POLARE ORIGINALPolare 23" Full Grain Cowhide Leather Gym Duffle Weekender Overnight Travel Duffel Bag For Men 42L

First & Lasting impression: This is a great bag and fantastic value for the price. I would recommend to friends/family, purchase as a gift, or even buy the largest one if I needed something bigger. I anticipate this will last a long time. I look forward to this bag aging, the leather should break in well and develop a nice, ‘used-leather’-look. Selected after a long search to replace 25-year-old, well-traveled (thoroughly worn out), similar-sized/styled bag. Arrived sealed in a well-taped plastic bag and within a cotton draw-string bag; nice first impression. Manufacturers card with warranty info inside the bag with the shoulder strap. The YKK zippers are large, and durable so far. (Another review recommended rubbing zipper with wax to help the new zipper slide easier while breaking in.) The shoulder strap fits and carries well, and the clasps appear to be heavy-duty. The color and style of the selected zippers, snaps, strap-clasps, and the five metal ‘feet’ on the bottom match the style of the bag nicely. Volume is great, in fact I returned the 26” for the 23”, since the smaller bag holds enough for several days and the larger bag just too big for my needs. (Each are a generous 23” and 26” in length, measured.) Perfect as a weekend, 2-3 night bag. Inside the main compartment there is an additional, long, zippered pocket on the rear wall (large enough for a book or small tablet) and two open pouch-pockets on the front wall (not listed in the description but shown in the photo). The leather is thick, strong, flexible, uniform and without blemishes, and holds the shape of the bag when empty. If weight is a factor, good to know in advance that the 23” bag weighs 6 pounds when empty.Only Fault to be aware of: When new, the brown dye can rub off. The dye did transfer onto lighter-colored slacks during the first trip. Fortunately, the dye washed out of the slacks after pre-treating and laundering. The dye should become stable and no longer rub off the bag after time, stabilizing as the bag is exposed to air and sun. (Possibly treat with leather conditioner?) I believe this to be a short-term issue; the dye rubbing off. This should stop when the bag is no longer new. (I presume the cotton, draw-string bag it arrived in was selected to help mitigate the dye while the bag was shipping.) A note included on the manufacturer's card inside the bag when shipped giving the Customer a ‘heads-up’ about the new dye would be helpful to alleviate new owner concerns.Recommendation to manufacturer: Consider making one of the end pockets with a large, internal nylon pocket that extends into the main compartment. This could be used to separate a pair of shoes or soiled laundry from clothes in the main compartment. The large, external pocket at the front of the bag would benefit from several, internal pockets or pouches to hold pens/pencils, business cards, cell phone & accessories, and other smaller items. Leather handles on either end of the bag (below where the shoulder strap connects) would be an extra advantage.I have owned this bag for several months with a couple of trips under its belt, prior to writing this review. It does fit under airplane seat if not stuffed to capacity and easily fits in overhead compartment. It looks great and is very functional! I highly recommend this bag if the size and style meet your requirements.

The quality of this bag is outstanding, it has held up to my constantly on-the-go lifestyle. I bought it a year ago because I was tired of buying new bags constantly and wanted something that would last for many years. I've been on around 80 flights just in the last 5 months and aside from a few scuffs on the bottom of the bag it still looks new. My coworker got a hard shell roller bag around the same time and had to replace it due to it cracking within 6 months. I get compliments on it pretty much every week, yesterday a random guy at the baggage claim said "Wow, that's a really nice bag". In a world dominated by roller bags, it's always easy to spot mine at the baggage claim too.The only downside is that it can be pretty cumbersome and usually weighs around 30 lbs fully packed when I check it with the airlines. If you're not very strong you will need something with wheels to place it on when walking very far, airports and hotels have carts you can use for luggage. I loop the carrying straps over the handle of my rolling tool bag that I also travel with and use the tool bag as a dolly, and I'm a big guy so the weight hasn't been an issue for me.It's very spacious and has all the compartments I need to organize 2 weeks' worth of clothes plus a hygiene bag and another bag for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand soap etc. But to be honest I wish I had gone with a smaller size since I usually only travel for the week and come home for weekends, I'm thinking about getting a 23" or 26" for air travel and saving the 30" for when I'm traveling in my truck, vacations. or going out of town for 2 weeks**Update**I've had this bag for over a year now and have been flying twice a week (and most trips have connecting flights) nearly every week this year. The bag shows very little signs of wear and has held up great. I've had bags that didn't last 10 flights but this one has survived probably around 120 flights. The leather is now broken in and softer making it a little less bulky when it's not completely full.

This is exceptionally nice for the price. The leather is high quality, great workmanship. Nice size bag. I'm very glad I bought it.