This leather folio is beautiful! Quality leather and quality dying as well. I ordered the green, and it's a beautiful forest green color, saturated but not at all showy or obnoxious like some dyed leathers. Also, it's very soft and supple "” it's not all hard and crackly feeling like other cheap dyed folios. I had a cheapo from Staples that got me through, but I was always kind of ashamed of it. It was black, shiny, faux grained, and somewhat puffy in that it was too padded. It seemed like I was borrowing my grandpa's notebook or something. This one has a little personality to it but is still 100% professional. Great interior pockets in 3 sizes for all kind of storage (my nerdy heart is swooning)! A little pen holder in the middle and a pad of paper was included (and it's nice quality paper!) This folio won't hold a side-bound notebook, only a top-bound, on the 8.5" side "” FYI. P.S. the packaging this puppy arrives in is gift-worthy!

I have been interviewing for jobs and using an old portfolio that I had. It does the job, but I wanted something that really looked polished and professional. When you're in an interview, the interviewer is across from you and staring at you and anything you've brought along with you. That means the portfolio is actually a pretty big part of your first impression. I've looked at a few portfolios at Target and on Amazon and a lot of them have looked cheap to me, unless you're willing to spend over $120. This one is perfect for what I was looking for! It's very professional looking. It doesn't have that plastic or bulky look that most portfolios I've seen can have. I was actually really impressed by how polished this one is.

My only wish is that it was a little easier to slide papers into the folder. For reference, I've had to fit 12 pieces of paper. They do fit, but I believe this is about the max. Prepare to take some time getting them in nicely if you want to make sure they don't bunch up and wrinkle. One tip that helped is to put in a something like a very small magazine in first to make space, then push the papers in and remove the magazine. I'm hoping the leather will stretch a bit as I use it so that this isn't a challenge. For me, it's worth it even with the tight fit because I do like the slim profile of the portfolio. I am very happy with my purchase!

I have had this padfolio for a couple weeks, and I love it. I actually bought it for my Rhodia #18 pad, since I was tired of the pad getting folded and creased when I put it into my bag. I took the stock pad out and was able to replace it with my pad without any problems.

I have been keeping a Uni-ball vision elite pen inside the folio. It is a pretty big pen, but the folio holds it without an issue and it does not interfere with the pad or the papers I keep in the pocket. The leather does noticeably form and around the pen on the inside of the folio, but there are no creases or bumps on the outside. I would recommend you choose one style of pen to use and stick to it, because if I replaced it with a smaller pen now, the pen pocket would probably be loose. Not a big deal - all leather products will break in over time.

I keep 15-20 sheets of letter paper in the pocket and have never had any creases, tears, etc. when I put them in or take them out. I would 100% trust it with resumes or other pieces of paper you want to keep nice. Sometimes you have to work them in, but it doesn't take too much effort. I keep letters and folded papers in the medium pocket and business cards/index cards in the small pockets.

I do have a few minor gripes with the folio. First, the window pocket has a really tight fit and I actually had to trim my business card down to get it in there. The stitching on the window pocket and small front pocket has a tendency to catch business cards and makes them a pain to pull out. I have my business cards turned 90 degrees in the small pocket to help mitigate this issue. If you are a sales guy that is constantly handing out business cards you might find this frustrating though.

Another point of possible improvement is the pad. Like I said, I never intended to use the original pad, but I did check it out. The paper seemed fine, but the pages did not tear out cleanly for me. But, you can always do like I did and replace the pad with one you like if it doesn't work for you.

The padfolio arrived in a nice box and I think it would make a great gift. Overall I think it is a really great value for the ~$37 I paid for it. If someone showed it to me, I would have guessed that it cost more than that. Would buy again.

I had just a couple quibbles with this portfolio, but not enough to take a star off. First, my quibbles:

1) For some reason, I thought this could be secured shut - I think I looked at the flap on the left side and thought that was the opening, rather than the hinge. There's no real way to "lock" this shut. Which, honestly, is fine, and is my own fault for not looking at the pictures close enough.

2) The two pockets on the left inside of the portfolio are just a tad bit too small to comfortable fit a standard sheet of computer paper. It can be done, but it takes some wiggling and pushing. Which, again, not that big of a deal, but you might want to carry a folder if you have a lot of sheets of paper.

Other than that, I thought this portfolio was well worth it. The leather is very nicely done, and it has been very functional for me so far. It definitely gives off that "professional, here-to-do-business" vibe that I was looking for. Given my two quibbles, I'd rate this 4.6 stars; not perfect, but still rounds to 5 stars.

I really love this portfolio. The leather is lovely. It's very professional looking and I use it for interviewing- both as an interviewer and an interviewee. The only issue I have found is when a pen is inserted where it is intended to be stored, and you have papers in the section they are supposed to go (where I place copies of my resume), and close the portfolio- i've found it can slightly damage the side of the paper that is closest to the pen. Not a big issue, by any means and it may just be because I use thick paper for my resume? Or possibly because I have a stack of 6 papers. I've pushed them as far as they will go inside the area. Other than that- it is beautiful and fits everything I need!