier to carry that bag around with you places — and that’s what this bag does. And when you get to that point with a bag, you use it over many others you might have.
I love it.