Hey gents, today we’re going to talk about briefcases.

More specifically, we’re talking briefcases across the entire price spectrum.

Whether you’re looking at something like the $89 Bellroy, the big-ticket Smythson Ludlow, or something in between, we’ve got options for you at every price point. 

The goal of this roundup is twofold:

1.) To give you an idea of what’s out there, and…
2.) To provide you with legitimate, easy-to-spot criteria when choosing a bag that works for you.

As men, our options for accessories are somewhat limitied: watches, belts, suspenders, ties, the occasional ring or bracelet, and bags.

To me, bags make a greater impact on your look than any of these other accessories, and I felt that was reason enough to give them a roundup of their own.

(As a side note, I’ve also talked in detail about ties and other accessories, including ties on a budget, extra long ties, and an unboxing of one of my favorite accesory brands. Check those out if you’re worried that I’m not giving other men’s accessories their due place in the sun.)

Moving right along…

For this roundup, I chose brands that I have personal experience with. I’m guessing you wouldn’t be here wondering which bag to buy if you’d also tried that many, so I’m going to list the criteria below in detail before getting to specific brands.

As always, these roundups aren’t sponsored, but they do contain affiliate links to brands who’ve earned my trust. I hope that’s reason enough to earn them yours.

Now, let’s dive in.

Functionality Criteria for Picking a Briefcase

The number one factor in finding a briefcase is knowing whether it’s the correct size and strength to carry what you need it to. As always in menswear, functionality matters.

Do you need a big bag that can hold a lot of stuff? Certain brands are well-known for including internal hidden storage and extra pockets and compartments. 

How about a bag that can fit a certain size laptop?

Maybe a bag that can withstand lots of travel? If so, look for a bag that has handles and a strap you can attach to your luggage.

How about just something something light? There are a lot of great minimalist designs out there.

Ask and answer these questions before you even start looking, gentlemen. And remember that they matter more than the bag’s look or even its price (more on both below).

Style Criteria for Picking a Briefcase

Now we can talk a bit about the bag’s look.

Do you need a formal bag or a casual one?

Maybe you need something versatile enough that you can take it everywhere.

What color are you hoping for? (Pro tip: as with shoes, black is bit more formal but brown is FAR more versatile. No joke, a brown bag will go with just about everything, including your brown shoes and belt that aren’t quite the same shade. Just don’t pair it with black.) 

If it is casual, the price point will probably be lower and you’ll almost certainly have more options to choose from in that space.

For example, my Faire Leather Bag is very classy and high-end but it’s not a casual bag and it’s not the going to look right in casual situations. If, for example you’re a software developer who wears sneakers to work every day, this bag isn’t a good choice for you..

My Stuart and Lau Bag is though. It’s a classic, smart-looking bag and will serve you well in any casual situation since it isn’t leather and comes in lighter colors. 

Keep in mind that any given dress code (and there is always a dress code!) applies as well to your choice of bag.

Now, let’s talk about money.

Budget Criteria for Picking a Briefcase

Once you’ve determined what you want from your bag in terms of functionality and style options, it’s time to figure out your budget.

My general recommendation, not just when it comes to bags, is to buy the best that you can afford.

Far be it from me to advise you to live beyond your means, but you know where I?m going if you’ve been reading my blog for awhile:

Buy items that will last you, even if they stretch you a bit at present. You will always save money in the long run when you thing of your wardrobe’s essential pieces as long-term investments.

No, they almost certainly won’t appreciate in value. Not even watches.

Yes, they will eventually wear out.

But they will wear out a lot more slowly than if you buy cheap and have to replace the item in question in less than a year.

Always be thinking about the total cost of ownership.

Interestingly, this is often closely related to the question of an item’s formality. No one who has to wear a tuxedo often thinks twice about investing in a good one.

The same principle applies to bags.

If you live or work in a higher-end environment, then it makes sense to go for those higher-end pieces. So go for it if you can afford it.

That said… 

There’s a sweet spot when it comes to briefcases. You’ll find several brands that are very nearly luxury quality without the price tag the more prestigious labels often add.

My advice is to get your hands on one of those, if you can afford it.

Now, a few words of caution.

What to Avoid When Shopping for a Briefcase

Try and avoid bags (or, for that matter, any other garment) labeled “genuine leather” bags. You see this label all over the place: although the name sounds impressive, it basically means that it’s the lowest quality of leather that can legally still be called leather. It’s basically the pink slime of the leather industry, and only slightly less disgusting.

Genuine leather bags are often advertised as leather at an affordable price. This isn’t untrue, but they’re only affordable because they’re junk. They’re not built to last and they do not age well.

Raise your game a bit, gents. After all, why else would you be reading my blog?

What you want to look for instead is leather that’s labeled either full-grain or calfskin leather. That’s the highest quality leather out there. If you’re interested in learning more, check out this leather guide. It’s one of the most comprehensive on the internet.

Moving right along…

The feature that makes or breaks a bag’s value for me is its internal storage.

Like most guys, I have a lot of EDC so I need a bag that will help me keep track of it all. I like having slots for pens, small zipper compartments, and other easy-to-access pockets that make it easy to arrange my things. If you’re like me and you also have a lot of EDC, you’ll want to avoid bags that only have one or two large storage compartments.

Finally, you’ll want to avoid bags that can’t travel with you. Even if you don’t log as many flight hours as the Lufthansa cabin crew, you’ll be glad you got a bag that you can easily attach to your carry-on luggage.

My Satchel & Page bag accomplishes this beautifully: it has a separate leather strap on the side which attaches to luggage and allows the bag to sit securely on top of a suitcase as you wheel it through the airport.

