﻿Briefcase vs Backpacks [0:00:00]
You need a new bag, but you're not sure what to get. Should you get a backpack or should you buy
a briefcase? [Music]
To get started, let's define in general what each of these items are. So, when I say briefcase,
I define that as any narrow bag made to carry papers and equipment that has a
handle. It is made to be carried in the hand. Now, technically, the word briefcase refers to
the hard sided box version, but in today's video, I’m referring to all types of bags
to include the ancient satchel. [Sound effect] Hard-sided briefcases didn't emerge till 1850,
while the satchel goes back to the 14th century. It was a bag of messengers. This was something
that you could carry important papers when you're traveling for thousands of miles by horseback.
Now, backpacks, also known as knapsacks, rucksacks, in its simplest form, this is
going to be any bag that is carried on the back. And if you think the satchel's got some history,
the backpack apparently goes back to 3500 BC. They found some mummified remains up in
the Swiss Alps, and a guy had a backpack. But, for today's video, we're talking about
the modern backpack. This is going to be a bag that does sit on the back and is held in place
with two straps going around the shoulders. Within backpacks, there are three common
designs. We have frameless, we have internal frames, and we have external frame backpacks.
So, the first thing you want to consider when making the choice backpack versus briefcase is
what is going to be the function of the bag. One thing I’ve learned over the years is buy
the right bag for the right job. Because if you buy a bag that's way too big, you're going to
stuff it with things you don't need and you're going to end up carrying them around and, yeah,
you just carry around that extra weight. Or, you buy a bag that's too small and you never use it.
So, if you're a young professional just got your MBA in a new consulting job in Chicago,
then you're probably going to want to look for a briefcase, you're going to look for a satchel.
Because you're going to be carrying your computer to and from work with maybe some
important papers. You want something that's going to look professional and,
really, that is going to suit your needs. But, if you're heading off to college,
you just graduated high school you just left the military got your GI Bill,
then in that case, you're going to want to get a backpack. As a student, you need a bag that's
incredibly versatile, one that can hold all the books for your various classes, when you've got
about four to five classes in a day. Point being is you need a bag that can carry a bit more.
Now, gents, really quick. All the bags you're seeing in today's video,
those beautiful backpacks those great looking messenger bags can be found over
at Mahi Leather, the sponsor of today's video. I’ve talked about Mahi Leather before because I
love what they're doing. So many great options. If you haven't been to their website lately,
go over there, look at all the different bags all the various different leathers.
What I love is you can go grab a classic duffel and look at all the options you've
got in the colors and the leather; tan, vintage brown, camel, mahogany.
You can even get two-tone bags or maybe one in navy and, of course, a leather bag in black.
When it comes to backpacks, one of my favorite from Mahi Leather is the City. So, on the inside,
of course, you've got a sleeve for your laptop, but you've got plenty of room.
And just overall the look the construction the actual feel of the leather is premium.
And the design, stylish and functional, you've got the strap right there on the top. You've got the
pocket for water on both sides. And what I really like is this pocket in the back. This hidden
pocket, if you wanted to put your passport. You're traveling you don't want to get ripped off, boom,
right there. I love the security feature here. And, if you want something simpler,
check out their classic backpack. I’ve got this one as well. When it comes to satchels,
check out their classic messenger bag. Check it out in tan, vintage, brown,
black, and that navy is a really unique color. Want something a little bit larger with an
extra pocket? Check out the Harvard. I really like this one especially in
that vintage brown and the tan. And if you want something really
special you want to make the bag unique you want to give it as a gift or you simply want
your initials on it? You can do that with their personalization option. They can do this because
every bag is made to order. When you put in the order, they build the bag.
Now, every bag comes with a one-year warranty and free shipping over 100 bucks.
All right. Really quick, I’m going to have to cut this out of the video later, but they have
a special deal going on until December 10th. If you grab four items, you want to buy some gifts
for others. You're saying, “You know what? I don't want to decide between a backpack
and a briefcase. I’m going to grab all of them.” Then, you want to take advantage of this deal.
It is down in the description, 20% off. Now, they're going to have another deal if
you decide just to buy one. It's not going to be as great, but it's still down there.
And that one is going to expire as well, so take advantage of this deal, guys. It's not going to be
around forever. Like I said, I’m going to have to go back and cut this part out of the video
because, yeah, it's a limited time offer. And to make this video even better, here's
the deal, gents. They sent me a lot of bags and I would love to send them out. What you need to do,
use that link down in the description. Go visit Mahi. Check out what they've got and let me know
down in the comments one to two bags that you absolutely love, how you would wear it, what you
would match it with, how you would use that bag. And guess what, guys, I’m going to go down there
and choose some winners and send these bags out to you.
Now, we alluded to it, but I want to talk about this point in detail. Basically,
presentation, formality, what is the message that these bags send?
[0:05:03] So, when it comes to professionalism,
the briefcase, the messenger bag, the satchel, the portfolio, these are the bags that dominate.
It probably has a lot to do with history. These were the bags of the couriers of the messengers
of people passing important news when you had to quickly take it off and hand it to the next rider,
so that that information could keep moving. Over the decades, Hollywood has continued
to etch in our minds the idea when I see a professional man, I see a leather briefcase,
I see that leather satchel, I see a messenger bag with that guy that is looking good looking
professional and holding it in the hand. Occasionally, having it around the body.
Now, the backpack on the other hand, we associate it with being much more casual.
