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Messenger bag fans, it’s time to grab your wallet

NEWS – My favorite style of EDC bag is a messenger style bag. Although I’ve never given a backpack a real try (should I?), I have been carrying a messenger bag with me to work for as long as I can remember (decades even).

One of my favorite bag designers is WaterField Designs in San Francisco and they recently announced the Executive Leather Messenger bag and it’s a stunner. The bag is available in two sizes and is handcrafted from full-grain leather that gives it a rugged but classy look that will only get better with time, wear and tear.

The Executive Leather Messenger bag features WaterField’s signature gold interior that makes it easier to see all the small items that tend to fall to the bottom of the bag, and several organization pockets that are designed to hold up to a 15-inch laptop, tablets, and your daily gear.

This bag is available in 2 leather styles including the grizzly leather version shown here and a black leather version. You can order one for $379 – $399 depending on the size you prefer: compact or full, and it will ship within 5 days. Head over to sfbags.com for all the details.

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Messenger bag fans, it’s time to grab your wallet originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 4, 2019 at 4:50 pm.

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Alpaka 7VEN Mini messenger bag review

REVIEW – Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m Ian, and I’m a messenger bagaholic.  Through the years I’ve had no-name messengers, multiple  Timbuk2s, a custom made BO-Gear and the list goes on.  When I found another Australian messenger company, Alpaka Gear (yeah, not a very Aussie name. Why isn’t it the Roo, or the Echidna or the Koala? 🙂 )  I knew I had to get my fix and give them a try. How well does it fit my addiction? Will it be the one? Read on………

What is it?

A messenger bag is a messenger bag is a messenger bag.  Obviously, a messenger bag is a very personal item, it’s size, how many pockets, how heavy are all factors that will determine if a messenger bag is for you. Over time as mentioned above, I’ve had multiple messengers all of which get used at different times depending on my requirements such as carry capacity.  The 7Ven Mini Messenger is what I’d consider a medium size messenger designed to be used both for business and personal use and has some very handy features.

Specifications

The 7Ven Mini Messenger comes in 3 colours, black, brown and faux wool. The unit I received is black (at my request 🙂 ).

Dimensions

  • 26 (10.2) x 33 (12.9) x 17 (6.6) cm/in
  • 15-20 litres
  • 1.1 kg (2.4 lb)

Exterior
Exterior 1000D Ballistic Nylon (Black / Brown) | 750D Nylon FauxWool (Grey)

Lining
210D Ripstop Nylon

Design and features

The front flap has a slash pocket on the front for easy access.   There’s a nice “overhang” over it which should keep water out if you should be singing in the rain. Interestingly the flap also has a hard insert in it. This makes sure that the front flaps falls correctly and keeps its form ( well that’s my take) as items in this front pocket sit in front of the hard insert, so the insert’s not there for protection. This pocket is great for those items you need easy access to without opening the main flap.

Locking the bag is this neat Fidlock magnetic connector. It’s actually pretty cool and once you get used to it, it’s much easier to open and close than your standard press clip. It makes a nice satisfying “click” when you close it. The connector strap is adjustable for carrying different size loads.

For additional security, there’s also a big velcro patch. Because of the size of the pad, you can overstuff your bag and the front flap still remains secured and you adjust the fidlock for that additional layer of protection.  If however, you don’t like that velcro “RRRRIPPPP” noise then while secure, this bag is very loud when you open it. Not good in a quiet, meditative environment. That being said if you look closely you’ll see I’ve minimized this using some double sided velcro tape from the discount store for about $2, only about a metre and a half more and I’ll have used it all up 🙂   I can easily remove my homemade “velcro silencers” if required.

The front pocket has 7 elasticized pockets so you can easily organise all those bibs and bobs you need quick access to. There’s a keyfob too for securing your keys. The grey ripstop inner liner throughout makes it easy to see your items.

The main compartment is fairly sizeable, there’s a padded notebook/tablet pouch with velcro securing strap which should take up to a 14″ device and there are 3 padded pockets on the front.

On the top is a very nice leather padded handle and on the back a strap for using your bag with a wheelie suitcase.

On the back is another compartment with 2 large pockets.  Note the nice leather touches on the pockets.

On the left is the main strap adjustment cam buckle.  There’s also a holder so that you can keep the excess strap from flapping around. This is especially useful if you’re using in briefcase mode. The ends of all the straps are finished off with a piece of leather.  Not really a functional addition but a nice aesthetic touch.

