Road Test | Qwstion Weekender
Julien Schiess is from Switzerland. Have you been there? I haven’t, been close tho (Finland), but have heard amazing things about the country. We were lucky enough to cross paths with Julien a while back and got talking, which lead us to getting Julien to contribute to the site with a Road Test for the Qwstion Weekender - a very nice looking bag indeed. In his words, Julien gave us a quick overview (below in italics) followed by an indepth story below.
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“Great transportability, good organization features, for sport, business, giraffes, boyfriend or girlfriend, everything goes into the Weekender. Get onboard and see how this great piece of work done by Qwstion can help you spend the perfect weekend! Expectations will be even bigger next time and be careful you may find yourself spending the next weekend alone with it…”
The dilemma story around the Weekender
A while ago when I traveled over a weekend, I had the choice between carrying my stuff in a backpack, or in my cabin trolley. Not the best scenario. With my backpack I had to optimize the little space I got, whereas with the trolley, it was just too big for the trip I wanted to take. In both cases – frustration.
Right now I live in place “A” during the weekdays and place “B” during the weekend (a 2.5 hr commute between the locations) and the problem stays the same. I am a weekend commuter and I need a somewhere-in-between-luggage to put my clothes for the weekend. It should also allow me to move some items from one place to another. It is now that the Qwstion Weekender comes into play; a bag I’ve been road testing it for two months. Keen to hear if it lives up to the hype?
A well presented bag that resembles a good winter jacket.
At first glance, the bag is rather good looking, even more so on a second check. It’s constructed from a combination of proven materials: leather, seatbelt nylon with circlestitch and cotton canvas (TPU-coated) for the shell. The external material feels almost like a tarpaulin material which is unexpected. Although the touch feeling is a little surprising at first, the quality is impressive and it is fully waterproof bag – which is always comforting factor to know if you get caught in a snowstorm on your way to the train station. 
The real value from the Qwstion Weekender comes in the details. All the handles and small zippers are made of a real nice beige leather, which offers a great look and the smell rapidly confirms the quality of the leather. If you add the red color of the inside, with details printed on the material, you get a beautiful crafted bag that delivers great quality.
After two months of intense usage I did not see any problem. It still looks nice and durable.
What about an insane run to catch the train?
Apart from the on-trend looks and the high quality materials, the Qwstion Weekender puts forward a solid argument in terms of transportability with the option of three different carrying possibilities.
The first and classic way to carry it is with one’s arms straight down, with the two handles on the top (kinda like a briefcase or suitcase). The second option, still a classic, is to use the shoulder strap. I want to add here that the quality of the strap is very good. Being easily removable, it is a large and comfortable piece of seatbelt. It means your shoulder is not slaughtered in pieces even after carrying the bag for a while, which is always better, I guess…
I’m sure you’ve all had to run, once or twice, to catch a bus, train, cab or even just for the pleasure to run with your heavy fully packed bag on the shoulder [ed note: who does that?]. The process is very often a pain right? Your bag is moving along your back, not fixed, hurting and hindering you to run at full speed. Let’s face it, you get your shoulder cut into pieces at the end of your run. The guys at Qwstion must have experienced such a pain as they are offering you removable straps that transform your luggage into a backpack if needed! A great solution done well.
When running in the morning to catch my train I enjoy having my backpack well in place, when the straps are nice and tight fitting it becomes quite comfortable to use the bag in this configuration. Once you’ve caught the train or arrived at work, just replace the straps inside the pocket and use the bag as a trendy business attache, where nobody could ever imagine the insane run you had before. This flexibility in term of transportability makes the Weekender precious, enabling you to adapt your carrying style to the events of the day.
I always carry a giraffes’ family in my bag, you never know…
The Weekender has a small zipped external pocket, perfect for keys, passport and wallet. It has a bigger open pocket on the same side of the bag which easily allows you to put your headphones, magazines or anything you need to have easy access to. On the other side of the bag you get a large pocket hiding the straps enabling the bag to transform in a backpack. You can of course also use this big pocket to put books, files or any other rather-flat thing you have. At the moment I’m using it to put files from work…
Let’s open the main compartment now. First striking feature? The two sided zippers that offer an easy opening of the bag. In addition to that, the main compartment can be opened to 120 degrees. It is larger than normal and quite nice if you’re a heavy packer and intend to take full advantage of the space it offers. It also offers an easier access to your luggage.
