I love my Victorinox Swiss Army computer briefcase. It is very durable and comes with a great warranty. I tend to carry about 20 pounds of gear, including my laptop, in my briefcase on a daily basis. Consequently, when I went shopping for a briefcase, I knew that I’d need one that was well made and durable. Victorinox Swiss Army offers a large product line of  business gear. In January 2006 I settled on a Victorinox WT Standard Brief EXP. This briefcase has handled daily wear and tear as well as being over-stuffed on many occasions.

I’ve had two parts break and both repairs were covered for free under the warranty. After 2 years, part of the metal clip that holds the shoulder strap in place broke. The strap would then slide to its full length. I contacted the manufacturer via email and they mailed me a replacement strap. Then, just shy of the bag’s fifth birthday, the front pocket zipper broke. I’m sure that stuffing too many cables into the pocket contributed to this. The good news is that I didn’t actually tear any of the cloth or tear the zipper off of the cloth. I didn’t even break any of the teeth on the zipper. Instead, one half of the zipper track popped out of the zipper. Again, I sent an email to Victorinox’s customer service department. They sent me a file listing all of their warranty repair centers around the country. I visited TW Carrol, the only repair center in Washington State. As I dropped off my bag, I asked the clerk if this repair would be covered under warranty. He replied, “With Swiss Army, they’re all covered under warranty.” The zipper was repaired and works perfectly now. I’m very pleased with my briefcase selection and look forward to using it for many years to come.

Update: December 2013

It’s been just shy of two years since I wrote the information above. Since then, I have had my Victorinox computer briefcase’s zippers repaired two more times for free. About a month ago, one of the handles started to tear away from the rest of the bag. I also noticed that the handles were finally wearing thin from years of use. I took my bag to TW Carrol and they indicated that they couldn’t do the repair in-house. Instead, they would send it in to Victorinox for repair or replacement. Victorinox decided to give me a new Parliament 15 Expandable Laptop Bag as a replacement! This bag has nearly the same design, but has a few small changes that I welcome. A 15″ removable sleeve is now included. This would make it easier to pass one’s laptop through airport security. A padded pocked for an iPad has been added. One of the pockets has been redesigned to allow one to use it to store clothes for an overnight trip.