A briefcase often signifies that you’re a professional, and it’s sometimes still the go-to gift for law school or MBA graduates. Practically, it’s a holdover from the days when office jobs required more-formal dress. Unless you’re in an industry where you do wear a suit jacket to work, consider getting a backpack or a messenger bag, both of which will do a better job of distributing their contents’ weight, saving your shoulders and spine some anguish.
You can distinguish a briefcase from other bags because it’s designed to be carried primarily by a hand strap or handle. Carrying a bag by its shoulder strap can damage the shoulder of your coat, since it puts a large amount of pressure on the garment, and that can crumple or destroy the underlying structure. Although most modern briefcases come with shoulder straps, they’re meant for temporary use.
Best refined leather briefcase for daily use: Carl Friedrik Palissy
The Carl Friedrik Palissy is a functional and beautiful briefcase for a more-formal office. During testing, the Palissy’s symmetrical design and the smooth, deep tone of its leather immediately stood out. It’s stiff and well constructed, with feet that give it extra stability and raise the bottom off the ground. The Palissy also has a unique design that makes it easy to load and unload, with zippers that run all the way around three of its sides .
Best minimal leather briefcase for light loads: Carl Friedrik Vallance
If you want to spend a bit less, the Carl Friedrik Vallance is a sleek leather briefcase that won’t hold much more than a laptop. But it will look great on your arm.
The Vallance looks pristine, and it’s easy enough to open and close, as long as you’re carrying only the essentials—a laptop, your wallet, and a road map for your glamorous, wind-swept road trip along the coast. Like the Palissy bag, the Vallance is made from vegetable-tanned leather, and we expect this bag to look just as good with a blazer as it does with a puffy jacket. Also, its tough sides help it stand tall without any support.
Best inexpensive leather briefcase: Fossil Haskell Double Zip Briefcase
The Fossil Haskell Double Zip Briefcase will hold all of your essentials and still be comfortable to carry. The leather bag has room for a 15-inch laptop, a tablet or paperback book, a separate e-reader, a notebook, an umbrella, a USB battery pack, pens, pencils, and all relevant charging cables, with room to spare. But even when it’s full, the Haskell maintains its silhouette, because its canopy is divided into two zippered sections that encourage organized packing. Though it’s made of leather, the Haskell is relatively lightweight: It’s barely more than 2½ pounds, which is substantially lighter than any other leather bag we looked at. It’s comfortable to carry with either the soft leather handle or the shoulder strap.