I have had the Lo & Sons OMG for several months now. I bought it to replace my beloved Kate Spade that was just a bit too small for my sherpa like work ways. I struggled to fit in an extra pair of shoes (I might be @surgeoninheels but it’s always a safe bet to have a pair of flats on hand) and always had a separately lunch bag to carry (one will fail at weight control if they buy lunches at work so I take a salad, some fruit, and nuts to work every day). So I was in the market for a bag that would fit my 11in MacBook Air and accessories along with usual bag essentials (sunglass case, umbrella, emergency pouch [more on this in another blog post!]) and my lunch and a back-up pair of flats. 

I had honestly never heard of Lo & Sons until a friend commented that my travel must haves was missing this bag. That reminded me that I had read about this bag on the Huffington Post OMG Review at some point in the past. I thought to myself, if this trusted friend likes the bag and the HuffPo likes it, then I must own it. So here I am owning it.

I really like this bag (but I don’t love it and I will get into that below).

This bag fits a lot. It is a stylized version of a gym bag and (as touted by the HuffPo) could be an overnight bag but it would never work for these roles for me as I need a much bigger bag for such purposes. For me it is simply an everyday work bag, my women’s brief case so to speak. They do offer a slightly larger version called the OG but I think this would be far too large for an everyday bag.

My favorite part of the bag is the shoe pouch that is accessible from the side via a hidden zipper. I also love that it has an organized outside zipper pocket with a couple of pen slots, an internal zipper pocket within this outside zipper pocket, and a pocket for a phone. It has a few credit card slots too but since I have a wallet this is not particularly useful to me; however, it does not present itself as a nuisance either. There is also a key fob holder in the outside zipper pocket. The bag is also very organized on the inside with a laptop pocket, a file folder pocket and two additional slip pockets along with yet another zipper pocket. The outside is a water resistant nylon with leather straps and the inside is a nice jacquard print fabric. There is a detachable shoulder strap that allows you to wear it comfortably as a crossbody and I do love this feature. I chose black with lavender interior and gold hardware. I have to reiterate that I love bags that come with gold hardware but the company actually allows you to choose your combinations of exterior, interior and hardware when you order.

Of course, having returned to the website to write this review I am super annoyed that they now have many more colors to choose from (colors is something they seem to offer every now and then based on a quick internet search). I would have loved to not get basic black in favor of a pop of color. But, when I was shopping for a bag they had black, brown, navy, and military green–none popped and if something isn’t going to pop then black is my go to neutral. But I digress. The point is, you can now buy the bag in an array of awesome colors and a new heather gray canvas.

I have traveled with this bag on multiple occasions and the adjustable zipper openings on the opposite side of the bag are perfect to slip over any rolling suitcase (the new heather gray is pictured to the right). Once on board this bag fits nicely under the seat with plenty of room for my tootsies wiggle and flex.

Anyway, here’s what I am not super crazy about with this bag. First, even when fully unzipped it does not open wide enough for me to just slip in my 11in Air without turning it vertically on its side and this bag is supposed to fit most 13in laptops. Speaking of laptops, the laptop slot is secured by a leather strap that fits over a gold button and this is not a quick and easy closure by any means (and I have the dexterous hands of a surgeon!) so I never use it. Since I never use it the leather just sort of flaps in the breeze and is an unnecessary nuisance much like the appendix in the right lower quadrant.

Also related to the zipper issue is the fact that since I can’t open the mouth of the bag as much as I want despite all the interior pockets my usual flustered self is not in a state of mind most days to peer into the bag and make sure that everything is in its place. So, things make their way haphazardly in the big empty space in the middle while the pockets sit empty.  The file holder slot next to the laptop slot is fabric only and I find that the work related items I put in there will sag into the big empty space making it hard for me to reach into the space and often bending/marring the edges of the paperwork I am trying to store in that slot. Finally, the internal zipper pocket of the outside zipper pocket and the internal zipper pocket of the main compartment of this bag are sewn in back to back so the full depth and breadth of either one cannot be utilized without rendering the other unusable so one of mine is typically always empty.

Now none of these are deal breakers for me. There are a lot of 5 star reviews of this bag in the blogosphere but honestly the current version of the OMG that I own only gets 4 stars from me.  However, I have been told that Lo’s sons who are the men behind this venture are very responsive to feedback and this is my version of feedback. I hope that they make a next version with a few fixes liker a wider mouth (think something that opens up a bit more like a doctor’s bag!), a more utilitarian securing mechanism for the laptop (think snap or magnet), internal zipper pockets on opposite sides of the bag, and a stiffer file folder section that I can pick up in a snazzy color. For now, the OMG is lightweight, comfortable to carry, and big enough to hold all my crap so I remain beholden to this bag.

all images from https://www.loandsons.com