Although I’ve tried a few cases for my iPad over the past year or so I’ve had it, I’ve never really had a bag that I wanted to carry it around in. I tried a portfolio, but it just wasn’t my, well, bag. Then back in December I saw a picture of the Waterfield Muzzeto. I knew I had to have it.

A handmade leather bag with what looked to be exquisite design and premium quality. It took about a month to get here. While I waited, I regularly showed my friends pictures of the bag from Waterfield’s website.

The Muzzeto isn’t a bag designed exclusively for the iPad. It comes in multiple sizes from a compact ‘personal’ size all the way up to a model for 15″ laptops. For the iPad with a case on it they have the 10″ Portable Muzzeto. If you prefer your iPad naked, it will also fit in the Personal Muzzetto.

I went for the 10″ Portable size which is just big enough to hold standard 8.5×11″ paper also. This size may not have been originally designed for an iPad, but it’s a perfect match. You can get the Muzzeto in Black or Brown leather, with a variety of accent colors. When I originally ordered, I thought that the accent color was for a colored accent leather. It’s somewhat hard to tell in the pictures on Waterfields site, but the accent is fabric, not leather.

The basic design has 3 pockets. There is the main storage area for the iPad (and in my case an Apple Bluetooth Keyboard also) which includes a zippered pocket for storage of small miscellaneous items. This is where I keep my cables and my USB dock connector. Then there is a front pocket that has a spot to hold a mobile phone and other stuff. I keep my phone, a Verizon Mifi and other somewhat larger items in this pocket. The large flat sleeve on back is where I keep papers or other items I might need. The main storage compartment and the front pocket are both covered by a heavy leather flap to provide protection and security.

I can’t even being to describe the quality of leather used in the Muzzeto. I have a friend who does leather repair on high end cars like Bentleys, Cadillacs, and Rolls. When he saw the bag, he told me the leather Waterfield used isn’t just good, it’s of the highest caliber. He said that to have a car seat done in leather of that quality would cost upwards of $10,000. The leather feels amazing (in his words, “it’s like butter”). It feels thick, but still soft. Its not rigid, but its also not without shape. Waterfield used different fabric as needed for different features. For instance, the main compartment is lined with a reflective orange fabric which makes it easy to see inside the compartment even when there isn’t much light. Everything seems to be pretty durable as well. The bag looks just as good today as it did the day it arrived (a month ago).

There is nothing critical I can say about the quality of the components put into the making of this bag. On the other hand, the function of the bag is a decidedly different story. The design is sleek and modern, but the sacrifices of usability to design aren’t minor. There are several items on the bag that are wrong, missing or that just drive me nuts. First and foremost is the weighted flap closure. Although in theory this should work just fine, I find myself constantly worried that everything will fall out of the bag if I grab it the wrong way. I think a small powerful magnetic closure could have been included without detracting from the looks of the bag to solve this issue, gravity just isn’t enough here.

Next we have to talk about the strap, whose biggest problem is that it’s all alone. I wish EVERY SINGLE DAY that this bag had a handle on the back somewhere as well. Especially when I’m getting out of my car, there is just no good place to grab onto the thing! I understand why they didn’t include this as it maintains the bags simple, uncluttered look. A handle would almost certainly have altered the appearance, making a simple, clean design just a bit more complex in the name of convenience. In addition, the strap has a shoulder pad, but the shoulder pad is loose on the strap (by design), which requires that you reposition it every time you pick the bag up. Other bags have the shoulder pad attached in such a way that you can move it, but it stays where you put it once you do. The pad needs some looking into.  This surprised me because of Waterfield’s attention to detail which can be seen in the folded over strap assembly in the picture below.

Even with my complaints, the Muzzeto is the best bag I’ve ever owned. It is a thing of beauty. The iPhone Guru’s wife saw us photographing it for this article and immediately commented on how nice it is. Although Muzzeto calls it a man bag (my wife prefers “murse”), it would look just as good on the shoulder of any woman. I’ve gotten many compliments about it. I’m constantly looking to try out new cases, covers, bags, ad infinitum. I don’t plan on going back to the bag I had before the Muzzeto though. If I review a new bag, I’m guessing after the review I’ll probably move all my stuff back where it belongs: into my Muzzeto man bag.

The Muzetto bag by Waterfield is available at SFBags for $199.