Don't go with the messenger bags. There's a good thread on such bags at Engadget or Gizmodo. I think the identifying search term is "gadget bag."
Don't go with the messenger bags.
Why not?
Personal peeve: I just think messenger bags look silly without the bike and the tattoos.
There's this thread at Engadget where lots of people recommend messenger bags.
I have a laptop sleeve, so the bag doesn't have to have one
Are these any good? I'm getting a new laptop this weekend, and since I already have a regular messenger bag I like I figured I'd just get a sleeve. But I'm not sure if lacking straps & such for the laptop inside the bag would be problematical.
With the optional organizer packet, and maybe the stabilizer strap. The person I know who has one has both of those, and likes the bag a lot.
I've had a timbuk2 messenger bag, waxed canvas, medium size. I've used it for about 5 years, every day and it's still in great shape. It's a perfect airplane carry-on bag, totally malleable and stuffable. You can fit a week's worth of clothes in it if you're insistent. I use it to take my laptop to work on a bike -- it's truly bitchin' for biking, not surprisingly.
Recommended highly.
Neil, do you put the laptop in a sleeve?
No accessories needed. I've never used a laptop sleeve, for that matter, wild man that I am.
Go with a backpack that can be a shoulder bag in a pinch. They're more ergonomic, and the last thing you need is back pain. Timbuk2 makes some. How big is your computer?
(And nothing bad has ever happened to my laptop.) I like the lack of compartments very much. No matter what I pack in it, I can give it a comfortable shape. You learn what to pack against the back side, etc.
It's also very comfortable for carrying around lots of books, by the way, I remember having had back pain with a too-heavy over-the-shoulders backpack.
4: Yeah, that was the thread. I really liked the Crumpler bags, though I think I ended up going with REI for my (different) needs. In any case, all of those manufacturers make other, non-messenger bags. It's not a matter of authenticity, per se--I just don't personally look cool enough to carry it off. But then, hey, I don't handmake my own furniture, either, so knock yourself out.
my committee says reload custom:
http://reloadbags.com/bags/civilian.php
Oooh. Fuck. Like the Reload that's linked. In that color.
Saheli, you're just trying to make me mad, aren't you?
Get one of them saddle bags like Dylan McKay used to have.
Timbuk2 for sure. Love love love mine which I've used just about every day for the past 5 years. Have not used a laptop sleeve and the computer's been fine but has gotten scratched a bit so I would recommend one.
I am a cyclist (not a messenger though), and I like Chrome Bags the best. They have the best closure system.
I'd check out Tom Bihn, too. (I have one of their backpacks, which has served me very well.)
Boyfriend has a Timbuk2 bag, also waxed canvas (which sadly they no longer make). He loves it, and it does look good in an inconspicuous way, and is surprisingly roomy. He puts groceries in the damn thing, for heaven's sake.
And yeah, sleeve. I have a Tom Bihn sleeve, which is awesome. Velcro closure, no screwing around. Good sleeve.
It's true, you can fit two bags of groceries in it, but when it's empty, it's quite compact. I find it way less cumbersome than the fitted laptop case I have. (And easier to sit on.)
This may be too small, but should be very durable.
http://www.brenthaven.com/catalog-fusion-black.html
I've had one of their backpacks for over 10 years, and it could last another 10.
I know you will all hate this but I gesture at it anyway.
28: Nothing else quite says "I am a copier repairman" quite so convincingly.
Like Tim, I dislike messanger bags for reasons I cannot quite articulate. Nonetheless, it might be a good fit for ogged's personal idiom.
Since we're on the topic of bags, if anyone, in their searches across the wide internets, has ever come across a sleek-looking backpack or convertible bag (meaning one that doesn't look like it belongs to a college student, but rather to an adult woman with neck and shoulder problems) that's not outrageously expensive, feel free to let me know.
I don't know anyone who's dissatisfied with their Timbuk2 bag, but I put a lot of wear and tear on my bags and I haven't bought a Timbuk2 for fear that the inside lining might chip or peel after a while.
If you want something cheap, uou can pick up a canvas messenger bag at most Army-Navy stores for under 30 dollars. If you want to spend more, the custom made Freitag bags are kind of cool (and used ones get sold on Ebay pretty frequently). Ghurka bags look less bike-messengery than the Timbuk2s and they're on sale right now for about the same price.
