Visconti Foster 13.3″ Leather Laptop Messenger Bag Review

Commonly referred to as the manufacturer of quality, the Visconti Brand is no stranger in the bag industry. The company has always prided in their ability to blend style, quality and durability.

With over 15 years of experience, the Visconti brand has without doubt helped shaped the industry to what it is today. Moreover, they remain committed to delivering nothing but the best. Today we take a look at another one of their products, the Visconti Foster 16072 13.3 inch Distressed Oiled Leather Laptop Messenger Bag.

Visconti has always been about traditional style and even with this bag, that hasn’t changed. Being the most popular in the Visconti Hunter range, the Foster 16072 is built with top of the line products and encompasses over 15 years’ worth of design and perfection. On top of that, the bag also comes with a variety of features that we take a look at in detail below.

Visconti Foster Uses Quality Leather

Like all other Visconti products, the bag boast of a quality distressed genuine leather that has been engineered to provide a long lasting solution. Carefully tanned so as to achieve a semi-worn look to it, the leather is above average.

The distressed leather will, over time get wrinkles, scratches, and scars all of which are inherent characteristics and natural beauty of the hide similar to the more expensive tumi messenger bag. This is why they always say leather gets better with age.

Contract Stitching

Complete with contrast stitching, Visconti assures that they have tested the bag for durability even in the roughest environments or when under stress.

Inside, we find a large single zipped compartment ideal for large documents, magazines or even newspapers alongside card holders, pen holders and a cell phone pocket. It can easily hold a 13.3 inch Macbook Air or equivalent laptop.

On the exterior, we have another large zipped compartment, a vertical zipped pocket, perfect for holding your urgent documents as well as an open sleeve under the flap.

Removable Laptop Sleeve

In addition to all the pockets, you also get a removable laptop sleeve capable of holding a 13.3″ laptop or any sized iPad or tablet. Additionally, you can also remove the sleeve to create room for even for of your stuff.

Antiqued Snaps

Like most Visconti products, the Foster 16072 comes with two magnetic brass snaps designed to securely hold down the flap in place. This makes it easy to reach in and grab something you need quick without all the hassles of a strap.

Versatile

The Foster 16072 comes with a stylish and professional look to it that allows it to be used for office, school or business. On top of that, the bag comes in 3 distinct colors; black, tan and brown so you have a wide variety to choose from. This is one of those bags that answer the question, messenger bag vs briefcase?

Visconti Customer Service

If there’s a reason why most of their customers find it hard to switch to another manufacturer, it has to be the amazing customer service that comes with any purchase of a Visconti product. They will pick your calls, answer your emails and even help you out in any situation arising from their products. Maybe you are looking for a product to give the bag a waxy feel, or something to remove stains etc. they will readily help you out.

Other features

To begin with, this Visconti Foster 13.3 inch Distressed Leather Laptop Messenger Bag comes up with a full front flap with a verticle zipped pocket having a padded removable section for the laptop. 

One of the most important reasons people use to buy this bag is, it comes up with a zipped compartment provides a customer to carry a lot of stuff like tablets, smartphones, laptops, and many more. These are the things that a lot of professionals need to carry.

Furthermore, it comes up with a large main section where you can put up to 15.5 inches laptops. Here is an important thing that you need to keep in your mind, a lot of people try to put a 17 inches laptop which possibly settles but it stretched the bag a lot. As a result, the skin of the bag becomes loose. 

Moreover, this bag comes up with side pockets where you can carry stuff like a cell phone, handsfree, a short size book. The things that include them are cell phones, cars, rear zip pockets, and pen holders as well. 

If we talk about the dimensions, the bag features 10.6 inches of length, 14.1 inches of width, and 3.5 inches of height. Also, this item comes in 4.05 pounds. The leather of this Visconti Foster 13.3 inch Laptop Messenger Bag is made with a smooth oil leather that comes up with contrast stitching. 

FAQ’s

Is this bag suitable for holding a 13-inches retina MacBook pro? 

Yes! There is enough space in the main section of this bag where you can easily put a 13-inches laptop. There is sufficient space to carry a thicker laptop. 

Does the oil which is used to stain the bag, applies to the black bag or to the browns and tan options?

According to a customer review, that he has not found any oil to stain or even any leather polish in the bag. This Visconti Foster 13.3 inch Laptop Messenger Bag is very simple, elegant, and a clean-cut messenger bag.

