Customer Reviews L.L.Bean Zip Top Boat and Tote Large

There was a dark stain at the bottom of the bag and I haven't used the bag yet

I am horrified at the quality of the boat and totes I just received. As a long time LL Bean loyalist and card member, I have over 30 boat and totes and can't believe what I received in the mail. They are thinner, obviously cheaply made and the zipper top is no longer the color of the straps--instead its the canvas color--which FYI looks TERRIBLE. The bag feels flimsy, like its no longer made of a durable canvas material, and I know the zipper is probably going to bust the near future as it took us about 10 minutes to get it to zip. What happened, LL bean? Why is the quality so dismal? I would return them, but I purchased as gifts for friends and when they showed them to me I was embarrassed at the low quality (for a $50 bag!) Please remediate this. Its honestly heartbreaking, as LL bean totes are a staple and generational product my family has always relied on. I will not be purchasing until the original quality is brought back and will be warning others to save them the disappointment.

The canvas on this bag is extremely stiff and heavy

I was so excited to get one of these tote bags for summer and honestly it has been such a disappointing experience. This bag has continued to have threads from all seams just completely coming off. One of them got stuck in the zipper and basically unraveled the entire inside. Every time I think it is done there is another thread hanging off of a seam

They shipped it without its monogram, ,now its just so boring and ugly and now I don't have a carry on for my trip. terrible customer service.

The seam at the opening of the bag along the zipper was not completed which prevented the zipper to be functional and the opening would likely get worse. I would have expected that type of defect to be found through routine quality control inspection. Upon return of the bag for an exchange it became lost and I had no response from the company until I inquired about the status of the return.

Very cheaply made. The lettering is fading already after 2 uses.

It is too stiff. The one I have had for 18 years is soft. It is a gift. What would you recommend as a replacement?

I am really disappointed in the quality of the tote that was shipped to me. This was a gift for someone else and I was actually quite embarrassed to give it to them. The edges of the canvas were rough and unfinished (didn't even look like they were cut straight), the stitching was horribly messy throughout the entire bag. I had their last name monogramed and it wasn't even centered between the straps. It looked a bit ridiculous and definitely not the quality I'm used to from LL Bean.

This used to be one of the best bags ever. Just got a new one; the quality of the stitching is so poor I have to send it back. There are several spots where the stitching is unraveling; several spots where a "stitch" is about 3 inches long and attempting to attach multiple folds, but in doing so is just a taught piece of thread that is definitely going to break. Hopefully I just got a dud; ll Bean's quality is usually much better than this. Bummed I have to pay $6.50 to send it back.

I purchased this as a gift for my 3 year old great niece and had it shipped directly to her. I ordered the large with long handles in the deep mulberry color. The color is lovely and the monogram is perfect. I asked to see pictures of the tote bag as my great niece loves it and already has it filled up. I was shocked and disappointed to see the terrible stitching on the front of the bag. It is only a matter of time before the stitching becomes unraveled. The tote bag should never have left the warehouse in that condition. Can't exchange it because my great niece can't bear to be without her new tote bag - the amount of time it would take to ship the tote bag back and wait for a replacement tote bag is an eternity for a 3 year old. Just for the record, my great niece received the tote bag today (May 13, 2021), so she has not even had the tote bag for a full 24 hours. I own several ll bean zip top boat and tote bags, so I know what they should look like when sewn correctly. I have photos to show the poor stitching on the strap. I also see I can't exchange this tote bag even if I could get my great niece to part with it as it is sold out in the large with long handles in the deep mulberry color.

I was very disappointed with the bag! Material was too heavy and bulky! I returned for a refund!

When I first purchased this bag, I was disappointed by the terrible sitching on the embrodiery. The thread was pulled and snagged. I decided not to return it because it felt wasteful -- but I was greatly disappointed. Because of that snag, I never use the bag. It's clean, it's hung on the wall away from any chemicals, we do not have a rat or moth problem in our home. But today I discovered that my bag it literally shredded. The canvas is literally crumbling a part in my hands. It has never been washed. It's seen the beach a few times. It's carried a few six packs. There's never been any spills outside of sand collection. I'm blown away.

