Kipling Defea Shoulder Bag True Blue Tonal

FINALLY! I found the perfect bag. I travel a lot and have been searching for the ideal bag with enough pockets to keep everything well organized. The four front compartments are awesome. Both of the bigger outside zipper compartments are large enough for my iPhone 6s Plus! And the Velcro flap compartment in the front is a perfect place to keep my hand sanitizer. The other two compartments in front I use for my work ID or during travel, that's where I put my headphones. The smaller one is where I put my favorite lipstick or lipgloss, and the diagonal zipper opens easily with one hand. The end compartments are a huge bonus, which I didn't even know were there until I looked closely. Even full, they don't bulge or make the bag look huge or bulky. The front one is where I put my phone charger-- Velcro keeps it safe. Inside is roomy with another zipper compartment, two pockets and a pen slot. Plenty of room for big sunglasses case, wallet, etc and an iPad fits with room to spare. The back zipper is perfect for passport and boarding passes. My house keys get clipped on the key holder and away I go! It doesn't look huge but holds a ton. It's also amazingly light even with an iPad in it and the straps are wide enough to feel comfortable. I have it in many colors and will carry these for years to come. Thank you Kipling. Fantastic quality keeps me coming back.

This is actually the fourth Kipling bag I have bought. The second of this style. (One of my other two was the same size, but only had the crossbody strap. The other was smaller so I could use it while traveling and didn’t need to carry around a lot of things.) I love that it has the short handles as well as the crossbody strap. They hold up like iron and can be washed in the machine. It has plenty of space and pockets for carrying everything you need. I do a lot of traveling and this bag has gone around the world holding everything needed while on the go. I use it as an everyday bag as well. It is nice and lightweight which is a plus when it’s full.

First let me say I am not really into fashion or brand identification. I ordered this bag for three reasons: One, reviewers had repeatedly stated that the bag was long-lasting and durable (I am really hard on purses!) Two, it had tons of pockets for organizing things; and three it comes in my favorite color, which the manufacturer calls Neon Purple. Personally, I think this color would be more aptly named "vibrant violet", because while it is a gorgeous, radiant indigo-purple color, it doesn't obnoxiously floresce like a neon pink or green from the 1980's! This is a good thing, in my opinion. Also, the bag's fabric is called "crinkle" nylon. It doesn't strike me as terribly crinkly, and I would never think to describe it as such. But it does have a slight texture that I think is attractive. I am pretty impressed with the overall quality of this bag. The stitching is heavy and flawless. The hardwear is sturdy and beautiful, too. I am not the type of person that spends this kind of money on a handbag, but I wanted something that would last me longer than two years. In most cases you get what you pay for. That being said, I am sure that it costs about one-tenth of what you pay to manufacture a bag like this. After all, it is made of nylon, which is probably quite cheap to produce, and of course the company utilizes Chinese labor...Someone is making a killing. All of that being said, it is a beautiful, functional, high quality bag. I would definitely purchase it again.

this is my FAVORITE bag of all time but it traps odors like crazy lmaoo i’ve been trying everything but the nylon on the outside traps it like no OTHERRR. i may just be sensitive tho

Definitely a must have when you travel. I like it for road trips especially because when I’m in the car i dont like to be fumbling around. The small pockets are helpful. I normally take off the longer straps and use the loops for keys, sanitizer, etc. i like kipling in general because of how lightweight their bags are. For reference i also have the smaller defea bag and i like this one better. It has more pockets and the dimensions are slightly bigger. The height is the main difference. I like to be able to just drop things in my bag and go and this helps with that.

It took me a while to finally decide on which Kipling style bag to purchase as my travel companion. And I am so glad that I purchased the Defea Handbag. When I first opened the package, my initial thoughts on this bag was that it was cute - the style was what I was looking for - a little more edgy and trendy with the zippered pockets - but smaller than I expected. However looks can be deceiving. I just returned from a two-week excursion from Asia and this was the only handbag that I took with me and it was the only one that I ended up needing. The quality of the fabric is lightweight but very durable and easy to clean. It's nice that when the bag is not totally full, the fabric allows the bag to "shrink". And unlike leather bags, the weight of the bag doesn't make it heavier. It is very roomy for its "small" looking size. I was able to fit my wallet, cell phone, keys, cosmetic bag, Nook e-reader, guidebook, maps, camera and even when I was in a colder location, my scarf, gloves and a knitted hat along with a few small souvenirs. Both the short and longer straps were very comfortable. But my favorite features were the pockets. It made organization and finding items so much easier. The most useful and most convenient pocket was the external slot on the backside which safely held my passport and boarding pass. It was easy access and I didn't have to worry about hunting through the inside of my bag. Having other more expensive and couture brand leather handbags, I can totally see how this Kipling can easily replace all those other ones and make this as a daily commuter bag. I may have to get this style in another color! However I see that Kipling just came out with other styles and I am excited to check those out! I am now officially a Kipling believer!

My husband always accuses me of looking for the unicorn, and he's right. I tried 8 bags before settling on this one to take to Europe. (Thanks Amazon!) I wanted a bag that: 1. I could wear cross-body (on my 5'3" plus size frame) that would reach to my lower hip. Check. 2. Had a good size zipper pocket on the back side (next to my body) where I could put my wallet. Check. 3. Had another outside zipper pocket for my IPhone Xr with case. Check. 4. Had a large center opening where I could place my stainless water bottle, guide books, maps, and sunglass case. Check. (I plan to keep this open so I won't be carrying anything valuable here--just the stuff I will be reaching for often.) 5. When empty, would collapse so I could put it in my 38L backpack--the only piece of luggage I will take on my 3 week trip. Check. 6. Was light weight. Check. 7. Didn't look like a travel bag. Check. 8. I could carry as a handbag at home, too. Check. And now you know why the unicorn compliant. But the Defea bag checked all the boxes, plus has additional features that will be useful: The side velcro pockets will be perfect for tissues or hand sanitizer, and the second outside front zipper pocket will be good place for a few Euro coins. I've now carried it for a few days to get used to its functionality, and I've found that it's even more useful than I had expected. Yes, you need to remember where you've placed things since there are so many pockets, and I've been fumbling with that. I was concerned about the removable shoulder strap in terms of pickpockets, but I've just decided to not worry about it and be mindful of my surroundings while sight-seeing. Even though I bought this for a cross-body bag, it turns out that I can wear this as a shoulder bag which I can never do thanks to sloped shoulders. And, although I didn't see myself carrying it by the handles, I've done that, too. I'm happy with it. So maybe it is the Goldilocks or Unicorn bag--for the moment.

I wasn't too sure about this bag at first when I saw it online, as I thought it would be too wide and have too many pockets. I got it anyway and am so glad I did as I just love it! I use it all the time and it is good for just about any activity. I use it for vacation, shopping, trips to the museum and out for lunch. It is large enough to hold an ipad, wallet, cosmetic pouch and a small diaper pouch. It has pockets everywhere and I love the zippered front. It is very comfortable as a crossbody bag and I can even stuff my lightweight puffer coat and scarf into it if I need to. I got the light tan color and it is so pretty without being so light as to attract dirt. Adore this bag.