Looking at this Freitag page is almost enough to put me off messenger bags. As someone said to me, they look like something the people in the pictures would wear.
Slol, I've seriously considered the aluminum Halliburton case, but I want something that can also hold clothes.
I was hoping to get to it first, but I second SCMT's recommendation of Crumpler bags. I don't own one (I'm currently using a laptop holding messenger bag I got for free this summer), but I've heard nothing but good things.
32: OK, smartass. If you're like this when you're not getting laid, I cringe to think what a blowjob or two are going to do.
Slol, I've seriously considered the aluminum Halliburton case, but I want something that can also hold clothes.
Ogged died when they took out a third of his kidney, and something else came back in his place. Something evil.
they look like something the people in the pictures would wear.
Ogged, they're European. And look at those huge bags Trucker Hat guy is carrying. He's probably a refugee from one of those European wars or something.
Ogged, they're European.
How long are we going to let people use this as an excuse?
Since you appear to be in the market for a man-purse, ogged, I wouldn't get rid of that excuse just yet.
This is the one I use, it has less of the bike messenger look. I've been really happy with it, though it's a little small to be a real weekend bag.
I've used a Chrome bag for bicycle commuting and daily use and travel abroad for three years now, it's still like new. I saw a product review where they set off a charge of dynamite inside one and the bag survived. The wife has used a Timbuk2 for four, but it looks like it (the bag I mean (no, the messenger bag)).
A widescreen d-top-rep laptop is a snug fit in the Chrome Citizen with little room for more stuff, but it's comfortable, and Chrome's got all sorts of quality accessories.
Fashion is a state of mind. And a seatbelt buckle.
I got a nice bag at a store called Little Otsu in the Mission.
Timbuk2 bags used to be bomb-proof (mine survived a 30MPH motorcycle crash with just a little scuff), but they recently moved manufacturing overseas and I'm not sure their quality is quite as good as it used to be. But if you're planning on carrying a laptop in it for any length of time, reconsider the messenger bag. I completely fucked up my shoulder carrying a laptop and a bunch of other stuff in my Timbuk2 on my daily commute. (I have what's now the XL Classic Cordura.)
I have heard the apple stores have inexpensive and reasonably good quality laptop bags and sleeves. T2 make good bags but I think their quality has slipped.
I have one of these:
http://www.ebags.com/ogio/city_corp_2006/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=73687
Best damn bag I've ever owned. Perfect for exactly what you describe, overnight or lite weekend travel with notebook, a few 'pute accesories, a change of clothes and basic toiletries.
Jesus people, what is with this neon shit?
Not cheap, but Filson's stuff is top notch. They make the kind of stuff you own for decades. Specifically, this or this.
Specifically it was one of these with the black/grey/persimmon colors.
Plainly, the prudent course is to pry young bag manufacturers for the Limited Edition Unfogged Satchel. ogged's will be covered in diamonds. And kindneys.
Graphic designers, step forward.
51: That is one sweetass bag. I want one.
There are some fairly practical and cheap military surplus bags that can carry laptops:
http://www.foxoutdoor.com/detail.asp?bid=772&sctn=Bags+%26+Packs&cat=Shoulder+Bags
My day to day bag is one of these http://www.deutscheoptik.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=57
[that's a crappy photo even when enlarged] which is a great size. I can fit a book, small notepad, (film) camera and a mobile phone in it, comfortably. Bit too small for anything but a very small laptop, though. It's more of a handbag than anything else.
this one is fantastic, i know: its in canada...:)
I love Crumpler. They have the best names for their bags. My partner's had 3 of their camera bags, I think, they're very high quality, and hold their value very well on eBay.co.uk! I've got an Ortlieb, a large silver Zip City, which is *huge*. But I'd like something smaller for every day.
(My large is actually what they call Medium.)
But a bag called "Blogger" probably wins.
Here you go: the Aerostich Parcel Bag
Oh, I didn't see #7. My #60 is just a bigger version of it. Go Aerostich!
I also have this Ortlieb bag. Waterproof, but a bit stiff and unwieldy.
Snap then GB! Which size/colour? Don't find mine stiff, but maybe it's been sat on more than yours.