I love these boat totes, but prefer the custom color options. These make amazing gifts, but the beige/natural color is not a great option for kids. My favorite color combo was a dark pink with green I used to gift to little girls, or a navy and forest for boys.

The Boat and Tote is a classic - I've always kept one around. Now the latest is shockingly shoddy piece of workmanship. Threads sticking out of major seams - a zipper so cheaply inserted that the feature I paid extra for simply doesn't work. The quality of the canvas is still excellent, but the assembly has been turned over to the wrong people. Iplan to return for a refund.

had to send the bag back due to poor stitching. The monogram that was put on was stitched to the side and top at the same time.. So you could not zip the top closed.

PLEASE bring back the custom option for the boat & tote. I've used one for years as a purse and wanted to create a new one only to discover it's no longer an option. The beige base doesn't work well for a purse option.

I would like to start by saying, I LOVE my boat and tote bag. I've had the same bag for 2.5 years and it looks as good as the day I opened the box. I am however extremely disappointed to see L.L.Bean has discontinued the custom option. A beige base simply does not fit into my life style. I wanted to downsize my tote for a medium sized bag, as the rule of thumb goes the bigger the bag the more stuff you will carry. Let me tell you the extra large can carry A LOT, and my back says it's okay to carry less. I cannot however replace my bag with any of the current options. BRING BACK THE CUSTOM BOAT AND TOTE PLEASE!!!!!

I come from an LL Bean family. We have lots of LL Bean totes and gear. I was very disappointed when my tote straps faded so badly they are no longer in the same color family as my monogram. It looks so bad, I need a new bag. I will no longer be purchasing from LL Bean, as they are not standing by their work.

Very disappointed, zipper does not work properly and canvas is so hard and not pliable at all. I bought totes in the past and they were high quality but not this one

I love my old zip top LLBean Tote. I have ordered at least 20 of them and given them as gifts from my company but in my last order of 5 of them I realize these are completely inferior. No exterior pocket. No interior of bag pockets and it just feels like thin and inferior material compared to my old ones. Nowhere do I see the fact that these are pocket free advertised. Really sad with this product.

I received my second boat and tote bag for Christmas this year. With my first one, the seams started to unravel after a couple of years of use. Fair enough. With this one, the seams started unraveling within ONE DAY OF USE. Unacceptable. I can hardly zip/unzip it because of all of the loose seams caught in the track. I cannot believe how much LL Bean's quality has decreased over the years. Considering this and the fact that they no longer offer their lifetime warrantee, I think I am done ordering from LL Bean.

O, dear LL Bean...after several years of being a loyal costomer of yours, i have to say, you are loosing a quality, you always been so proud. Three returns from me in one month! I try to do monogram on this bag, just a simple letter on the front of the bag. They saw the part of the bag that has zipper in monogram...so the bag became not usable....

i've been super happy with this bag for 3-4 years of light, occasional use (packing clothing in car for weekend trips, overnights, etc.) but this past weekend i took it to the pool and the blue handle got a little wet (i guess, i didn't even notice) and the area where it touched the bag now is stained blue! tried to dab it off to no avail. when i contacted customer service they said the color will bleed if the fabric is wet. in general, most fabrics are a bit more colorfast than this, and i would expect that something called a "boat and tote" shouldn't bleed to easily! i'm really disappointed, i expected something that was a little more able to withstand normal use.

So, recently bought the medium boat tote to use as a book bag and it is way too small to hold two textbooks and binders. I had an extensive chat with a customer service rep deciding between the medium and large and based on their advice went with the medium with the zip top and long handles. Unfortunately, I had it monogramed and am stuck with it. So, if you want to use this tote for more than one textbook and binder, definitely buy the large