Ah, the briefcase. Hearing the word may conjure pre-moon landing visuals of men carrying them to work, back when we were firmly in an age of paper, files, and, well, briefs. And while these days you’re more likely to see even your boss with a backpack, nobody talks enough about what’s been lost in this particular sea change.
Because briefcases are great. They help you focus on the essentials, ensuring that you’re not overpacking just because you can. The result is a much lighter daily carry, one that won’t make your clothing bunch up like backpack or tote straps do, and that will also give you much more floor space whether you’re sitting on a flight, the subway, or at your office cubicle.
And today’s briefcases are totally modern, tailored to the person who may be toting a laptop and gym clothes around instead of three binders and a pencil case. They come in leathers, canvas, nylons, and harder shells, designed by many brands you already know and love. On the inside, dedicated laptop sleeves provide safe and secure storage, while easy-to-access outer pockets are often perfect to slip your phone, keys, access cards and reading material into. All of which is to say, a well-designed briefcase is well worth your consideration. And while we can’t promise a briefcase will get you a second job interview, it will definitely get you a second look.
The Best Men’s Briefcases, According to GQ
- The Best Lightweight Briefcase: Porter-Yoshida & Co. Tanker 2Way Briefcase, $665
- The Best Briefcase for Organizers: Bellroy Via Work Bag, $129
- The Best Leather Briefcase: Carl Frederick Palissy Slim Leather Briefcase,
$745$522 - The Best Rugged Briefcase: Filson Rugged Twill Original Briefcase, $495
- The Best Casual Briefcase: L.L. Bean Stonington Daily Carry Work Bag, $119
- The Best Travel Briefcase: Smythson Lightweight Large Briefcase, $1,725
- The Best Rolling Briefcase: Briggs and Riley Medium Spinner Brief,
$599$392 - The Best Splurge-Worthy Briefcase: Bottega Veneta Getaway Slim Briefcase, $3,900
In This Shopping Guide
Best Lightweight Briefcase: Porter-Yoshida & Co. Tanker 2Way Briefcase
Porter-Yoshida & Co.’s famous Tanker bag is inspired by military flight jackets: you can see it in the standard-issue sateen fabric with contrasting orange interior, which makes finding your goods easy. Visibility then gets even better: the main compartment hinges open from one side, lying flat like luggage. Carrying it is easy on your arms too, because the ultra-light (but ultra-strong) nylon adds practically nothing to its overall weight. And that’s still not mentioning the “2Way” part of the Tanker’s name: It can go from brief to cross-body in a flash, with a detachable strap that clips into place in seconds.
Best Briefcase for Organizers: Bellroy Via Work Bag
Should you be toting a host of gadgets around, you’ll want to find something with plenty of pockets to keep your phone, earpods, and cords in their proper place. Bellroy’s got a knack for minimalist design with maximalist functionality, and its Via Work Bag is a deceptively simple briefcase that belies its many features. Inside you’ll find a padded laptop sleeve, a mesh zip pocket for keeping your smaller items like keys and sunglasses protected, and a generous center cavity for anything else you may need to haul to and from the office. On the outside, it’s got a cleverly hidden zip pocket for easy-access items like a book or an iPad as well as a luggage pass-through feature that lets you attach it to luggage. But the most clever feature might be the hidden AirTag slip pocket so you can feel safe and secure.
Best Leather Briefcase: Carl Frederick Palissy Slim Leather Briefcase
For classicists seeking a bit of modern streamlining, this is the pick. It feels like the briefcase you’d see the employees of Sterling Cooper carrying back in the ‘60s, thanks to the extremely elegant vachetta leather, which is the de-facto go-to material for high-end bags. But it’s not just that gloriously smooth, blemish-free exterior that will age gracefully. The gorgeous nickel-silver hardware really pops, and will only look better the more you use the bag. Plus, it’s on the slimmer side of things, while still ensuring you’ve got enough room for a laptop, a tablet, and multiple other essentials thanks to a handful of interior zipper pockets. (We especially love the built-in strap that attaches to a rolling suitcase.)
Best Rugged Briefcase: Filson Rugged Twill Original Briefcase
Filson has a storied legacy (dating back to the Gold Rush) as a manufacturer of dependable goods and clothing, which is to say that their Original Briefcase is built to last. Constructed from a heavy-duty twill fabric that’s similar to what you’d find on a sturdy work or chore coat, the exterior will stay together no matter how rough on it you are. It’s also lightly waxed, so that it’s water-resistant if it gets caught in the rain. And critically, the bottom is super reinforced, so that when you’re loading up the two wide stow interior pockets, the fabric won’t rip or shred.
Best Casual Briefcase: L.L. Bean Stonington Daily Carry Work Bag
If leather feels a little too heavy for you, I can suggest this rugged-yet-refined canvas “work bag.” It has tons of organized pockets, and a bookish, “Is he an architect?” energy. And it’s L.L.Bean, so you know it’s made with care.
Best Travel Briefcase: Smythson Lightweight Large Briefcase
From wallets to diaries to luggage, Smythson has long owned its position as the somewhat-approachable luxury pick that truly holds up over time. The two pockets on this larger briefcase create enough room for some extra clothes, but there are also interior slip pockets for your travel documents, and an outer slip to help the case slide down over your suitcase handles. And all of that is wrapped up in some handsome, durable cross-grain leather.
Best Rolling Briefcase: Briggs and Riley Medium Spinner Brief
Take it from the pilots: Rolling briefcases, if you have a job that involves a lot of walking, make life about as easy as it gets. With TUMI above it and Travelpro just below in terms of price point, Briggs and Riley has become the go-to pick for the discerning traveler who likes a touch of design smarts with their practicality. It’ll keep you nimble whether you carry it, roll it, or even stack it.
Best Splurge-Worthy Briefcase: Bottega Veneta Getaway Slim Briefcase
If extreme luxury is what you’re after, you’d be hard pressed to find a more special bag than this. In addition to Bottega’s instantly-recognizable “intrecciato” weaving, the brand’s briefcase has a double zip closure, plenty of space, and comes with a shoulder strap just in case you have to carry it from the jet to your waiting limo.
More Briefcases We Love
What to Look for in a Briefcase
Before you take the briefcase plunge, you have to figure out what you actually need. If you’re a daily commuter and you know you’ll be bringing a laptop back and forth, for example, you’ll want to make sure you have the right amount of space and padding to keep it protected. Similarly, if you’re the kind of guy who is traveling all over the world, make sure that your briefcase will give you easy access to your passport, IDs, etc. (You’ll be in and out of TSA in no time.) These practical decisions, like knowing if extra pockets will help you keep track of your keys or not, will point you in the right direction.
Once you’ve got the must-haves sorted, it really comes down to your taste and where you’ll be toting things. If this is going to be a work bag, and you have a casual office, you can pretty much follow your heart’s desire in terms of shape and style. But, if you’re in a more corporate and “buttoned-up” environment, we’d suggest sticking with more streamlined options in darker or neutral colors.
How We Made These Picks
We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price.
To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets.
We lean on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrow down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price.
Across the majority of our buying guides, our team boasts firsthand experience with the bulk of our selects, but a handful are totally new to us. So after several months of intense debate, we tally the votes, collate the anecdotal evidence, and emerge with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best in their category right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable beaters to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs.
Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there’s bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ’s testing process here.)
