Leather is the best. It looks amazing, especially after years of wear and tear. It smells amazing, specifically right out of the box. And it feels amazing, doubly so after it’s fully broken in. I’m always on the lookout for top-of-the-line leather goods that will keep their shape for the rest of my life.
Harber London has, apparently, long been a producer of these high quality leather goods. It’s embarrassing really that I didn’t know — I had always assumed Harber London was one of those wannabe leather-makers who marked up their prices and shipped shoddy leather.
When Harber London reached out to see if I wanted to try one of their wallets or sleeves, I figured I would give the assumed-to-be shoddy leather a chance. The photos of all their products on their site look impressive, as do the colours and the types of leather products.
I opted for the Carry-All Folio for the MacBook Pro. It’s a loose-fit folio, capable of carrying a MacBook Pro and various other smaller items you might need for a meeting.
I’ve come away quite impressed with the Carry-All, and embarrassed of my prior assumption.
I really should have tried a Harber London product a long time ago.
Editor’s Note: Harber London sent me the Carry-All MacBook Folio for the purposes of review.
Materials
To accommodate the Carry-All Folio’s main raisin d’être — to provide additional space for carrying more than just your MacBook Pro in a stylish case — the folio’s material choices have to fall in line. Leather has to be supple and maneuverable. Zippers need to open and close securely and relatively easily. Interior material has to ensure your devices are protected, despite other items rustling around inside.
By and large, the Carry-all Folio succeeds in every material respect.
You’ll quickly note how the Carry-All’s supple leather. It’s quite soft. Not too soft to require worry about tearing. But soft enough that it in no way maintains its shape when empty.
I love this tan colour — it reminds me of the British Tan Schuyler Bibles I’ve seen in the past. An orangey-brown tan. In no way is this an unassuming colour — if you walk into a boardroom meeting with the Carry-All under your arm, people will notice what you’re carrying.
Not maintaining its shape is perhaps the Folio’s biggest downfall, specifically at the 16-inch MacBook Pro size. The MacBook itself is so big, more than a few folks will require some juggling to put the notebook on a desk or countertop and ensure other belongings inside the Carry-All don’t fall out. I’ve had good luck simply resting the Carry-All with MacBook Pro flat on the desk and sliding out the laptop. If I’m trying to remove the MacBook above the desk, AirPods and cables have crashed to the floor.
The Carry-All’s zipper is large, sturdy, and functional. It’s not as heavy duty as some zippers I’ve seen on folios — the Galen Leather folio I reviewed a few years back still holds the crown for the most impressive folio zipper. The Carry-All’s zipper isn’t poor, though, and should present no concern for inadvertent opening during your travels.
You should, however, keep the zipper in mind when closing the Carry-All with a MacBook inside. If you aren’t careful, the corner of the MacBook will nicely rub against the inside of the zipper, and you’re left with that cringy metal-on-metal sound we all hate.
Inside, the Carry-All’s felt lining is nice and soft and sure to protect your belongings. It’s a lighter grey colour, which looks better than dark grey, but does a poorer job hiding day-to-day stains. Protectively, I’m more concerned about the interior zipper scratching a device than I am about the felt lining causing some damage. The felt does shed a bit, though — more than a few times, I wondered if our house had inherited a new cat or dog after pulling out one of my devices.
Lastly, stitched inside are various leather pieces for storing odds and ends, business cards, memo books, and a pen or two. These leather pieces differ greatly from the exterior leather, providing more stability for sliding things in and out of the Folio.
I really quite like the big pocket for storing a charger, cable, and a set of AirPods Pro for the day. It’s a great pocket for any small knick-knacks. Anything too large in the pocket does bulge on the outside, so you need to be cognizant of what’s inside the Folio before you just chuck it into the back seat of the car.
The other leather organizers, though? I’m not a fan. It’s a giant pain in the butt to slide a pen in and out of the pen loop. The memo book slot is nice and all, but despite my lengthy history writing through Field Notes books, I no longer carry a memo book with me. I would expect the memo book slot to work well for folks, but the pen loop is the pits.
Usability
There are specific circumstances for when you would choose to use a folio-style carry case like the Carry-All Folio. For some, this can be an everyday carry item, though I expect those folks are fewer than those who would use the Carry-All as a sort of intermediary carry between the office and coffee shop. I think I tend to prefer using the Carry-All as my “during-the-day” carry over my “end-of-day” or “start-of-day” carry.
This, of course, depends on what you want to carry in the Carry-All. A laptop, iPad, a pair of AirPods, and a small notebook and pen? Sure, you can carry these all at once in the Carry-All. Things will be a bit tight, but it’s doable. A laptop and paper notebook with a few documents for presenting at a meeting? This carry would fit a bit better in the Carry-All. I suspect this is the sort of use-case Harber London had in mind when designing the Carry-All.
