Why call them "Manila"? Did they originate in the Philippines? Per the OED the name came about because they were originally made of manila paper a product of manila hemp aka abacà. Are they a thrilla from Manila? Not that surely. They are as boring as any office supply can be exciting only in their loss.They are heavy paper folded in half to enclose other usually lighter pieces of paper. They have extra pieces (aka tabs) that stick up so that you can write something to ID the papers within. However that does not prevent one from misfiling them and believing that the contents are lost or never existed in the first place (hence the only possible excitement; getting a paper cut from an edge is not exciting only messy and painful).They have little if any personality. They are inert. They are submissive. They will only go where I put them including the wrong place in the file cabinet.I would buy them again only once this box has been used and reused to shreds.
What can be said about these folders? Are they just like standard folders? Of course not. They are top-notch. I literally drove to Staples exclusively for these folders: a special dedicated trip. They are not just purple but even described as "grape" online. Now that's attractive! These three-tab letter size 11-point flat stock folders were what I was searching for to prepare for a new academic year. Where else can you buy 100 folders for less than $20? They have proved to be especially useful. I would highly recommend these to anyone.