Totes are one of the most usable/functional kind of bags, but they have one major weakness, which is water ingress. This was a huge pain for me when I used to do darkroom stuff because the school's darkroom didn't have big workspaces, so a self-standing tote on the floor was perfect for working out of. But if it rained, I would ruin a lot of very expensive photo paper walking there.
I really admire these Chester Wallace totes for having a simple solution to this problem -- waxed canvas and a flop-over design should keep rain out of the main compartment, while it still has that nice practical bucket shape.
The Chrome Barrage Tote, currently out of stock, is also a nice solution, with a waterproof construction and rolltop closure.
There are lots of other totes out there with zipper top closures, but many of them aren't seam-sealed and don't have water-resistant zippers, plus zipper closures usually make a tote harder to work out of.
What I'd really like to see is a roll top tote with relatively long and stiff handles, with either clasps or magnets on the handles and the mouth of the roll top, that would let you unroll the opening and temporarily attach it to the handles to keep it open to get into the contents.