Cambridge satchel – a review

I thought it’d be a nice change on the blog to provide a Cambridge Satchel review! If you’re looking for a satchel to carry a laptop – I’d recommend one of the traditional satchels or batchels (batchel = satchel with a handle at the top). Bare in mind that the inner surface are of the bag is around 1″ smaller due to the thickness of the leather and stitching. So don’t go for an 11″ bag if your laptop is 11″! Before I carry on with my Cambridge satchel review – I wanted to highlight some of my favourite products to inspire you. The Cambridge Satchel Company often do sales so worth checking the link for offers!

1. The poppy bag £150 | 2. The mini iPad case £60 | 3. The small cloud bag £135 | 4. The tassel tote £215 | 5. The cloud keyring £28 | 6.  The poppy backpack £135 | 7. Classic luggage tag £9 | 8. 13″ satchel £90

After being on my birthday I-wish list last year, I finally took the plunge and treated myself to this fab Traveller bag from the Cambridge Satchel Company. My tiny camera bag was just not big enough to house a ‘grown-up’ camera as well as my lenses. This Cambridge Satchel’s design was inspired by a vintage camera bag design and so I thought it’d be perfect!

A modern twist on a classic satchel, it’s not difficult for me to put together this Cambridge Satchel review. The images speak for themselves and what you see is really what you get. Although there are a couple of things to note further down…

The Cambridge Satchel Company provide a monogram service in a variety of colours for £7 per letter. I opted for gold lettering to match the brass hardware on the bag and think it ended up look fantastic!

The branded brass hardware continues on the inside of the bag. The leather strap fastens with a popper to keep your contents secure – ideal if you’re carrying expensive camera equipment! The Cambridge Satchel Co bag is large enough for me to carry all my on-the-go blogging essentials – camera, charger, lenses, notepad and pen, oyster card, purse, keys and phone!

I took my traveller bag out for its first outing last week to preview the SS16 N.Peal collection and mentioned to the PR rep that I was doing a Cambridge Satchel review. The bags are so iconic that you can recognise one from a mile away! The lovely people at N.Peal gave me this gorgeous pom key ring to go with my new bag! A new addition to the N.Peal collection and a wonderful gift idea for Valentine’s or Mother’s Day too and can be used as a key ring or a handbag charm.

For me the Traveller bag is the perfect size – any larger and I’d struggle with the weight! All leather bags are naturally heavy and so really the less you carry around the better – especially if you do a lot of commuting and walking. The only thing I would change about the bag is that the shoulder strap is quite long – especially for me as I’m only 5″1 1/2 ; ) It’d be great of there was something you could tuck the strap into as it just hangs and looks a little awkward.*

*The Cambridge Satchel Company tweeted to me saying they can shorten straps in store for you!

I love my Cambridge Satchel and know it’s going to last for many years!

Natalia xo

*All prices are correct at the time of writing, but please check individual links for any changes or reductions. Updated: February 2017