Stuart and Lau also did something quite clever: they intentionally designed their briefcase’s handles so they’d be large enough to fit over those of a wheeled suitcase.

You have several such options, gents. Make sure you keep them open when you choose a bag.

Now, let’s get to money. Finally.

What Can You Expect to Spend on a Briefcase?

Across all my testing--from shoes to accessories--I’m always looking for the sweet spot of when spending more money ceases to result in increased quality of materials or construction and simply becomes a matter of the label.

With leather bags, it seems to be about $400.

Surprised? I was too.

No joke, if you want a good quality, built-to-last leather bag, you really don’t have to spend more than about $400 for it.

A brand like Cravar is an example of this sweet spot: their bag usually cost around $400 price point but they provide great quality provides great quality for this price point. 

If you can’t spend quite this much, you’ll also find a lot of options but the leather quality will almost certainly be visibly sub-par.  JL Rocha is a notable exception to this: they' didn’t compromise on the quality of their leather but their bags are made in Mexico, allowing them to sell a bag with high quality materials at a lower price.

Now that we’ve got that all sorted out, let’s take a dive into brands and categories as we’re starting to shop.

Non-Leather Briefcases

Let’s start with a more recent addition to the briefcase family: non-leather options. Often a good choice nowadays, especially given all the technologial advances made in faux leather over the last several years.

Several well-known brands offer briefcases and other men’s bags that aren’t leather, notably Stuart and Lau, Bellroy, and VeganWear, as well as Briggs & Riley, Tumi, and Filson.

As you may know, I’ve done several videos on Stuart and Lau because I think they are one of your best options. Although they use full-grain leather accents on some of their models, the briefcases themselves are usually made of water-resistant nylon, which is a great choice if you life somewhere rainy.

Tumi is another great option. Their distinguishing feature is ballistic nylon, which is extremely durable. I always use my Tumi bag to travel: even after several years, it continues to hold up very well. Briggs & Riley is another great choice for travel.

What I like about all the bags in this category is that they’re be water-resistant, slim, and they force you to think about what you need to make a good travel experience.

While quite dependable, the above-mentioned bags don’t quite cut it in most corporate boardrooms, which is why I think you might also consider a VeganWear briefcase.

Made out of polyeurathane, VeganWear is essentially the middle ground between luxury leather and the dependable nylon briefcases I mentioned above. 

VeganWear bags have quite a refined look, but they obviously cost a lot less than leather briefcases cos they’re not made of real leather.

Worth a look just the same.

Now for those of you who want the real stuff…

Best Entry-Level Briefcases

Next, we’re going to be talking about the best entry-level leather briefcases available.

These are the brands that are under that $400 price point, give or take a few dollars.

For me, the best brand in this category is probably going to be Daniels.

You’re getting full-grain, pebbled Italian leather and quite a smart-looking bag. Where they get cheap is in their hardware materials and construction, unfortunately.

A couple other bags also worth checking out at this price point are Italic, Beckett Simonon, Hook & Albert, and Cravar.

Depending on the style and functionality that you’re looking for, these are all brands that offer high-quality leather at really affordable price points. 

Briefcase Brands That Could Pass for Luxury

And now for our sweet spot category. These are bags that could really pass for high-end luxury leather goods, but they’re about half the price. The brand I’ve spent the most time with, and one of my favorites overall, is Carl Friedrik. I really like this brand’s quality of materials (beautiful Italian leather!) and construction.

Satchel & Page also has great, beautiful Italian leather while having a slightly different aesthetic and design.

Then, there’s Daveed. They use German bullskin leather, which is some of the most durable and easy-to-care for leather that I’ve ever owned. 

All of these brands use very high-quality hardware, materials, and design at a lower price.

I like to highlight these brands because they fly under the radar, which may or may not be one reason their prices haven’t skyrocketed in the last few years.

Two other brands to check out in this this category are JL Rocha, mentioned above, and Saddleback.

You should check out Vocier and Faire Leather as well. They’ve both hit the sweet spot in pricing and they’re doing some amazing things with their bags. But again, this is going to come down to what specific aesthetic and functionality you want.

To round out our category of high-quality, semi-luxury briefcases, we have Archibald London. Thanks to you guys, they’ve been on my radar more recently. At about $950, their bag are certainly high-end but worth every penny, which I can’t always say about every luxury product I’ve eve bought. Everything from their leather detail to the internal lining is crafted with a strong build out of the finest materials.

If you’re a gentleman of means and you’re in the market for a new bag, Archibald is definitely worth checking out.

Now then, ready to pull out all the stops?

Full Luxury Briefcases

If you’re ready to jump into the luxury price tier, your first go-to brands will probably be Prada, Smythson, Burberry, Montblanc, Ghurka.

These are the types of brands you see when you go into first-class airport lounges, often alongside Hermès scarves, Savile Row bespoke suits or Chanel stilettos.

A few other brands worth mentioning in this category are Il Bisonte, a beautiful Italian brand, and the celebrated Frank Clegg.

Bags in this price point are very much lifetime bags, gentlemen.

They’re built to last with top-shelf materials. And let’s not kid ourselves: their labels carry a bit of panache too.

Treat these bags well and they will last you forever.

In Conclusion…

There you have it, gents. My rundown of the best briefcases at all price points, including a few in my sweet spot. If you’re looking for a new briefcase, I hope my recommendations are helpful.

Which bags did I miss?

Any in particular that you want me to review? Let me know down in the comments below!

You can also DM me on Twitter and Instagram (you follow me, don’t you?).

None of this content would be available without your support, so again, thank you for that. I have a lot of exciting roundups planned for you coming soon.

So, until next time, gents…

This is The Kavalier.