I've owned a Tumi 26141 briefcase for the last 9 years, but it started falling apart 2 years ago. Had it repaired last year, cost me over $100 to reattach a zipper that was separating from the shell material, threads fraying all over the place, one area of the nylon was almost worn through, etc... Thought this stuff was supposed to last a lifetime. Given the price, it should. Well, now it's breaking down again and I'm not putting any more money into this bag. Plus, I've decided that a nice, functional computer laptop backpack is probably going to suit me better. I'm kinda bummed about the downfall of Tumi quality. I love the functionality and the designs. If I felt confident in the quality, I'd probably consider a Tumi backpack. My old Tumi stuff is still going strong, but the newer stuff is just nowhere close to worth the price.

So, I've done a bunch of research and found 4 bags I'm going to demo. Have ordered each of them and will have them all in this coming week. Once I get them in, I'll come back and report back on my experiences with each. I'm getting two higher end models, and two more affordable models. The four are:

- Briggs & Riley Verb Live Large
- Victorinox Architecture 3.0 Big Ben 15"
- eBags TLS Workstation
- Brenthaven Expandable Trek

My criteria are pretty straight forward. Primary usage is day to day. I don't travel a lot any longer, at least by plane. Just hate what flying has turned into. Maybe 2-3 flights a year. Another 2-3 trips by car a year. So most of it is going to be just going back and forth from my home office to the car to my office.....um....office. I want something that securely holds my Macbook Pro, has nice organization for files, room to throw in a few books, and then various sundry items like brochures, business cards, pens, ear buds, food bars, etc.... For when I fly, needs to be able to fit over the handle of my carry on if I choose to do that. Warranty was non-negotiable. If the unit didn't have a lifetime warranty, I didn't consider it. these 4 items have a great warranty.

I looked at a bunch of others, there are great units out there, but I'm the type that can get lost researching something and at the rate my current Tumi bag is breaking down, I need to get something quickly. I figured with these kinds of items, it's impossible to really tell what will suit me and fit what I like to most commonly carry unless I have the bag in front of me. So I've got all these coming this week, will check them all out in depth and then return the 3 I don't want.

Again, I'll report back once I have detailed info on these. And if anyone has any of these units and would like to chime in on this thread, I'd love to hear their thoughts, as well.