Solo New York Briefcase - Laptop Carrying Bag for Women & Men, Brief for Travel & Work, File Compartment, Retractable Shoulder Strap, Fits 16" Computer - Paramount, Black

Others have said that this bag is not built as well as it used to be. I had this same bag for years some five years ago. As far as I can tell, there are only four differences in this bag from the earlier ones. First, the zipper pulls are different now. They don't say Solo anymore. Second, the retractable strap now has a "racing stripe" on it. Third, the shoulder pad on the strap now has a textured surface in order to prevent it sliding off your shoulder when your wearing a slippery nylon-type jacket. Fourth, The bag no longer has an outside pocket for a cellphone. As far as I can tell, the construction is of the same materials as the earlier bag. The zippers look similar as well. .I really like this computer bag! The biggest advantage it has over almost all the other computer bags I have tried is that it STANDS UP. It really bothers me when my computer bag flops around, falls over and I have to pick it up again just to use it. It might be a minor foible for most people, but it annoys me. Due to the retractable strap mechanism, this bag has a stiff frame in the middle that keeps the bag from falling over. The retractable strap works very well and now that it has a textured shoulder pad, it stays put when carried.The only improvement I would make to this bag is to put zippers on the inside pockets. These pockets tend to flop open and have to be moved aside when putting your computer in the bag or the can catch on the corners of the laptop. That is the only thing I would improve about this bag. It has plenty of room and all the pockets are easily accessible. As far as the cellphone pocket, it was really only big enough for a flip phone and I wouldn't carry my smartphone in that pocket anyway. This is a great computer bag!

2 year update: I still carry this bag daily. Only problem is the retracting strap is a little weak.I got this bag about 6 months ago. I was shipped the wrong bag, but Amazon quickly replaced it with the right one. I was looking for a bag that would stand on its own, holds my Thinkpad E550 15.6" laptop, and is durable. I work on an ambulance for 12 hours a day, so I really need something tough. I use this bag almost everyday and it has held up great through the abuse I put it through. I was worried about the retractable strap being poor quality, but it seems to be very good quality. It does not get bunched up or snagged. It almost feels like seatbelt material. I carry my laptop, charger, mouse, Xbox controller, and large headphones everywhere I go. This bag has no problems carrying all that junk, plus notebooks, pens, flash drives, sunglasses, and whatever else I think I need. The laptop area is very well padded, using the space created for the strap retracting mechanism. The quality of his bad is superior than any other bag I have used. If this bag ever breaks, I will be getting another one. Have no fears, u are buying a great product.

I bought this briefcase cause I liked the retractable strap. There are times I need to throw it up on my shoulder. The protection for this briefcase for your laptop or surface pro is amazing!Not only is it a very good looking briefcase, but the functionality is also fantastic! I would highly recommend this briefcase to anyone! A+

====================================================UPDATED (4-3-17) ... NEW INFO. ADDED BELOW ORIGINAL REVIEW====================================================Absolutely perfect. Arrived quickly and in good condition. After 6 months of daily use, one side of one handle detached from the side. Poor stitching. Fortunately, I'm handy with a needle and thread, and fortunately, I happened to have a CURVED UPHOLSTERY NEEDLE so that I could re-stitch (using the original holes). The curved needle allowed me to do a "lock-stitch" from one side.Overall this is a great item. The other handle stitching is holding up just fine. The problem I experienced was a "one-off" issue where the handle wasn't properly aligned before it was stitched into place.====================================================UPDATE: FOLLOW-UP (4-3-17)====================================================So... after two years, my amateur repair stitching gave out as well, so I returned to this listing to re-order a replacement for this case... and that's when I was reminded of the FIVE YEAR WARRANTY. (I'd completely forgotten about it, and it was one of the reasons I chose this case in the first place.)I contacted Solo (the manufacturer) to inquire about making a warranty claim. The person on the phone explained that I'd need to provide a photo of the damage AND a photo of a sewn-in tag (which indicates the model number and a code number with the date of manufacture).Unfortunately, my case didn't have this sewn-in tag. After a couple of emails explaining the situation, they agreed to accept only the photos and a PDF copy of my Amazon receipt as proof of purchase within the warranty period. (Thankfully. Otherwise this would have been a scathing follow-up. :-)I submitted my email to their customer service (claims) department and included a half-dozen photos that showed the damaged handle and other photos that helped to clearly identify the style/model. Also attached to this email was a PDF copy of my Amazon receipt, that showed the style/model and purchase date.WITHIN FOUR DAYS of my email submission, the USPS had delivered a new replacement case. BRAVO!! EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE!! My husband and I are very pleased.SOMETHING STILL BOTHERS ME: The "missing" sewn-in tag was curious to me. I wondered if perhaps my husband had removed it intentionally... or if it had just fallen-off... or if the factory worker had neglected to include it... or if the sewn-in tags were started after 2014... or if sewn-in tags weren't standard for this model. There were many possible answers.After the new case arrived, the FIRST thing I did was to carefully inspect it to see if one of these mysterious sewn-in tags was present. Turns out... the answer is still "NO". This leaves one of two possibilities. Either this low-end model doesn't normally include the sewn-in tag, or it was also part of a lot that was manufactured before Solo started using sewn-in ID tags.No big deal, but it's certainly curious... and the lack of a tag caused some unnecessary concern (on my part) and a brief delay in filing a claim.STILL... considering the overall QUALITY of this item AND considering the SPEEDY WARRANTY REPLACEMENT service. I still recommend this item.