Pretty much with every one of my bags the corners are the first to go.  This messenger has some nice leather corner protectors as well as 4 small feet.  This adds some cushioning and also goes some way to protecting your bag from sitting in the dirt when you put it down. Because the bag is a triangular shape and because of the padding the bag sits upright most times when putting down rather than falling over or just “flopping”.

The shoulder strap pad is nice and long, and there’s an integrated zipper pocket along its length with a nice waterproof zipper. Very handy for keep things like say your transport or access card. The strap pad is also removable.

What I like

I really do like this bag. I’ve been using it over the last couple of week for work and for weekends.  It’s about the right size for my EDC to work but has the flexibility to expand out if I need to take more additional stuff some mornings, or if I need to bring something else back from work (like say the two mesh routers I received the other day).  The padding inside is enough that you don’t have to put any of your delicate items into additional cases. There’s enough pockets in enough places to have a place for everything though you will have to remember where you put them.

What I’d change

There’s not much I’d change in this bag. As mentioned in the beginning a lot of it comes down to personal preference. A few suggestions that would make it better for me:

  • reflective striping for night use
  • some “dog ears” on the main flap to keep things more secure and safe
  • a blinky light strap

However, there is one MAJOR thing I would change and it’s big enough to make me not use this bag as an EDC long term. All the great features are badly outweighed by just one variable.  If you look at the adjustment cam buckle it’s on the left of the bag.  Now I wear my messengers with the strap sitting on the left-hand shoulder which means that with this bag the cam is actually sitting behind you.  This makes it VERY hard to easily adjust the bag.  I tend to wear my messengers high on my back as this means you’re not bending over trying to compensate for the weight of the bag and its contents. Sometimes just adjusting an inch or so on the go makes a huge difference to the comfort. I cannot easily adjust with this bag.  When I’m using this as a photography bag I want to be able to release the cam to lower the bag, get my camera gear out, take the shot, and then put the bag back high on my back. I just can’t do this with this bag. Even being able to release the cam to take the bag off over my head or put it back on and shorten the strap feels “wrong” and awkward.

I actually thought maybe I’d received a left-handed version of the bag and sent an email to the manufacturer.  Their response was “The 7ven Messenger and 7ven Mini were only made to carry over the right shoulder”.  I tried this but it just doesn’t feel right.  Even little things like the Alpaka logo being upside down and the front flap pocket being the “wrong way” for easy access when you put it on your left-hand shoulder supports their claim.

Final thoughts

All up this is a great bag and would easily be my EDC EXCEPT  for the cam buckle being designed for people that carry their messengers on their right-hand shoulder (predominantly left-handed people?) . All the major strap adjustment benefits of using a messenger are basically lost to me because of the setup. If you do wear your messenger on your right-hand shoulder then I’d highly recommend this bag however for me it looks like the search for the perfect messenger continues.

Price: $ 189 USD
Where to buy: From Alpaka Gear
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Alpaka Gear

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Alpaka 7VEN Mini messenger bag review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 1, 2019 at 10:14 am.

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Cecilia Lambert 12L camera bag review

REVIEW – My ideal travel camera bag is a messenger/satchel style bag. Whether I’m walking, cycling or riding a motorcycle, this style of bag allows me to easily swing the bag around, get out my camera gear, take the shot, replace my camera and then swing the bag back around. Much easier than having to remove a backpack, open it, get the gear out, close the backpack, put it somewhere, take the shot, replace the camera gear, close up the backpack, put the backpack back on….you get the idea.  In the past I’ve just used standard messengers (e.g Timbuk2) so when Cecilia offered to sent one of their line of camera bags I put my hand up to review. How did it work out?  Read on:

What is it?

Cecilia is an American company with a 160-year heritage in the leather industry, which shows in the quality of the quality materials used in its products. For their camera messenger line, they offer two options: the Tharp 8L  or the Lambert 12L.  Of course, you don’t have to use it as a camera bag, it can also be used as an EDC, something I’ve been doing for the last few weeks during the week and then as a camera bag on the weekends. In the end, I opted for the Lambert as the larger size made it just a little bit more flexible.

Lambert Specification

  • Exterior: 10.75″H x 15.25″W x 5.75″D (27.3cm x 38.7 x 14.6cm)
  • Interior: 10″H x 14.75″W x 4.25″D (25.4cm x 37.5cm x 10.8cm)
  • Weight: 2.75 lb (1.25 kg) (Cotton twill)
  • Weight: 2.8 lb (1.27 kg) (Leather)

What’s in the box?

The Lambert came in a nice reusable cloth bag.  It was really nice not to get something in a plastic bag that’s just going to be thrown away (recycled). I’m sure I can find a use for this bag somewhere in the future.