In fact, we prefer you to not use any polish to clean it. Actually, there is no need to clean the bag with either polish or oil. If you observe that the bag needs to be clean a little bit then simply do a little but dusting as well. 

Are there dividers available inside the bag? Is the inside of the bag open?

Yes! The inside of the Visconti Foster 13.3 inch Laptop Messenger Bag is open. Moreover, there are no dividers or sections available in it like the sling bags use to have. Another feature that needs to be mentioned here, there are zippered pockets attached on the front side. More specifically, these pockets are under the flap. 

Does a 17 inches laptop fit in this bag?

Yes, you can carry a 17 inches laptop in this bag but that will be a snug fit. 

Is there any difference between the dark brown and chestnut color?

Yes, there is a difference between dark brown and chestnut color. The difference is that a chestnut color spread a reddish shade while a dark brown color is just as it sounds. 

Is the depth enough to comfortably fit the 5-inches size items?

Here is one thing that you need to keep in mind that this bag only measures 3 inches in depth. The design of this bag is very flexible and allows to add some extra things even after it gets full. But we prefer you to use an external pocket if you have to put some extra thing that cannot be store in the space that is available in the actual size. 

One of the main reasons is, when you put the extra things that it would be able to carry, it will tight it a lot. In fact, it could be possible that the thing you put in it, will break. 

Which color ages the best?

All right, that is a million dollars question. Well, it depends on the quality that has been used to paint a bag. There are some companies that use low-quality material to pain their bags that last for only a few weeks. But there are some companies that use high-quality material to paint a bag that lasts for a longer period.

Is there any difference between this piece and the front-pocket version?

The front pocket briefcase features 2 inches in width and a half inches in height. The main difference that occurs here is the front and the back. The depth of the front one is approximately 7.25 inches where the back pocket brief has 3.25 inches. So there is a huge difference between them. 

What is the weight of a medium-sized messenger bag?

The weight in which a medium-sized messenger bag comes is 6.6 lbs. 

How about getting an extra-large size under an airplane seat?

Well, it all depends on the airline. There are some airlines where you get a lot of space to put your luggage under the seat. But, in some cases, the space availability is very low in some places and you have only limited choice to put in that space. 

What supplies could be used to clean this bag?

To clean the bag, we prefer you to use chamberlain’s Leather Milk products to clean the leather whether it is a bag or anything else. Moreover, there are some special conditioners that come up in the market that is very helpful to clean the surface of the bag and provide a shiny look. 

Furthermore, there are surface cleaning and infusing pores available in the market that provides moisture to bring the leather shiness back. Moreover, there are some cleansing polishes available in the markets that help you to really deep clean buffs or marks. 

Another option to go for is the straight cleaner. The best part of these cleaners is, it really gets into the pores of the bag. Sometimes, what happens is when you spend a long time outside the house the dust spread on the surroundings of the bag that needs to be clean very carefully so that the skin of the bag does not damage. 

We prefer you to go for a light and easy method and make sure to use the cleansing polish with the conditioner.

We also prefer you to make sure to test on a small, inconspicuous spot first before using any product. Any product can damage the color contrast of your leather, so make sure that results come in the testing are satisfactory before treating the entire bag.

Is this bag fits a laptop with the following dimensions: 1.23″ height (peak): 1.7″ height (front): 1.09″ width: 15.85 length 12.565?

Unfortunately, the laptop that comes in the above requirement is not able to fit in this Visconti Foster 13.3 inch Distressed Leather Laptop Messenger Bag. The main reason is, the dimensions in which this briefcase is available are 15.25” in width and 11.125” in height. So that is why it is hard to fit the laptop in this bag. 

Overall, good choice to grab this for carrying bulk stuff at once. 

Final Thoughts

Priced at $139.99, the Visconti Foster 16072 13.3 inch Distressed Oiled Leather Laptop Messenger Bag is without doubt a one of a kind bag. Composed of fine craftsmanship, premium leathers and a superior build quality, it’s safe to say that Visconti may well have discovered the perfect recipe for a long-lasting carrying solution. I highly recommend the bag to anyone in the market for a solid, reliable and casual looking messenger bag and I’ve listed it in my round up of the best shoulder bags for men article here.