Timbuk2 Closer Laptop Briefcase Review
Timbuk2 has always been able to find a nice balance in the style of their gear. Their bags are a mix of adventurous/tactical with business casual. The way they describe the Closer laptop bag is pretty prefect — “for those who don’t want to, but need to carry a brief case.” That was one of the reasons I got the Closer. It’s a bag that works well for the office but not as formal as a hard-sided leather briefcase.
The Closer is a messenger bag/briefcase that can be used on either shoulder. You can wear it across your body or off one side. It’s relatively small in volume so if your load is minimal, it could be right for you.
I’ve had this bag for several months and have been using it on-and-off (breaks when testing other bags). While I think it’s a good bag overall, it has pretty limited uses. Let’s start with the main features.
Bag Specs and Design
The Closer bag is light and stylish. It comes in at 2.2 lbs, which is pretty light for a bag (but to be fair it’s only 10 L of volume). The body of the bag measures 15.4 x 13 x 3.1 inches (39 x 33 x 8 cm). This is a pretty standard size for messenger bags that are more or less just intended to carry a laptop and a few other items. While the bag I have is the medium sized version, there is also a small version.
As with most messenger bags, the Closer is accessed through a large flap that covers the main compartment. The flap is secured by two buckles. but there is also Velcro in case you want to make it super secure or just more difficult for yourself. There doesn’t seem to be any real advantage to using the Velcro instead of the buckles. There is enough slack on the buckles’ straps that you can use the flap to wrap around oversized items or overload the bag’s capacity.
Organization
I see the Closer as having three sections. The first is the backside where you have a laptop sleeve and luggage passthrough, the second is the main compartment where all the volume is, and the last are additional flat pockets built into the front panel of the main compartment.
- The laptop sleeve is not part of the main section of the bag and is on the back panel in a separate zipped compartment. The sleeve is padded on both sides and on the bottom. Timbuk2 claims it will fit a 15-inch laptop. I can’t verify that but I can attest that a 14-inch ThinkPad fits well, though with not a lot of extra space. So a 15-inch laptop would probably be a tight squeeze, especially if it’s a thicker chunky laptop. The small version of the bag only fits a 13-inch laptop.
- Along the back panel is a huge luggage passthrough. Unlike other bags where the passthrough is just a nylon strap, this one is essentially as tall as the whole back panel. The passthrough also has a zipper at the bottom, so when not in use you can keep the zipper closed and use it as quick access slip pocket.
- The main compartment is where all the volume can be found and is 12 x 15 x 2.5 inches internally (30 x 38 x 7cm) and has a couple smaller organization pockets. Along the back side of the main compartment is a large zipped pocket that is the same size as the whole back panel. This could be used for a tablet or documents, basically just anything that is flat.
- Along that zipped sleeve are two smaller pockets that are 8.5 x 9.5 and 8.5 x 5.5 inches (22 x 24 and 22 x 14 cm). One of the problems with the location of these, though, is that these pockets are ideal for small organization, such as a pencil case, mouse, etc. But that makes the space usage in the main compartment a bit less efficient. The larger one is large enough for a small tablet or small notebook, but not the smaller one.
- On the front of the main compartment are two more slip pockets. One is about as wide as the whole bag (9.5 x 15 inches or 24 x 38 cm) and the other is a smaller one (6.5 x 7 inches or 16 x 18 cm). These pockets don’t have their own volume, so you won’t be able to store very bulky items here. If you have a lot of cables and gadgets, using a tech pouch may work out better.
- Right by the other smaller slip pockets is a vertical zipped pocket with a key leash. This is where you’d keep your important items like wallet, phone, or passport, etc. This pocket is about 5.5 x 6 inches (14 x 6 cm).
- Lastly, on the outside of the bag is an elastic water bottle holder. It’s not large enough to hold a standard 1L Nalgene bottle and just fits a standard S’well bottle.