Both my Aerostich and my Ortlieb bags are black. The Ortlieb is stiffer because of the waterproof material, including the rubber-coated zipper track. But it's handy in the rain, in river rafting, etc. And I haven't sat on it much.
Oh, and the Ortlieb is the large size.
The military surplus bag in 55 is excellent, best thing I've seen on this thread; but it does not appear to be available online, you have to seek it out in a military surplus store.
(I mean the shoulder bag linked in 55. As to musettes, I've used them from time to time and they are great, but seem to wear out over the course of a year or two. I keep using them past the point where they are worn out, and lose stuff. And then a long interval passes before I buy a new one.)
(Also: "best thing I've seen on this thread" should be followed by a parenthetical ", not having followed all of the links".)
re: 67
Yeah, I've had my musette bag for less than a year and it's already looking a little worn. It's handly though, it has some little hooks and loops that are presumably for hanging various bits of military kit from.
If looped just right, they can hold a camera tripod when it's collapsed, which is great for me. I can throw a camera in the bag along with my normal junk and take a tripod too.
jeesuz. here we all are, blokes together, talking about our favourite handbags. there are people who claim that the main effect of modern feminism has been that modern women have fallen into imitating the worst and stupidest traits of men, but nobody ever notices the vice versa.
Don't find mine stiff, but maybe it's been sat on more than yours.
Heh.
I appprove of ttaM's army surplus bags in 55.
All blokes together? Ahem.
71 - snigger. Bet your large is what they call a medium too, apo.
Okay, let's liven this thread up: Who here thinks 9/11 was either carried out or intentionally allowed to happen by the Bush administration?
I think September 11th has been intentionally allowed to occur every year, by every administration in history.
Actually, I meant to post #74 in the "Cheers" thread about why other countries cheer against the USA. I meant to be tangentially off-topic, not completely off-topic.
I'm with 34 and another comment made by gswift: These bags all look too future-y. Neon canvas is only permitted for bike messengers, who won't stoop to wear it anyway, and the Welsh. If you want something that you can also use as a travel bag, you should go with leather.
Leather bags are HEAVY. Plus, you shouldn't get them wet.
75: Typical for you left-liberal scum to ignore the legacy of King George II.
Yeah, 55 is the best of the bunch. If you're going to buy a purse, at least buy one that will last a while and will not lose it's appeal as color trends change in a couple years.
I like the Jack Spade bags. The messenger bags / satchels are very tidy and come in nice colours. Also, you can unpick the label if you want to.
No, Ogged needs one of those Freitag bags. Why? Because according to this person "all the freitag bags I've seen in person smelled like a funky wetsuit."
I also approve of 'Smasher's leather bag in 78 (a West Coast-East Coast division may be revealing itself). I also note that $30 is a ridiculously low price for that thing and suspect that if the exact same bag were being marketed to women it wouldn't go for under a hundred.
Smasher's bag is nice (and wicked inexpensive), but I still think that my bag, in 51, is nicely sedate and stately, with just a little splash of color to enliven it. It says: sure, I'm a classy guy, but I'm not straight-laced.
Well, on the same site it's $70 when it's for women. So, not quite, but I think your point is made.
Something like that is my briefcase/bag on workdays. It's not all that heavy, nor is it hypersensitive to getting wet.
Ah, but it's not the same! The flap only goes down 3/4 of the way, the strap is thinner, there's a little silver buckle---in short, it's uglier.
Also, $30 is a sale (or in some way reduced) price; the regular price is $60.
Mmm, I clicked on that link, thinking, "yeah, but leather's *expensive*", and then was rather surprised.
Like the look of Freitag though. Whilst I'm not sure about 'funky', I love the smell of wetsuits. I leave ours hanging in the bathroom for far longer than is necessary so I can sniff them, and think to myself when I wake up, "I love the smell of neoprene in the morning."
It wouldn't be any fun making the women's version more expensive if it didn't also suck worse. Actually, I expect the price difference is justified by having more pockets and zippers and shit on the women's version.
Why either version needs to be gendered, rather than being sold as the more pockets/less pockets version, I do not know.
The strap is thinner because it's for women, whose shoulders tend to be much stronger than men's.
The best laptop bag I've ever owned is the Brenthaven Fusion although it used to come in colors other than black. Probably couldn't hold clothes + laptop, though.
I have a weakness for bags in general, so this thread is making it very difficult for me to focus on work. Curse you all!
