Back Story

After first purchasing the Zicac Men’s Shoulder Bag and finding it slightly too small, I bought the Bronze Coin Bag, which I used for a year. But then one of its zippers broke. (The bag is still mostly usable, but I wanted one with working zippers.)

As before, my primary difficulty in finding a good bag is that most stores — at least in my area — do not carry such “man bags”; almost my only source was internet shopping. At brick-and-mortar stores, I found plenty of backpacks, bags made for carrying laptop computers, and women’s purses galore, but nothing to suit my purposes. I love online shopping for books, batteries, camera accessories, music, and other items that don’t need to be touched in person before ordering, but for an item like this, having it in front of me would be a huge help. But no such luck.

I also really wanted a gray bag. Black is too dark for the Central Texas sun, white shows dirt too easily, and all other colors have trouble matching clothes. I never really liked the green color of my last bag.

Cost

I had raised my price limit before buying this bag, thinking I might get better quality if I paid more. However, even when looking at bags well over $100, I still had a hard time finding bags that fit my specifications (gray, of a certain size, not too feminine in appearance, multiple pockets, rectangular in shape, long enough strap, not too large, etc.) This one was only $20.

Construction And Design

The bag is made of “840D two-tone PVC”, which I didn’t realize until after it arrived, but it feels and looks like cloth — very similar to my previous bag, which was made of canvas. (I had a very difficult time finding out what exactly “840D PVC” is, but basically it’s made from petroleum; I wouldn’t have bought it had I realized that in advance.) There is a light blue interior lining that’s clearly a different type of material — which isn’t listed. And in the “tablet sleeve”, there is yet a third type of material — very soft and smooth. The outer shell is stiff enough so that the bag maintains its shape while still being flexible. The stitching was very neat and tidy, both inside and out — unlike my previous two bags. There were no loose threads. The zippers — four of them — aren’t as weighty as the Zicac bag zippers, but at least they all pull smoothly. There are no D-rings or loops on the exterior, which means less chance of snagging on something. The shoulder strap is not detachable (a downside), but it is adjustable and long enough for me to wear the bag cross-body, which I generally prefer. The strap is long enough that a much taller man could wear this comfortably. (I’m about 188 cm, or 6’2”).

The front flap covers the entire face of the bag, and is held down by a magnet clasp. Across the full width of the front of the flap is a zipper pocket — the interior is about 6.5 inches deep and 7.5 inches wide, plenty of room for a smartphone, or a CD case, sunglasses, or other not-too-large items (it could even hold a small paperback book, but the book would stick out a little. The flap raises to reveal an “organizer panel”, which is just four pen sleeves and a slightly wider sleeve (seen in the photo below) which is about the right size for a pocket flashlight). Just above this panel is another zippered pocket, this one about 6 inches deep and 7.5 inches wide. Anything too thick in there will interfere with the organizer panel, so I’m using it for earbuds, phone charging cable, and a flat pack of gum.

At top, near the flap’s attachment point, is the zipper for the main compartment, which is 10.5 inches deep and 8.5 inches wide. (See photo at left.) If nothing else is put in there, it is barely large enough for a pack of 8”x10.5” notebook paper — the zipper would have to remain open for this. But it’s perfect for my 5”x7” notebook, oversized long wallet, and multitool — and there is still room for a trade paperback (about 9”x6”) like the one pictured in the contents photo above. There are no hidden pockets inside this main compartment.

On the back (hip side) is the final zippered, soft-lined pocket, which Everest calls a “tablet sleeve”. It is the tallest pocket at 11 inches (the full height of the bag), and is about 8.5 inches wide inside — easily large enough for a Kindle or Nook, or even an iPad2, if the specs I’m seeing online are accurate. The largest tablets on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy View or iPad Pro, will not fit. I don’t have a tablet, so I will likely use this pocket for my smartphone, though the pocket dwarfs my Motorola Droid Turbo, which is 5.5 inches tall and 2.8 inches wide. (See photo at bottom, near Conclusion.)

Size

As noted in an older review, my problem with the Zicac bag was its size. The Bronze Coin Bag was larger — about perfectly sized. This Everest bag is close to that size, but vertically oriented instead of horizontal. Again, about perfect.

The company’s specs say it’s 11 inches tall, which agreed with my measurement. The width is 9 inches, though the company said 8.25. I suppose it depends on how it’s filled. Front to back, mine is about 3 inches, though the company said 2.5. Again, I'm sure it depends on what’s in the bag.

This bag easily holds the items pictured above — book, notebook, phone, wallet, sunglasses, pens, gum, multitool, flashlight, earbuds, and charger. There’s room for more, but I will not be overfilling the bag; this is just to keep my pockets as empty as possible.

Conclusion

As always, only time will tell if the bag is durable, but it seems like it will be. If I had to guess, I would say the first part to break will be the magnetic clasp for the main flap; it seems flimsy and light. The color is perfect, as is the size. The light blue interior is better than a dark interior — it’s easy to see what I’m looking for in there.

I feel comfortable wearing this bag and it seems easy enough to get everything in and out of it. As always, I will update this review if my opinions change.

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