Another specific element to consider: The Carry-All does not have a shoulder or hand strap, nor are there any options for one. This is a folio, through and through. And this surely limits the Carry-All’s everyday carry features for those who commute via subway or bus each day. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to carry this under their arm through the subway. I can imagine someone being OK with the Carry-All as an everyday carry option if they physically drive themselves to work — i.e. they put the filled Carry-All Folio on the back seat of the car while they commute to work. Even still, the lack of shoulder and hand straps will surely limit how you use the Carry-All to move your things from Point A to Point B.
A few other anecdotes I’ve discovered while using the Carry-All the last few weeks:
- Obviously, the Carry-All’s loose fit allows for carrying far more than just a laptop and charger. There’s enough room for a 16-inch MBP charger, AirPods, other cables, and it can hold both a 16-inch MBP and a 13-inch iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard. Things are tight when carrying both devices, but it’s entirely doable.
- Inside, the leather pockets and slots don’t close, so items could be removed and float around inside the folio. This threatens scratching your devices.
- The notebook/business card slots are tight. You can use them to carry exactly this, but not much more. Even a 3.5-inch by 5.5-inch memo book — the classic Field Notes size — is extra-snug. You can put one in the slot, but it’s going to make you queasy if you don’t like bent paper corners.
- The pen loop is actually quite difficult to use. Early on, it takes two hands to slide a pen into the loop. Over time, perhaps the leather pen slot gets easier to use. I also found any metallic pen to be a far greater scratching hazard for a MacBook Pro. I don’t expect I’ll use either the notebook or pen slot all that much.
- Because the Carry-All is so soft, it’s not too bad to throw this into a bigger bag or suitcase and fold it into a corner. The ability to fold it into a bigger bag without breaking its shape is one of its biggest selling features, in my opinion. The Carry-All doesn’t need to be your everyday carry (especially during travel), but can more than easily still accompany you on a trip to ensure you look classy when arriving at your meeting.
- The biggest Carry-All provides ample room for any size MacBook Pro plus additional belongings. I’d recommend this option even for 14-inch MacBook Pro users who may want to carry more than just their computer from time to time. It’s also a good future-proofing decision, if you end up wanting a larger MacBook Pro at some point in the future.
The long and short: The Carry-All Folio is likely not going to replace your everyday bag. Rather, the Carry-All is more likely to supplement your everyday bag once you get to the office. You can certainly use it as your everyday carry option — I have for the last few weeks, and it works awesome, save for when I want to carry my bigger AirPods Max to the office. Instead, I expect the Carry-All to be a great supplement to your assortment of bags and other carry options.
Cost
Easily my biggest surprise with the Carry-All Folio is its price. Harber London’s quality here isn’t something to shake a stick at — the Carry-All has a high-quality leather, high-quality interior felt, and a great design, and this combination of features usually leads to a top-shelf price as well.
At $150-$200 (it’s currently listed at £139.00), this price tag comes in about $50 lower than where I expect it to be. For this type of money, I think most customers are going to walk away pretty happy with their Carry-All Folio purchase.
Additionally, Harber London’s shipping was quick and painless. And the Carry-All’s packaging was well put together and easily presented.
This has to be one of the best-priced leather products I’ve bought or tested in recent memory.
Wrap Up
Sometimes I think we get caught up in looking for items that act as trump cards — items that solve a problem forever and are the immediate recommendation to a friend or colleague looking to up their game. “Showstoppers” and “game changers”. In reality though, there’s always bigger and better, and more often than not, things tend to work together better than they do replace each other.
I think that’s how I’d summarize the Harber London Carry-All MacBook Folio. The Carry-All shouldn’t be viewed as a replacement for your daily bag. It also shouldn’t be viewed as a simple folio capable of protecting your MacBook and nothing more.
Instead, the Carry-All can fulfill the role of a messenger bag when you can spare a hand. It can also fulfill the role of a classy folio worthy of stepping into a high-pressure, formal meeting. This is the ultimate folio for meeting with a client.
On the flip side, I won’t pretend the Carry-All tops my everyday carry list. On many occasions, I need a bit more space to carry a MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, a set of AirPods Max, and some documents. I especially require a handled-messenger bag whenever I may need to use my hands.
But the Carry-All Folio really does hold its own as a messenger bag complement. You can carry a lot in the Carry-All, and you can do so in a classy, high-quality aesthetic. This is a superb leather for a superb price and is sure to fit alongside any bag or briefcase portfolio.
You can purchase the Harber London Carry-All MacBook Folio on the Harber London site for £139.00.
