lmintzer
07-14-2014, 09:49 AM
I wound up getting the MZ Wallace Heidi (big/travel) backpack off Ebay for less than half the retail price. NWT, excellent seller who packaged it stuffed an in a big box so it would keep its shape.
All good, right? Well, not really. The bag has a horrrible closure system. I didn't realize that there wasn't a magnetic closure under those straps. To open any of the compartments of the bag, you have to pull the straps out of their clips. And then to close, you have to do the reverse, which takes a little doing (the leather end of the straps is a tight squeeze through the anchor clips). Yes, this makes for a very secure bag, but it's so secure as to be not user friendly at all. I suppose you could just loosen the straps by extending them all the way and then just squeeze things into the backpack through the spaces that creates, but what a pain. I like to be able to open my bags all the way to see the contents! I was so suprised and disappointed by this that I e-mailed MZ Wallace to complain about the design. I heard back from them, but of course, they can't/won't do anything for me since I didn't purchase the bag from them. I only hope that they consider a redesign so that others don't have this experience. The Marlena (smaller) backpack closes so beautifully (and that's the one I saw in person). What a shame.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g316/lmintzer/ScreenShot2014-07-14at94342AM_zpscb404920.png (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/lmintzer/media/ScreenShot2014-07-14at94342AM_zpscb404920.png.html)
All good, right? Well, not really. The bag has a horrrible closure system. I didn't realize that there wasn't a magnetic closure under those straps. To open any of the compartments of the bag, you have to pull the straps out of their clips. And then to close, you have to do the reverse, which takes a little doing (the leather end of the straps is a tight squeeze through the anchor clips). Yes, this makes for a very secure bag, but it's so secure as to be not user friendly at all. I suppose you could just loosen the straps by extending them all the way and then just squeeze things into the backpack through the spaces that creates, but what a pain. I like to be able to open my bags all the way to see the contents! I was so suprised and disappointed by this that I e-mailed MZ Wallace to complain about the design. I heard back from them, but of course, they can't/won't do anything for me since I didn't purchase the bag from them. I only hope that they consider a redesign so that others don't have this experience. The Marlena (smaller) backpack closes so beautifully (and that's the one I saw in person). What a shame.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g316/lmintzer/ScreenShot2014-07-14at94342AM_zpscb404920.png (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/lmintzer/media/ScreenShot2014-07-14at94342AM_zpscb404920.png.html)