Road Tests :: Moshi Urbana Mini Slim Handbag

A stylish and lightweight design that looks good inside and out of work environments, plenty of padding for tech protection, a host of pockets for organizing gear, and the option to carry it by hand or as a shoulder bag. The Moshi Urbana Mini Slim Handbag sounded great on paper (well, technically the pixels of Moshi's website), but would it live up to its description? I was eager to find out - and so seven months of testing involving day-to-day use, glass statues, and rain commenced...

Design

Looks

The Urbana Mini has a sleek and streamlined look that works well for the office and casual use alike. It’s available in blue and black colorways and can double as a shoulder bag or handbag/briefcase. To use it as a briefcase simply remove the shoulder strap from its carabiner-like attachment point.

Construction

The bag is well constructed and I’m very happy with the build quality. It’s held up really well after seven months of use, with no loose stitching, rips or broken hardware. The zippered main compartment allows for wider opening and easier closing if the bag is quite full. The interior is well padded for protecting tech devices.

"The bag is well constructed and I’m very happy with the build quality. It’s held up really well after seven months of use, with no loose stitching, rips or broken hardware."

Materials

The bag features a high-resilience polyester exterior with a water-repellent coating and PU leather handles and detailing. The exterior coating gives the bag a slightly glossy look in the light, which might not appeal to some users but I liked it.

Hardware

The bag has lightweight metal hardware with raised surfaces on the zipper pulls to aid grip; a thoughtful feature which I appreciated. The hardware is durable and I haven't experienced any issues with it.

"The bag has lightweight metal hardware with raised surfaces on the zipper pulls to aid grip..."

Features

The bag is really lightweight, making it convenient for extended periods of use. Most of the time I slung it behind me and forgot I was carrying it.

Another handy feature of the bag is the self-standing design, which made it easy to store and retrieve items from it. One minor point to highlight is a slight bit of scuffing on the base. The scuffing is minor, and the base is a dark brown color so it’s not very noticeable. However, since the bag is designed to stand upright on the base and may be placed on the ground or dirty/rough surfaces at some point, some metal feet or the like would be a nice addition to an updated version of the bag.

"The bag is really lightweight, making it convenient for extended periods of use."

The zip on the main compartment extends beyond the length of the bag and snaps into the side, so you can unsnap it and expand the opening a bit if needed. This was particularly useful when the bag was utilized as part of my carry-on and I needed to fit a fair number of items in it (discussed further below). In addition, the interior is a light-colored fabric that makes it easy to see the contents.

"The zip on the main compartment extends beyond the length of the bag and snaps into the side, so you can unsnap it and expand the opening a bit if needed."

Performance

Space and Access

The Urbana Mini is quite deceptive in its appearance. It’s actually much more roomier than it appears, so it can fit a lot inside while still maintaining a slim silhouette. I was able to fit an ASUS Transformer Book T100, a phone, a passport in a passport holder, a wallet, two glass ornaments wrapped in bubble wrap, maps, keys, lip balm and a book in the bag.

The extended zipper and PU leather hold tabs assist with access to the main compartment. All the zips worked smoothly, though with a very slight bit of resistance while pulling them. I actually liked this slight resistance since I knew the zips wouldn’t accidentally partially open at any point. On a related note, the zips do make a little bit of noise when opening and closing them (not exceptionally so, but you’ll certainly notice them in a quiet room). This didn’t bother me, but it’s something to note if you’re particularly keen on zips that make a minimum of noise.

"The Urbana Mini is quite deceptive in its appearance. It’s actually much more roomier than it appears, so it can fit a lot inside while still maintaining a slim silhouette."

The slight resistance and noise actually gave me some peace of mind while using the bag on holiday. There were warnings about keeping an eye out for pickpockets in crowded areas, and while I'm vigilant with my bags anyway, I think the zip noise and resistance would alert me to any potential sticky fingers before they could make off with anything. It was also easy to casually swing the bag in front of me so I could keep an eye on it when I was in crowds (and actually two pickpockets were removed from a crowd I was in while waiting to use the local public transport, so hey, it’s always good to be vigilant!).

Pockets and Organizing

I’m partial to bags with organization and this one has more than enough to suit my needs. Two exterior pockets provide storage for quick-access items. One is a slip pocket and the other is gusseted for further space and easier access to the contents. The gusseted pocket also has its own internal pockets for further organization, and I used this pocket for items like keys and lip balm. The slip pocket came in handy for storing receipts, bus tickets and the like.

"I’m partial to bags with organization and this one has more than enough to suit my needs."

The main section of the bag has two interior pockets that form a central divider, thereby creating two compartments that extend the length of the bag. So in total there are four separate places to store items in the main compartment. The interior is padded on all sides (including the two central pockets), which is great for protecting tech devices.

The bag fits a small laptop/tablet and a phone. Moshi’s website says it was designed to accommodate a MacBook 12 or iPad and an iPhone 6 Plus. I never tested it with these items but it easily accommodated the ASUS and a Sony Xperia Z1 Compact with space to spare.

"The interior is padded on all sides (including the two central pockets), which is great for protecting tech devices."

Comfort

As mentioned above, the bag is lightweight, which is a definite plus in the comfort department. The bag also has an adjustable shoulder strap. The strap isn’t padded but with such a bag you shouldn’t be carrying a lot of weight anyway so you don’t need it to be. The grab handles are curved and didn’t dig into my hand whilst holding them. Overall I found it a comfortable bag to use.

Weatherability

The Urbana Mini is water-resistant but not waterproof. I had no problems at all with the water-repellent coating, which did a very good job of keeping water out (tested in drizzles and downpours alike). Would I leave it exposed to the elements for hours? No (but then who would if they could help it, right?). The coating did its job well and shrugged off water each time I used it in the rain.

However, the zips are not water-resistant and are the weak spot when it comes to weatherability. Water will come through the zips after a sustained period of rain and this may make the contents damp. It will take a while for this to happen, so the bag is perfectly fine in light rain or even short periods of heavy rain. Just don’t leave the zips exposed for any significant period of time in rain or snow.

"The Urbana Mini is water-resistant but not waterproof."

There are also slight gaps as the zips don’t close completely. This isn’t a problem for day-to-day use in dry weather, but something to bear in mind if you’ve got papers or tech devices in the bag and it’s bucketing down. If you’re really concerned, it’s easy enough to put your hand over the zip gap to ensure no drops sneak in while you’re heading for shelter. Considering the bag is designed to accommodate tech devices, a nice update for version 2.0 would be water-repellent zips that close snugly to avoid potential rain gaps.

"There are also slight gaps as the zips don’t close completely."

Verdict

I really appreciated the variety of features that the Moshi Urbana Mini has to offer. It’s lightweight and comfortable to use. The range of pockets is great for organizing the contents, and the self-standing design is very handy for packing and unpacking the bag. The padded protection also provided peace of mind that my tech (and even glass statues) was safe and sound while I was on the go. It would be great though to see a version with water-repellent zips to complement the water-repellent coating, as well as some sort of raised protection for the base. That being said, it’s now my go-to bag for carrying daily essentials and I’d recommend it if you’re after a sleek, protective bag that suits work and play.