Komal C Buffalo Hunter Review

The Buffalo Hunter is a classy leather satchel with simple features and good craftsmanship, especially for the price. While it isn't suited for rainy weather, cycling, or anyone that needs lots of accessory pockets, for the right person, it's a steal.

Performance Comparison

Comfort

Depending on what you're carrying and how you commute, this bag is adequate but nothing special. The main issue is the strap; it's thin, so if you have a heavy load, there's not a lot to distribute that weight, and the bag is hefty even when empty. There's a small and thin “pad” that helps a little, but it's very minimal.

The strap is also quite long, and if you adjust it to be shorter, the metal buckle ends up on the top of the shoulder or past it — and the pad isn't designed to be removed or to pass over that buckle. You'll either need to resort to no shoulder padding or having your bag hang down by your bum or thighs. It's a shame because this could easily have been remedied with just a bit of forethought. This also isn't the best bag to consider for cycling because there's no crossbody strap to keep it in place.

Packing & Organization

The Buffalo Hunter offers a lightly padded laptop sleeve secured via a Velcro strap. It also features two medium-size drop pockets, one pen holder inside the main compartment, a large exterior front pocket under the main flap, and a large rear zippered pocket. These features are minimal but sufficient, depending on your needs.

Our main issue here is with the saggy canvas liner on the interior. The lack of integrity makes it challenging to feel professionally organized, kind of like wearing an oversized sweatshirt under a fitted blazer — a bit bizarre. If you place something too heavy in the drop pockets, they sag and can easily spill their contents, and to use the pencil sleeve, we had to physically hold the fabric taut.

Electronics

The Buffalo Hunter is made from nice thick leather and has a padded laptop sleeve that holds up to a 15" computer, secured with a Velcro tab. There are a few places for smaller devices and cords, though somehow nothing feels quite right. The smaller pockets don't zip and are flimsy. The larger pockets are really large; the full size of the bag. If you are the kind of person that organizes your things into separate zippered pouches (like a pencil bag), it won't matter much, but if you like having dedicated places for things built into your bag, you will likely feel disappointed. When it comes to weather, you will also need to be careful. While the exterior is robust and handles getting doused with water quite well, there are no corner wings on the flap to keep water from sneaking inside.

Ease of Use

This is mostly an effortless bag to use — the top grab handle is large and comfortable, the clasps for the front flap are hidden stealthily yet intuitively under adjustable buckles, and the shoulder strap adjusts via a standard slide buckle. However, a couple of things are less than ideal. The loose inner lining is disappointing and makes interacting with the pockets more difficult than it would be if it were better designed.

The front flap is heavy, and the straps that adjust for length don't have a ton of range, so you can't overpack. Which, honestly, you wouldn't want to anyway because the shoulder strap is so poorly executed, that it's very uncomfortable with heavier loads. If you want to be able to use the tiny “pad” on the strap, you will need to be okay with a low-hanging bag, which may fall down to your bum or even your thighs. If you adjust the strap shorter, the pad is no longer usable because it's not made to pass over the slide buckle.

Wear & Tear

We have some mixed feelings here. The outer leather on the Buffalo Hunter is lovely and thick and will age well. It has a pre-weathered look, so scuffs and scratches blend right in. However, the internal liner does not inspire the same level of confidence. It's loose and baggy and could easily get ripped or damaged; it's really a shame that more attention wasn't paid to this aspect of the bag's design.

Volume to Weight Ratio

This bag weighs 2.73 pounds and is just 12 liters, so it didn't end up with a very good score in this category. However, if you're looking for a nice leather bag, you likely don't mind lifting a bit of extra weight.

Value

Value is decently high for this attractive bag. It's affordable, particularly for the excellent materials you receive. Compared to other comparable bags of a similar look, this is a steal, though we hope the design gets reworked a bit in future iterations.

Conclusion

In most respects, we enjoyed our time with the Buffalo Hunter. There are problems with the shoulder strap and internal liner, but the rest of the bag is well executed and very attractive. For the price, which is more than reasonable, this is an excellent leather bag that's great for school or the office.