First look
It came neatly packed, with the Linjer box nestled within a standard cardboard box. One look and you know this packaging is definitely fit for gifting. Everything was packed so neatly, from the padding of the bag down to the tying of the drawstrings on the dust bag.
The Bag
The leather smells divine and smooth to touch. The brass metal parts added a touch of elegance to the bag. It was slightly bigger than I imagined, and because it is a structured bag, I figured petite women might have an issue with it. Nonetheless, I have nothing to complain about the look of the doctor's bag.
After admiring my bag, it was time to open and see the insides. Like I said in my earlier post, the major problem of this bag was the hinges. It was so darn hard to open. In fact, I couldn't open it at all. I wasn't sure whether I should apply more force sor was I opening it the wrong way. I decided not to risk damaging my bag and drop Linjer an email.
Roman replied pretty fast, and suggested some ways to loosen the hinges. His reply did gave me some reassurance that things will be solved somehow. It made me feel that a real person is actually trying to help me solve my problem so I really appreciate that.
Here's a screenshot of Roman's message for those who are facing the same issue. Hope it helps.
So... I did try the above but it didn't help at all. I even got my mom to help with it and no matter how hard we pull or press or push, it didn't bulge a bit. At one point, the flap even sink further in until it was really hard to have a good hold of it to pull open the bag. Because of the pulling and pushing, my bag ended up with some finger nail marks :(
I dropped Roman another email, telling him that his methods didn't work. He was very apologetic and said he will send a new one over together with a small token that is not available on the webshop.
It took another 2 weeks or so before the new bag arrived. The small token wasn't there but that wasn't my motive so it didn't really bother me much. I tried opening the new bag the usual way and it still wouldn't open! Twice in a row, could it be that I really didn't pull it hard enough? I got my mom to help me again. We tried until our arms were aching and it didn't move a bit.
My mom suggested putting some 'lubrication' so she got out her needle oiler and carefully put some at the hinges. We tried again. This time, it seemed there was some progress with the slightest creaking sound of two layers rubbing against each other. We worked on it for almost half an hour before it finally opened! The hinges were seriously too tight and it wasn't easy to close it too. Once closed, it took us a long time to open it again.
While I appreciate Roman's effort in helping me solve my problems, the technical aspect of this bag is one major flaw. What's a bag if it's not functional? I have decided to take it out once in a while to open and close it to loosen the hinges before I dare to bring it out. I cannot imagine if I'm rushing for time and I had to struggle to open the bag just to get something from my bag! I do believe that over time it will loosen and it will be a lovely bag, but having to overcome this first obstacle is a big problem.
Overall
More photos of the bag's interior and close-ups can be seen below. Tight hinges aside, it really is a lovely and quality bag. The bag is spacious, sturdy and thoughtful. I would definitely see myself carrying it to work or a dinner.
Linjer's next step is to really work on solving the hinge issue.
Hi, I am sorry to hear about your issues although I am glad I found your review as I had the same problem with the bag. My friend ordered the same one and I don't think she had a problem (or maybe she hadn't used it yet).
ReplyDeleteI would have to walk around with the bag open, which I didn't like. I sent it in for inspection 5.5 months ago on their request, and I am still waiting for them to "inspect" it. They were very sweet about it but I've just written to ask for a refund as that is a bit long to wait for them to look at a bag (although now I wonder if they haven't got lots of bags to check). It sucks because there was a long wait for the bag in the first place. It must suck for Linjer as well. :( One hopes they do a bit more product testing in the future. I wonder if the time between manufacture and someone trying to open the bag is what is causing the problem.
I also found that the shoulder strap is way too long for me (I'm average height) and the stitching on the shoulder strap is very hard and scratchy (e.g. if you are wearing a sleeveless top). I think another design flaw is the way the small strap buckles under the short handle (you have to thread it through to close the bag - it's time-consuming), and the little "tongue" which you are supposed to use to open the bag (it's too small to grip.
I decided not to order one of their watches when they came out because of this (and they looked so beautiful).
I bought the doctor's bag a year ago and after one year of regular but not intensive use, the leather is all scratched and the tan of the leather went out. I reach out the brand customer service in order to question the conditions of appliance of their so called "lifetime warranty". Not surprisingly, and without precising them just told me that the state of the bag can be explained by an usual use...
ReplyDeleteThe materials, both lockers and quality of the leather is very poor and certainly not at the quality one could expect based on the price. I highly not recommand you to bag the doctor 's bag. From the previous comments made on the other bag, it seems that this warning applies on their whole collection of bags