Design and features

Given their heritage in leather they offer both lines in either a black or chestnut leather and also a charcoal cotton twill. I decided to go for cotton twill as I really like cotton/canvas type bags and I thought it was (to me) more aesthetically pleasing with its charcoal twill and chestnut leather trim. The leather trim on the main flap and on the shoulder pad really offsets the charcoal twill nicely.  The strap is nice and strong and all hardware is painted metal.

On the back is a nice closed cell foam pad for both comfort and or airflow.  On the top of the pad is a zip so that you can use it as a pocket to store say documents or magazines but if you also open the bottom zip then it becomes a pouch to put on the handle of your roller luggage.

Open up the flap and there are 2 big pockets on the front.  Perfect to store all those little bibs and bob that you don’t want tumbling around in the main compartment or that you want easy access to.  There’s also some airflow padding on the shoulder pad.  On the back is a laptop/tablet sleeve for up to a 13.3″. The positioning of this is very handy because you can just open the flap and get your notebook out, especially useful if you’re going through the x-ray machine at the airport.  You don’t have to open the main compartment to get your laptop out for scanning.  When closed the main flap is held in place with magnets.  You can see the two magnets on the bottom of the front pockets. This is great as, while velcro is probably stronger, you don’t get that “RIIIIP” sound when you open the bag.  Nice and discrete especially if you’re taking photos or using the bag in a quiet environment.

The front pockets are nice and big and zippered so things won’t fall out. They’re perfect for things like battery packs or sd cards, a pen, a notebook or similar. For me, they’re big enough that I can fit my whole hand in if I need to “rummage” around in the pocket to find something small.

There are also two pockets on the sides.  They are quite deep and not overly expandable so ideal for a small notebook or your phone.  You wouldn’t want to put something too small in there though as they’d drop to the bottom and would make it hard to get it out.

The bag comes with two “modes”. Firstly there’s secure mode.  Do up the main zipper and no matter what you do nothing will come out of the main compartment.  Again your notebook is in the back of the bag and can be easily accessed in this mode without opening the main compartment.  Also, note the two leather tags on the zippers which makes it easy to access the zippers. Note the 3 round magnets on the top of the main compartment.

The other mode is “shooting” mode.  This is where the magnets indicated above come into play.  With the main compartment unzipped, the corresponding magnets on the flap mean that opening the flap also opens the main compartment.  This is great if you’re in a situation where you’re putting your camera in and out of the bag frequently. You get quick access to the main compartment and your equipment without having to muck around. The inside is nicely padded and has a soft fleece lining. Because of the foam padding the bag stands by itself.

Equipment

So there’s my collection of camera gear I normally carry around with me: a Panasonic G3 micro 4/3rd mirrorless,  2 Takumar circa 1970s prime lenses passed down  to me from my father ( 50mm/f1.4, 25mm/f2.5)  the standard Panasonic 14-90 zoom, a Nillkin flash (hardly use), my Gorilla pod  and a Canon S120.  A bit of a sad collection of (old) gear for a Gadgeteer to have, but they do the job and do it well.

Inside is three removable velcro attached dividers. When I use a messenger, everything just “rattles around” in the main compartment meaning I have to rummage around to find what I want. In this system, everything in its place and a place for everything.  Additionally, the bag being padded means that I can put all my gear in “naked” whereas with a standard messenger each component goes into some sort of individual protection. This makes it quicker and easier to grab and use something and then put it back in the bag.

What I like

  • I really do like the cotton twill with leather trims.
  • The foam back pad makes it comfortable to carry.
  • The compartments and padding make it easier to store and use my equipment.
  • The “secure” and “shooting” modes are really convenient.
  • It’s easy to get access to your notebook/tablet.
  • The bag stands by itself.
  • When used as an EDC rather than a camera bag, it limits how much I carry (12L).

What needs to be improved

  • With my previous canvas/cotton bags, the bottom corners tend to be the first to go. Given their heritage of leather, perhaps some leather corner protectors would add some additional protection and longevity.
  • Having a briefcase/grab handle would make it just a little bit more versatile on the go.
  • While the twill is coated to make it water resistant, if it got caught in a big downpour, your expensive camera gear would get soaked and water would stay in the padded foam.  A (built-in?) rain cover would protect against this. 
  • You can see the magnets are imprinting on the twill. Not sure what will happen longer term.

