Customer Reviews Vera Bradley Performance Twill Commuter Backpack

My daughter loved this bag. Great Christmas gift.

I have been using this bag for around 12 months as my everyday work bag. I love the pockets on the front. I have it in black performance twill and the fabric has held up well and washes well in the washing machine (coffee spills). The straps and back are cushy and comfortable. The laptop compartment is well cushioned and has two separate compartments that are great for storing papers. There is a slip pocket on one side that is perfect for slipping my keys into. I usually put the bag on the passenger seat facing forward as I get into the car, and the slip pocket is on the right side to be able to do that. A nice touch. A few criticisms: 1) the lining needs to be lighter it's a big bag and I tend to lose things in the divided main compartment because the lining is too dark (black hole), 2) the side zip pockets are sleek looking, but I find I don't use them mucha slim water bottle fits, but having to zip the zippers up around the sides of the bottle it is too fiddly, so I usually just tuck my water bottle in the main compartment, and 3) it's a little big for everyday use (if you needed to bring a change of clothes and lunch to work with you as well as everyday essentials, that would fit in this bag easily). All in all, a great bag. I would probably look into the campus backpack if I had to do it over again, but I would have to look into the features more.

Love, love it. The only problem is the size of it. I love backpacks because it helps with my bald. I loved when my granddaughters were small and I could hold both of their hands, but unfortunately it is so large I can't find anything in it. Love the navy color and lining. Just wish it were smaller.

I have owned this backpack for months and I am still finding more zippered pockets and slip pockets for all my stuff! Not only is there a padded laptop compartment, but inside that is ANOTHER zippered padded space for something else. The zippers and pulls are high-quality. My only concern is that the slip pocket behind one of the outside zippered pockets (on the sides of the bag) gets a lot of use and the stitching there is coming out. I will have to fix this myself because I certainly do NOT want to give up this amazing bag! I use this bag to tote all of my necessities that I hold in my purse, plus my laptop, notebook(s), 32 oz. water bottles x3, etc. The straps are well padded and there are no loose ends hanging to get caught on something. The handle is durable, too.

I do love the performance twill! I travel to a location that has a rainy season so that helps. I wanted to love this bag since I splurged on it. I'm disappointed though. This backpack is very nice, do not get me wrong, but when I travel/commute I must carry a mobile office with me. The disappointment was the space management. If you use the water bottle/coffee/drink holder on the outside you can't use the one on the inside. Plus, I get cold everywhere I go, so I have a strap that I can attach a jacket/sweater to, but the handle on this backpack is in the back and therefore my jacket kept getting stuck between me and the backpack. If you need this to carry a laptop, makeup bag/small purse, a few cords, and a day timer this bag is great for that. The trolley sleeve was a huge plus as well.

Thank you VB...this is a well thought-out, attractive backpack. It's called the commuter for a reason, although I'm sure it would work fine for other users. I'll get really detailed here and say that even the zippers are unique; they're not your usual 'YKK-type'. The silver color really 'pops', especially on the black pack. There are lots of organizational pockets throughout, and a couple are perfectly placed to use for a phone and a transit pass. It was raining pretty steady this morning and I can verify that the rain shed right off of it, a real plus! My only 'gripe' is to wonder why it is so expensive (disclosure - I waited to purchase it during the recent F&F event). I own a heavy duty well known name brand 80L hiking/camping backpack and it cost just $30 more than this 22L.

I loved the many pockets in this bag. Sadly I returned it as I wanted to use it as a tennis bag, but the zippers would slide down when the racquets moved. Please consider making a tennis backpack!:)

It is a very nice bag, but looks quite boxy. I found it bulkier than what it looks in the photos.

My daughter loves Vera Bradley backpacks! I ordered her this one for school. The shoulder strap seem was ripped on it when it arrived.about 3-4 inches long. I sewed it bc we didn't have time to exhange. That is pretty disappointing for the price! Otherwise the backpack is great.

I bought a Commuter Backpack in Deep Night Paisley from the Vera's Outlet website. What I like the most about this backpack is that the adjustable shoulder straps have continuous loop. That means there are no long straps hanging by both sides of my hip. This is particularly important to me as I am petite. However, the Paisley design appears huge on my back so I decided to get the black color one. I just received the black color Commuter backpack today. I like the color but the shoulder straps adjustable part is not continuous which leaves the straps hanging which is what I am trying to avoid. I am not sure why VB is making the same back pack with different styles of adjustable straps. Very disappointed and will be returning. Also do not like the fact that I have to pay for return postage.

I currently have a really old Campus Backpack (you know, when the inside pockets were the same quilted fabric as the outside), and was looking to replace it and saw the Commuter Backpack. Overall, I really, really like the Commuter but the one thing I don't care for (and it's actually a deal breaker for me), is that there is no outside pocket for a water bottle or coffee mug. The two side zipper pockets don't seem deep enough when fully unzipped, and I just don't like the idea of putting a travel coffee mug inside with other items (that's really tempting fate, there). And it's also the ease of just being able to easily slide my travel coffee mug into an outside pocket when I'm walking from my car to the office (no need to zip/unzip anything), and also the elastic on the inside pocket is on the tight side side (understandable, since the pocket is on the inside, they're making it more secure so it doesn't move about), so it's not going to be a quick, easy slide it in with one hand. With the Campus, I can fit my Venti Starbucks Travel Mug and also my 32oz wide mouth Hydro Flask in the outside pockets. If they made one of the outside side pockets the same size as one of the outside Campus pockets, then this backpack would be a winner for me.

There are white smudge spots on all the zipper tags and straps. :(

Wore this twice and the side pocket has already come unsewn. Not thrilled with the quality vs price I paid for this.

I don't know what is going on with Vera's quality lately. I ordered this backpack and it came in the pink Vera shipping bag. Inside the backpack had no clear packaging bag, tags were in a pocket and had clearly been ripped off. Vera tag was off center, backpack straps were uneven in length allowance, so I couldn't get it to adjust to fit me properly. Clearly it was a return that was just shipped out. I returned it. It's not the first time I've received products with bad quality, like zippers that stick, lining not attached correctly. I've returned more items than I've kept lately because of quality. For an expensive product as this is, I expected more.

Very heavy backpack. The return policy is not good due to shipping costs . So expensive overall . I would not purchase again due to hassle of returns.

It ripped across the entire top less than a month into the school year.

Great bag, just what I was looking for in a travel backpack. Unfortunately the zipper to the main compartment does not open all the way. I've tried several times to unzip th bag and got it opened once. Hoping to work it out with customer service.

This is trash

This would be perfect if it wasn't so huge. I am 5'3 and want an everyday backpack. Where are the solid color, smaller versions you previously made? They were 3 shorter, 2 less wide and 2 less deep. I used them for years until they wore out. This would be absolutely great for an overnight suitcase. It's beautiful in every way. But it's too big for every day use.