88: $70 is down from $150. Women are also calmer and more emotionally grounded, so better suited to reacting appropriately when the strap breaks and spills all our stuff all over the place.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Vegan Rubber Bag.
...and the Human Skin Bag! For that serial-killer look that's all the rage this fall.
I realize I'm probably in the minority here, but those neon- or nasty seventies-wannabe-colored canvas bags are fugly.
I like the look of the one LB links, but it runs into the shoulder problem. Surely someone has to make a backpack that looks that sleek.
Too bad your laptop's so big, ogged. These are lucky.
98 -- "Corporate Scrotum" is a decent band name.
I think I've narrowed it down to the Timbuk2 Blogger or the Crumpler Horseman.
78, 87: God, why does stuff made for women suck so much? The men's version is "I'm going to buy this now" beautiful (seriously, I am), the women's version is crap. The stitching? The buckle? Mother of Christ.
102: I like the women's bag. Smasher's bag looks like a leather GLAD kitchen trash bag.
Wilson's Ring Messenger bag is my favorite, probably (but the cell phone pocket disfigures it a bit). Not as inexpensive as 'Smasher's, though. I like #51, but I prefer leather or canvas to vinyl.
re: 102
My wife says the same thing about shoes, and she works in the 'shoe business'. Not that nice women's shoes aren't available, but that you can go into the men's section of any good shoe shop and find half a dozen pairs that look great and are nicely made.
You can't really be seriously considering buying something called "the Horseman."
I guess I'm just not as shallow as you, B.
Hey, the Horseman bag is way better. Better colors, for sure. Also, I think the "Blogger" bag stripe in the middle is ugly, and Timbuktu's logo sux.
Shallow? If you'd ever slept with me, you wouldn't be saying that.
108, you can choose whatever 3 colors you wnt for the panels of timbuk2 bags, unless they changed that too. Also, that Horseman bag looks like a life jacket, you've got to be kidding.
And it probably comes in different colours? Though I love that Crumpler olive green. Get the Crumpler.
More attractive picture of a Horseman bag. I approve, so you may want to rethink it. (The Blogger bag is grotesque; if you find yourself about to buy it, screw your courage to the sticking-place, go the full distance, and get the aluminum briefcase.)
I think I'm going to buy this men's wallet.
Are you kidding me? Ogged, do you want a bag that makes you look like an E-tard? If so, the Horseman is the bag for you.
Hmph. I don't know why Ogged thought I was trying to make him mad.
Because, Saheli, you suggested a backpack and asked about the size of my laptop, when the post says, no backpacks, and the dimensions of my laptop are....
Don't bother apologizing. It's over.
I think it's funny that people either think the Blogger is grotesque and the Horseman good (SCMT, me) or the reverse.
ogged is once again the only one that can cross the political divide.
116: That's just how ogged flirts. Which is to say, "Not well."
I got a branded trade show giveaway messenger bag. I like it a lot. It is shoddily constructed, but that just means that it is light. Plus, no authenticity problems with branded trade show giveaway messenger bags. I don't just look like I go to tradeshows, I really go to tradeshows.
Shallow? If you'd ever slept with me, you wouldn't be saying that.
We've discussed this previously.
Hey, shoddy construction and light weight have nothing to do with one another. (Shoddy construction and trade-show giveaways, on the other hand...)
I know we have. I'm newly encouraged in my campaign to achieve cunt/cock parity. Scroll down to item #3 on that post.
It's only orange on the inside.
If you'd slept with her you wouldn't say that.
That's a nice wallet, Monsieur.
Jesus, ogged. Why not just buy yourself a bra and be done with it?
I don't really approve of either of your chosen bags, ogged, but of them, the Crumple bag is less objectionable. The Blogger bag would make me check your shoes for velcro.
i just bought the "Miss Main" wallet from these people.
Lots of suggestions. I have and use a bag from CourierWare, their standard courier bag in medium, and I carry my laptop all around in it inside a laptop sleeve (one that they make as well), and it's never taken damage. I use it as my airplane carryon, and you can stuff things into it in all kinds of configurations.
I realize I'm probably in the minority here, but those neon- or nasty seventies-wannabe-colored canvas bags are fugly.
Everybody needs to put the pipe down and listen to Cala. Seriously.