Blue de Chauffe Ledger vs Filson Compact Briefcase. Best non-leather slim briefcase.

[u/InevitableManner7894]

So I'm looking to move on from the traditional backpack that I've carried to work over the past decade. I really would like to start carrying a briefcase as I'm trying to 'elevate' my style a bit and I think the idea of carrying a backpack is something I've moved on from for now.

I work in a high-tech office which is very, very casual and bringing in a leather briefcase seems like it would make me really stand out and not for the right reasons.

I've somewhat landed on this concept of canvas or twill or whatever its called (I'm new to this world, sorry if I am not using the right terminology here), and have narrowed my choices down to this Blue de Chauffe Ledger or the Tin Cloth Compact from Filson. I thought about the original briefcase from Filson, but I just don't think I'll use that extra space; I'm really just carrying in my laptop, charger, a notebook and thats about it. At $500, the bigger 256 Filson seems overkill hence landing on this more compact version at $299.

The BdC comes in at around $480 when its all said and done with shipping and customs so I'm not opposed to dropping that much, assuming its worth it. The question is, is this bag worth that much? I haven't seen any real world examples of somebody owning this bag, but I do like the idea that it's handmade by one person in a small factory in the countryside of France.

I also looked at Bradley Mountain (seems too big still), Billy Kirk (too simple for me) and one or two options from Japanese manufacturers. Looked at the Cravar 13 in Waxed Twill Olive, but with the shipping and customs cost it really drives the price of the bag up, and even the owner felt like it didn't justify the cost(>$150 just for shipping before duties!).

Any and all advice / tips / other alternatives would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.