Inside the bag you can find a neoprene pocket that will fit, comfortably, a laptop up to 17 inches. My 13inches MacBook does indeed enjoy the extra space in it. Furthermore, the pocket offers great protection for your laptop therefore relieving you from an extra sleeve – It’s always good when you don’t have to spend extra money in a protection sleeve. Even if it’s not a pocket, the space behind the laptop sleeve offers you the possibility to put books, files, notebook and more…
You then have three pockets on the interior side of the bag: Two small ones and a bigger one where you can put your cables, toiletries, cards, charger or mouse. Unfortunately there is no space for a bottle of water or any kind of food something I would have appreciated…
Shoes or no shoes, that’s the Qwstion
The main compartment of 29 liters is quite comfortable and is offering enough space for a dedicated weekend trip. The bottom of the bag is nicely padded, a welcomed detail especially when I am carrying back some bottles of wine: less risk of damage. The only downside of the main compartment is once loaded with a laptop, it is impossible to put a pair of shoes side to side at the bottom. You indeed have to arrange them differently in order for your pair to fit into the bag. If traveling for more then one or two days most of us like to take a spare pair of shoes, it’s a shame you cannot do it easily when loaded with a laptop.
It’s real easy to load clothes in and even fully packed, the two sided zippers allow you to close it nicely. Another good point is the separate bag for dirty or wet clothes or shoes, which is a great addition – especially useful at the end of the week to bring back your dirty clothes/shoes or even your stinky gym gear. This extra bag can be attached at the bottom thanks to two straps and you can release it at your convenience.
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Highlights
- Design
- Quality of the material
- Details
- High flexibility in term of transportability with 3 “modes”
- Two sided zippers offering a 120 degrees opening
- Removable dirty bag
Lowlights
- Impossibility to put a pair of shoes side by side once loaded with a laptop
- Distribution of the internal pockets
- The lack of rigidity of the material
Best Suited to
- Weekend commuters
- 2-3 days trip for leisure or business
- People going to the gym
Not Suited to
- Students
- Courier Messengers
- Bikers
Any Niggles
Apart from the lack of rigidity, it is very hard to criticize the product. The team at Qwstion did a great job.
Any envy for another bag
Nope ☺
Conclusion
The Qwstion Weekender holds very well its name. It’s the perfect bag for a weekend trip. It offers great quality, good transportability and organization features. Weekend commuters, 2-3 days travelers and sports people will love it. Due to its nature, bikers, messengers and students will choose another option. This piece of luggage is now sticking to me.
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Thanks to Julien for such a in depth and detailed review. For more on Julien, feel free to follow him on twitter or check him out on Linkedin.
Leather
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Trop fort juju !!!
nice indepth review! i am deciding between the QWESTION weekender and office bag. i guess the only difference is the size?
and one question.. why do u think the bag isn’t suitable for students? cause im a student and im dying for one lol..
im thinking of the COTEetCIEL rucksack too! cant make my decision!
Hi Gabriel,
The weekender is pretty big. It is really a weekender. I use it when commuting from one home to another of to workout at the office.
I think it is too big to go at school with but again, it really depends what you need to take with you. If you need a laptop, paper and pen, the office bag is perfect. Then if you go at school with more stuff you may want to consider the weekender.
The rucksack from COTEetCiel is in between. Weekender is a real bag, rucksack the nice backpack and the office bag for laptop. Depends the portability you want and the size.
Hope this helps.
Julien
Pingback: Buyer’s Guide :: Weekenders | Carryology
Wicked site Julien. I’m in the market for a new bag to replace my high-school vintage (10yrs+) MEC backpack to look less like a dork.
I’m really impressed with Qwstion overall. I was dead set on the weekender for a daily bag because I hate having to carry more than one bag at a time if I have more things and the backpack option is hugely important for a cyclist. Seeing it in person I realized that it’s just too large as you suggested. My fallback is the office (http://www.qwstion.com/en/office-18.html). Have you got experience with this bag?
I just worry about a couple of points on accessibility. Is the laptop a nuisance to access? What about the corner of the main pouch? It seems that having the zipper extend down both sides would have been a better design…no? Do you think these zippers will hold up to the test of time? I originally was hoping to find a bag that didn’t use any real breakable hardware.
Thanks
Hi Shane!
Thanks for the comment and the nice word
To my opinion, Qwstion deserves a little bit more focus since their products are really great for the flexible city life. But you’re right, the Weekender is definitely too big for a daily bag, and especially if you plan to bike.
I am glad you had a look to their office bag. I have to say it is a good move! I could also write a small review since I own one for 10 months now. First comment for you: go for it!
What I like is its flexibility. Fantastic. I use it on a daily basis to commute. It looks great in the office, with a suit, but I also sometimes commute by bike. Since the office bag can become a backpack, let it be a backpack for the ride and then use it as a smart office bag. When I travel for 2 days, I can pack an extra shirt, some toiletries, my headphones and my iPad in it. Laptop access is easy with a pocket that you can open almost entirely. No problem at all in that area. Regarding the zippers, no problem either since the hardware resists quite well. The move to backpack is easy and well done with good quality material. The only tiny little thing is they could improve the stability of the large internal pocket, the one without zipper. A part of that, this is a killer!
As I said, I use the office bag everyday for 10 months and did not have the wish to change yet ;D
Should you require any more information please do not hesitate!
Cheers
Julien