This is the bag of the school boy, the bag of the college student, the bag of the backpacker
that's out there, yes, having a great time. It's a very functional bag, but it's also not
one that we see a professional carrying. Now, does that mean there's no such thing
as a professional backpack? No, there are great looking ones. The leather ones I’ve been showing
throughout this video, I think are perfectly fine and do send a professional vibe. But, in general,
backpacks are going to be more casual than briefcases or messenger bags.
The next point I’m going to focus on is the functionality of the carry. So,
let's get over and let's look at the messenger bag that satchel. So, again, I talked about this
is a bag when a man a messenger is riding on a horseback that if he wants to quickly
hand this off or be able to grab it and be able to pull something out, he can do it.
And that's the beauty of this bag is that you can reach anything you need in a matter of
seconds versus the backpack it's over on your back. It also forces you only to take things
that are important because this is going to be a smaller bag.
And it's carried in a way, yeah, you can have it strapped around the body and you can carry a
pretty good amount of weight there. But, a lot of times if you're carrying it in your hand,
this isn't something you want to carry a whole lot of weight. So, the size of the bag is going
to restrict only the most important things. Now, the backpack on the other hand is much more
functional for a man on his feet, who wants to be able to carry a lot more. You can carry a lot
more weight with a backpack. And all the different types out there, internal frame, external frame,
backpacks with a lot of support, backpacks even without support.
A duffel bag is technically a backpack and you can carry a lot of weight there. Point being is you're
distributing it across the shoulders and it's evenly most of the time and that right there makes
it so that, yeah, you could carry 50, 70, 100 plus pounds. Maybe you don't want to be hiking with
that much, but you can carry that much weight. Now, there are disadvantages to backpacks. You
can't see what's going on. If you've ever worn a big backpack and tried to get on a bus, yeah,
you probably knock some people around. It's just one of those things that comes with the territory.
In addition, security is a lot lower on a backpack because you can't see what's going on behind you
and other people have access to your bag. Now, when it comes to price, there's a lot of
factors in play. The two big ones are going to be the material in which the product is made from and
the company that is manufacturing the product. In general, with higher quality bags, the price
is going to be driven up when they use luxury materials such as leather and when they spend a
lot of time in the construction process. So, extra pockets, all the style details, and whenever they
bring in different types of hardware. The hardware basically the rivets and -- and the buckles,
all this stuff drives up the price. Another detail about briefcases is in general,
they're going to use better hardware than backpacks. Again, you've got exceptions,
you've got some companies which are making both backpacks and briefcases and they're
going to share the same hardware. But, when it comes to zippers,
when it comes to the metals, when it comes to all the details the rivets the buckles, all of
these things right here usually on briefcases because they're more part of the design and the
material they're using is more expensive, they're going to pay better attention to those details.
Now, some backpack manufacturers are going to try to save money by using very inexpensive materials.
When it comes down to it, leather is a luxury material that's very expensive to use. So,
you're going to see things like polyester, you're going to see nylon, you're also going
to see canvas. And I’m not saying that great backpacks can't be made from that, but in general
those are going to be considered more casual. But, if you're looking for a performance backpack,
one that you're going to be wearing outdoors when you're camping or something like that,
then I think that that's a great option. You want to make sure though,
that you're getting a good performance material. And there's a big difference between the cheap
ones and the inexpensive ones. And I wish there was a way you can immediately see the difference,
but I would look at and say, okay, are they talking about maybe ballistic nylon? That
doesn't mean it's going to stop bullets, but it does mean it's going to be better able to
deal with wear and tear and abrasion. That's also one of the reasons I like
canvas backpacks. Even though they're going to be a little bit heavier than like a nylon,
the thing I like about canvas is this is going to have a stitch it's going to have a material
that is made to deal with just abrasion, so if you run it or it gets dragged, it's
just not going to all of a sudden form a hole. And let's talk about brand markup. So, if you
buy from a premier company like let's say Louis Vuitton, what do you expect? They're going to have
a 25 to 50 times markup on the cost. You're going to pay thousands of dollars for a bag that, yeah,
maybe cost $25 to $50 to actually make versus companies that you can buy directly from.
[0:10:08] That's why I love
smaller brands, a lot of people haven't heard of. That's why I promote them because you guys
can get it directly from the manufacturer and you get a great quality bag at an affordable price.
So, in my opinion, always look to shop small and be able to identify quality yourself that
way you can make the best decision for you. Now, another thing to consider what you guys
have let me know about in the comments before is what's right for your back. So,
if you're having back issues, I would highly advise going to a backpack no matter what.
Why? Because it's going to better evenly distribute the weight. Be careful, though,
of what you put in there and try really to go for a smaller backpack, one that
just is going to -- it's going to force you to actually only choose the most essential items.
For some people especially over years commuting back and forth and going with a briefcase
or a messenger bag or a satchel that is on one side, it can lead to a little bit
leaning over and this can cause back issues. All right, gents. I know you got an opinion.
I want to hear from you down in the comments. Are you a backpack guy? Are you a rucksack guy?
Or are you a messenger bag? Are you a, you know, portfolio? Are you a briefcase guy?
Let me know down in the comments. And don't forget, go check out our
sponsor. I’ll link to them down in the description. And let me know specifically
which bag you would love to receive. So, what video to watch next? How about eight
tips to look polished and put together? I had a lot of fun with this video. I think you'll learn
quite a bit from it. Go check it out. [0:11:31] End of audio