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

I purchased in November and didn't receive until mid January. The quality of the bag is not like it used to be, poor stitching and cheaper feel.

For a product that's almost $60 and back ordered for months at a time, I was really expecting higher quality than what I just received. As a long time Bean customer who owns various sized Bean totes from years ago, this quality is nowhere near the older versions. I don't consider myself a picky person in general, but the stitching and sewing on this bag is not great. The fabric is puckered, there's loose stitching and messy thread everywhere. The bag looks like it was pumped out as quickly as possible with very little attention to finishing details. Also not sure what's happening with the end of the blue handles inside the bag.

just as pictured great quality, I don't like the color, usually online photos are not accurate very accurate pink

I LIKE THE ZIPPER ON THIS BAG - BUT IT IS RATHER STIFF - WHICH I AM NOT QUITE FOND OF

I waited for this bag via back order and was very excited to use this for my dog stuff! Be aware of the pictures don't look like what they do in real life, the regular size straps are so tiny. I can barely get my arm through them. If I had known that, I guess I would've ordered the longer straps and the bag itself seems very flimsy and thin. Unfortunately, I doubt I can return it because I had it monogrammed. I looked at all the sizing before ordering and this unfortunately this just did not live up to the hype.

Be careful of the dimensions listed on the site. I called customer support once I received the 2 bags and unpacked them. They are HUGE, much larger than the dimensions indicated on the listing. Customer support (although very nice and helpful) told me the measurements are taken when the bag is full so it's like a cube, not seam to seam. That is the craziest thing I've ever heard. They are taking care of sending me 2 more bags but I was so disappointed as I purchased for my college girls who leave next week (paid extra for quick shipping) and I was going to take them to get their names put on locally. Now I will have to pay to ship them once I have the names added and one is now on backorder.

Took almost a month for this backordered tote to be finally delivered only to be left disappointed that they sent an open top one instead of the zip up that I originally ordered. Called the customer service line and they offered to send the right one and have me send this one back, however I found that to be a bit wasteful since it was monogrammed and I did not want to wait another week or so for the other one to be sent, so I decided to keep it and ask them to refund the difference. No apology was offered during the entire call and no other solutions to make this right by me even thought I saved them the money by accepting to keep the open one anyway. Only after I asked the rep if they could at least give me a discount for another order since I was planning on getting another one anyway, after a really long pause they told me the best they could do is just refund the shipping I paid for this one. Left a sour taste, wanted to be a life-long customer, but not so sure anymore.

I was a bit disappointed by the stitching that attaches the top zipper piece to the tote bag. There were a lot of loose threads and messy stitching. Not the normal LL Bean quality.

Very disappointed in the embroidery. The bag itself is fantastic! But either the embroidery has changed over the years or the quality control has gone down. I have another bag with the exact same name, same font and all the letters are great and bold but when I received this bag, the letters were thin, not fully embroidered and both i's were different sizes

Nice strong bag, I use all the time for going between multiple houses. As a beach bag, though it is inferior to many because it invariable loses keys. Need a key fob and interior zip pocket for small items like lip balm. Others are better because they have this design, so is it an option LL Bean could add, at least to some models?

The bag is good but the monograms are just not okay now. This monogram is at least a decent size, but it is not centered. And the thread is inconsistent, even within single letters part will be thick and then part of the letter will have gaps or patchy edges. I am used to embroidered letters having crisp edges and uniform stitching. Additionally, there is discoloration on the front under the first letter. Then inside, there is discoloration splattered around the monogram. I am assuming it is from someone making a mistake and having to rip out the monogram and redo it. But it does not come off.

Similar to other reviews, the bag I received had threads sticking out everywhere. The monogram is also VERY small, with tons of blank space around it that could easily have been utilized to make the monogram larger. I do not understand why the monograms now only utilize like a third of the width of the space between the handles. Parts of some of the letters on this one are also missing or have very sparse thread. The old monograms look so professional and are aesthetically sized. I honestly could have done my monogram by hand and it would look better. How do we specify if we would like monograms sized and sewn the way they used to be? Also! Please bring back the custom bags!!

My old bag has a 2"x3" letter on it. It is attractive. The new one came through with a 7/8" x 1 1/2 " monogram. When did they change the size? The bag would look better without that puny letter on it. There was no indication of size when ordering.

Good quality, but SO stiff that it's almost uncomfortable. Had thought I was ordering the same bag as my daughter's, but turns out that was from another company. Wish I had paid closer attention and ordered from the other company. I like the zipper enclosure, but miss having any additional pockets on the inside or outside. Wish I hadn't had it monogrammed as I would return it in a heart beat.

Just received my small boat and tote. I have another one that looks great but unfortunately this small has messy, not great seams. Bummer.

Ever since the day I got the bag the handle has been unraveling.

Pretty disappointed. Soo many loose threads with the zipper top

I've had this bag for a month and today a small amount of water happened to land right on the embroidery. It wicked through the embroidery and I found out the hard way it does not have color fast dye. Now the bag is permanently stained and customer service is telling me they cannot help me:) if you buy this bag, either don't embroider or pick the canvas color

It was a Christmas present and came the middle of January. It was estimated to come in mid December.

I dont know for the life of me why this is a bestseller, inner or outer pockets. The land ends version is way better! I will stick to that one. Even trader joes bag is better.

Just got this in today it was a gift and I was looking forward to LL bean quality. Will be returning

The worst all the stiching is coming off from all u

We purchased the first LLBEAN Boat and Tote back in mid 1980s.The quality of the tote was marvelous. It was sturdy, with thick material, tight stitches and lovely pine corns design. It went with us on numerous trips, carried items when our kids moved to their colleges. After all of those years, I thought it is the time to get a new one. I could not believe the poor quality of this new tote. The workmanship is shabby, the stitches are sloppy, loose threads are dangling that at least should be trimmed, it is near impossible to close the zipper. I returned the tote. I am so disappointed while mourning over the beloved that seems is a long lost LL Bean quality.

I've been waiting months for my canvas medium zip top with long straps. Upon receiving it, I immediately had trouble with the zipper. It was very difficult to open and close. It needed to be pulled and held at a certain angle. I was thinking it may just need to be broken in, but looking closer it might be the uneven stitching/sewing application of the zipper entirely (when closed there are giant bumps that indicate there is a misalignment). I don't even use the zipper option because of how inconvenient and time-consuming it is. But now the entire zipper is unraveling, and there are loose threads EVERYWHERE. I've had the bag for about 2 weeks now and did not expect it to fall so quickly. Absolutely disappointed

I ordered this bag on December 5th 2024. The bag was not delivered until August.