The Manhattan Portage Cornell Messenger Bag is a very well constructed bag. It feels durable because the fabric is tough. The shoulder strap is of good length.

The bag is big enough to hold a 13-inch laptop (with a thin case) and a few A4-sized sketching pads. A 14-inch laptop will be too big. It's not padded for the laptop though.

There are 4 pockets not including the main compartment. A big deep one is on the back, useful for holding frequently access items. On the side is pocket that's large enough to hold a phone - I put my MP3 player or pens there. Behind the flap are two more pockets, one small and medium sized. The small one can is good for putting miscellaneous small items like keys, pens. The medium sized one can hold a medium sized book - I put a 6-inch Kindle or camera there.

Except for the back pocket, all the other pockets come with zips, including the main compartment. It's a really secure bag. Nothing's going to fall out of the zipped pockets even if the bag is upside down.

This bag is not cheap but it's worth the money, seeing that it's going to last for a long time.

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The Manhattan Portage Cornell Messenger Bag is available on Amazon.com with various colours.

Behind the flap are two zipped pockets, one small, one medium. On the side is one pocket large enough for a mobile phone.

A closer look at the side pocket.

This is the pocket on the back of the back. It's large enough for an A4 sketching pad.

Here's the bag packed. In the main compartment, I've loaded in three A4 sketching pads, one large book, two medium sized books, a 6-inch Kindle and a pencil case. In the medium pocket, I've put in two DVD boxes.

Items I pack for my sketching trip. A small folding camp chair in the main compartment, A4 sketching pad in the back pocket, A5 sketching pad and drawing tools in the medium pocket.

Even though I said the small pocket is small, it's still big enough to hold a large pencil case. If I only bring a few pens, I put them in the side pocket.

Here's a video review to give you a better look at the bag.

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The Manhattan Portage Cornell Messenger Bag is available with several colour choices at Amazon.com