Additional Features
The main shoulder strap has a sliding piece of padding so that you’re not just wearing the nylon webbing. The shoulder strap is also removable and attaches to D-rings at the top corners of the main compartment. If you remove the shoulder strap, you still have a very well-padded grab handle at the top of the bag. Grab handles are so simple, but this one is really nice. It’s got a ton of comfortable padding. I wish all grab handles on bags were like this.
The Closer also comes with a removable cross-body stabilizer strap to help keep the bag from bouncing around when you’re running or cycling. One end attaches to the main shoulder strap and the other end attaches to a plastic loop at the bottom corner of the bags. There is an attachment loop on both bottom corners of the bag so you still have the option of wearing the bag on your left shoulder or right shoulder.
I find this stabilizer strap a bit cumbersome to put on and remove, so I’d only use it if you’re planning on doing a lot of movement (e.g., biking for a while). Otherwise, it’s just not worth the effort to add on.
Additionally, on the front face of the bag, you’ll see a small Timbuk2 logo on a small band. That is an attachment loop where you can attach a cycling light.
Construction
The Closer is primarily made of 400D polyester, which is a mid-grade density for backpack fabrics. If you work in an office setting and are not going to be abusing the bag, it’s perfectly fine.
The hardware, on the other hand, is a mix of materials, which is odd. In the color scheme I’m using, “Jet Black Static”, the male ends of the buckles are plastic while the female ends are metal and noticeably heavier. The shoulder strap has plastic hooks to attach to the bag, but the rings on the bag that they attach to are metal. I’m not sure why Timbuk2 used plastic to metal hardware, but the metal components make the plastic parts feel weak in comparison, even though they feel like decently strong pieces.
The Closer also has padding in the front panel of the bag. This, along with the padding in the padding in the laptop sleeve, provides a frame for the bag which helps it keep its shape, even when empty. So the bag never really flops over.
Lastly, all the straps on the Closer are nylon webbing and are seatbelt grade, so they’re very smooth. This feels nicer against your skin and isn’t as abrasive against your clothes. But it also means the straps, particularly on the buckles that secure the flap, loosen very easily and often unintentionally.
Summary
The Closer is a light and stylish bag that is ideal for the office workplace if you don’t have too much to carry. Bulky items, like headphones with a hard case, don’t fit well in this bag unless they’re on the smaller side. The slip pockets can only take flat items. Even a hard glasses case wouldn’t fit well in them, so you’d have to put it in the main compartment. I’d recommend using a tech pouch for your smaller items like gadgets and cables. If you need to carry large items, or even books, this wouldn’t be the best bag to use.
Utility: 2 of 5 — Nothing innovative about this bag. It’s a pretty standard messenger bag and has all the crucial components plus a couple add-ons, like the removable straps, stabilizer strap.
Organization: 3 of 5 — A decent amount of internal organization with the separate laptop sleeve, main compartment, and six other pockets of various sizes. All those additional pockets are flat though, so it limits what you can carry in them.
Construction: 4 of 5 — Mid-grade materials that are certainly good enough for your EDC office bag. Stitching all looks clean and reinforced where it needs to be with no loose threads anywhere. That mix of hardware materials is weird but both the plastic and metal hardware seem robust enough.
Aesthetics: 4 of 5 — Professional stylish is what I would call this. Good to take to the office, but still somewhat casual too.
Comfort: 3 of 5 — Slight padding on the shoulder strap and a well-padded grab handle. But like standard messenger bags, it can cause a lot of neck and back pain under heavy loads.
Life Integration: 4 of 5 — Since it’s a straightforward messenger bag, there isn’t much to get used to. Maybe just learning how to use the cross-body stabilizer strap.
X-factor: 2 of 5 — Timbuk2 is known for solid bags with a lifetime warranty, but not things that are game changing or that draw everyone’s attention.
Thanks for reading, as always. Follow us on Instagram (@pangolinswithpacks) to stay up to date on what bags we’re testing out.