Final thoughts

As mentioned, I’ve been using this as an EDC for work during the week and carrying around my Surface Pro, an umbrella, my lunchbox, and various little bits and pieces.  As an EDC, this is a great bag for that.  However, because it’s a fix shape and size as an EDC for me it’s not flexible enough. Often a package might arrive or I need to take some additional stuff to or from work so I need a more flexible size/shape bag.

During the weekend however, it’s been used as a camera bag.  My biggest disappointment is that I don’t have enough gear to properly fill the bag 🙂 That being said, the smaller amount of gear makes it much easier to see, grab and use the correct gear.

These aren’t the cheapest bags around but they’re well thought out and well made, and if you’re looking something a bit fancier than that old ballistic nylon bag these certainly fit the bill.

Price: $289 – Cotton Twill / $439 – Leather
Where to buy: Direct from Cecilia
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Cecilia.

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Cecilia Lambert 12L camera bag review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 11, 2019 at 10:07 am.

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Timbuk2’s 30th anniversary messenger bag shows us the future

NEWS – Strap in, time travelers! Timbuk2 is celebrating their 30th anniversary with a brand new messenger bag that shows us what the future holds for style and design. Behold the CMB2049!

This bag is a sleek urban commuter that combines elements of the traditional Timbuk2 messenger designs with some new twists. There’s a ceramic printed front panel for extra protection, water resistant zips, and expandable panels for extra room. Magnetic Fidlock buckles secure your goods, and there are multiple external pockets for quick-grab items. The design features an ambidextrous shoulder strap and padded, ventilated back panel for comfort and hidden reflective hits for night riding. There’s a laptop sleeve sized for 13″ devices, and the whole package comes in at a trim 8 liter carrying capacity.

I like the new look… it’s futuristic without being overly tech heavy, and it seems to be sized just right to handle all the work essentials. I also like the new organization elements. Some older T2 bags had too many pockets for my preferences, but this one look like it has a nice balance for both smaller bits and external access for quick-grab items.

The CMB2049 30th Anniversary Messenger Bag retails for $189. Get ye to the Timbuk2 web site for more information!

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Timbuk2’s 30th anniversary messenger bag shows us the future originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 18, 2019 at 8:29 am.

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Buckle & Seam Sierra 15″ Messenger Bag (2018) review

I recently reviewed the Buckle & Seam Sierra 15″ Messenger bag, but they have since updated the product (they made it with thicker leather).  Is it a vast improvement over its predecessor? My opinion is that it is somewhat better, but far from what I was hoping for.

What is it?

The Buckle & Seam Sierra 15″ messenger bag is a leather bag used to carry a 15″ laptop and various documents for business or personal use.

Design and features

This updated Buckle & Seam Sierra 15″ Messenger bag is made exactly like its predecessor with the only difference being that the body of the bag is made of thicker leather. Since they are almost exactly the same bag, this review will include much of what was written for the original bag. The updated bag, just like its predecessor, holds a 15″ laptop and is made using full grain leather.

The leather used in this bag has been vegetable tanned. This is more environmentally friendly than Chrome VI tanning or other chemical tanning processes and takes four to five weeks to complete. This leather is also susceptible to scratches and will develop a patina over time. They call the leather Crazy Horse Full Grain Leather.

The main compartment flap uses a tuck catch lock closure.

The front of the Sierra messenger bag shows how the bag is assembled. They employed a double stitch using recycled polyester thread. Everywhere you see stitching in this bag indicates the areas where two pieces of leather are sewn together. Thus the front flap of the bag is made up of two pieces, and the lower front portion of the bag is made up of three.

The back of the bag also shows the double stitching and is made of two pieces of leather sewn together. The back of the bag has a zipper pocket. YKK elastic zippers are used on Buckle & Seam’s business bags.

The bottom and sides of the Sierra messenger bag are made by sewing three pieces of leather together (two for the sides and one for the bottom). The entire bag is lined with a sailboat blue custom lining which was “developed by our in-house design team and [is] manufactured only for us out of premium cotton” according to Buckle & Seam’s Managing Director, Marco Feelisch. There are different lining colors and patterns to choose from: Dots, Checked, Boats, Paper Planes, and Plain.

The main compartment of the bag contains a padded laptop pocket. This pocket will accommodate 13″ and 15″ laptops according to the Buckle & Seam website. The top of the laptop pocket uses a round magnetic closure (about 2 cm in diameter).

The material that separates the laptop from the main compartment is sewn into the inside of the bag using two 2″ wide strips of elastic material on each side (top and bottom). This is done so that the pocket can stretch to accommodate thicker laptops. The main compartment’s internal measurements are about 14″ wide x 3″ deep x 11.5″ high. The open front pocket, which measures 14.75″ wide x 8.5″ high internally, contains all the organizing slots and pockets which include places to hold three pens/pencils, a pocket for business cards, and a phone pocket. You may also store more documents here if desired.

