Harber London Everyday Leather Briefcase review: A stylish business travel companion

In T3's Harber London Everyday Leather Briefcase review, I put this stylish and practical bag to the test to see if it rivals some of the best laptop bags.

Harber London makes a wide range of beautiful leather bags, sleeves cases and accessories for almost every tech product in your life. For this review, we’re looking at the company’s Everyday Leather Briefcase, which is available in three colours – tan, black and deep brown – and two sizes suitable for laptops of 13/14 inches and 15/16 inches. All versions are priced at £379.

I tested out the smaller model for this review, with the tan colour option. Inside there’s space for a 14-inch MacBook Pro, and I also tried a 13-inch MacBook Air, which naturally takes up slightly less space in the lightly padded laptop compartment. There’s space for an 11-inch iPad Pro on the opposite side of the briefcase, plus further space for a Kindle and accessories like cables and a compact charger.

The briefcase has five internal pockets of various sizes, plus three leather straps for securing pens or a tablet stylus, and one larger strap for holding something like a small notebook or a bunch of cables. There’s a great deal of flexibility here, with the pockets all a fairly generic size and suited to a broad range of everyday carry items. Harber London also includes a handy keychain that snaps magnetically into place and gives you somewhere to store your keys deep inside the bag while travelling.

I found the briefcase gets full pretty quickly, especially when tasked with storing a 14-inch laptop and 11-inch tablet. Once those are in place, there’s not much flexibility for anything else, beyond a few small accessories, perhaps a sunglasses case and maybe a small magazine.

I took the briefcase on a long-haul flight to California and, while a wonderfully stylish way to carry my laptop and tablet, the briefcase only just provided enough space for everything I needed on the 11-hour flight. That said, I really liked the integrated suitcase strap, which is fitted to the back of the briefcase and slots neatly onto the extended handle of a carry-on bag.

Less successful is the shoulder strap, which clips onto the briefcase’s handles. It’s easy to install and is adjustable but quite narrow so isn’t the most comfortable option, especially if the briefcase is full and fairly heavy. I didn’t like how the handles are left to flop down when using the shoulder strap, taking away from what is otherwise a very attractive briefcase.

Afterthought shoulder strap aside, I’ve really enjoyed using the Harber briefcase. It’s a great size, the handles are comfortable to hold for long periods, it provides a decent amount of protection for a laptop and tablet, and offers up space for a handful of travel essentials too. The leather is wonderfully soft and buttery, while giving the impression of being highly durable. I reckon it’ll age beautifully once it starts to crease and gain a well-used patina.

Harber London Everyday Leather Briefcase review: verdict

I admit that I really pushed this briefcase to its limit, by swapping out my trusty (and much larger) backpack for the briefcase during a five-day transatlantic work trip. But I’ve also used it for everyday tasks like lunch meetings in the city, and it performed perfectly.

The key is to not fill every single compartment, but pack it only with the essentials. Slot in a laptop or a tablet, plus a couple of accessories, sunglasses and maybe a small bottle of fragrance or hand sanitiser, and you have a fantastic briefcase that's compact, comfortable and stylish.

If you like the Harber London aesthetic but need a bit more space, check out T3's five-star review of the company’s larger Laptop Briefcase, complete with full-leather interior and extra storage compartments.

• Buy the Harber London Everyday Briefcase at Harber London

• Best backpacks: for school, your commute, or travel