There is a thin zippered pocket (shown above) lining the back of the front pocket which has internal measurements that about 11.25″ wide x 9.75″ high.

The bag comes with a key to lock the tuck catch lock closure. When the bag was shipped to me, the key and the Buckle & Seam tag were tied to the bag through one of the pen/pencil slots using a strip of leather as shown in the above photo.

The back zipper pocket will hold more of your documents. It measures 11.5″ wide x 9.5″ high but, in addition, it also has a trolley strap so that you can slide the messenger bag over a suitcase handle to make traveling easier (Buckle & Seam calls it a “hidden trolley solution”). The shoulder straps are attached to the bag using swiveling metal lobster claw clasps.  The shoulder strap is made up of what looks like two thin layers of leather sewn together but I also noticed that in order to get the length that they desired, the strap is made up of sections that are spliced together as well. The seam you see above also exists on the other side at nearly the same point. Again, the shoulder strap is a high-stress area of the bag and thus has greater potential to fail in the future because of the design of the strap.

Use

Just like the other Sierra bag, this one carried my things comfortably. Inside is a couple of thin paper folders, a large Biology textbook as well as a pencil case. In the laptop pocket, I was able to store my Bluetooth portable keyboard which measures 11.75″ x 7.75″ x 0.75″ (my laptops are larger than 15″ and thus do not fit). The Buckle & Seam website states that they use leather that is on average 1.8-2 mm thick. However, the handle of the bag is one of those areas where two thin layers of leather were sewn together to make a handle that measures about 2 mm thick. This is thin for a handle. Since this is a high-stress area, it could very well fail if it is heavily used.

When the bag was full (without a laptop), the above photo shows how much stress is placed on the handle when carried this way. The leather that the handle is sewn and riveted into is a little thicker compared to the previous Sierra messenger bag. This may increase the durability at this stress point. And like the previous bag, they included a 7″ long x 0.5″ wide rigid strip of reinforcing material where the handle attaches. This rigid strip is hidden between the leather of the main compartment flap and the lining of the bag.

Quality

I have learned from top-notch leather companies that the fewer seams you have in a bag, the more durable it is. In other words, they use fewer pieces of leather to assemble the bag to increase the durability and quality of the product. The seams of a bag are weak points especially if there is weight or stress exerted on those areas. The Sierra 15″ messenger bag is made with a lot more pieces of leather and has more seams than I’d like. Perhaps this is why it has only a two-year warranty.

The body of this Sierra bag was a little thicker than my last bag, but you’ll notice that the leather on the inside of the bag does not continue down the length of the bag …

… thus, the sides are not quite as thick as you might think. The Buckle & Seam website states that they use leather that is on average 1.8-2 mm thick.This is the thickness of the previous Sierra messenger bag.I compared the Sierra messenger bag to several other leather bags that I have reviewed. These other bags are not messenger bags but do illustrate the quality materials and craftsmanship used by these other companies. The Saddleback Leather Thin Front Pocket Leather Backpack is made from leather that is about 2.2 mm thick (single piece thickness) as shown above. Saddleback has a lifetime warranty on their products.
The Pad & Quill Roll Top Leather Backpack is made using full grain leather that is also about 2 mm thick (single piece thickness) as shown above. They have a 25-year warranty on their leather products.The Colonel Littleton No. 18 Leather Hunt Bag is made from full grain leather that is about 2 mm thick (single piece thickness) as shown above. The Go Forth Goods Charging Cable Tool Roll is made from full grain leather that is about 2.4 mm thick (single piece thickness) as shown above. They provide a lifetime warranty on their products.

Each of these other products looks feels so much more robust and well-made than the Sierra messenger bag.

Humanitarian efforts

The founders of Buckle & Seam are committed to providing the highest standard of working conditions for their Pakistani employees. And for each bag sold, a part of their revenue goes to sending a girl to school in Pakistan.

What I like

  • The Buckle & Seam Sierra 15″ messenger bag has an attractive design
  • It has a hidden trolley strap to make travel easier (strap that fits over a suitcase handle)
  • It uses vegetable tanned leather which is more environmentally friendly than other chemical tanning processes
  • The company is committed to providing good working conditions for their Pakistani employees
  • They donate part of our revenue for each bag sold to a school that promotes girls’ education in Pakistan

What needs to be improved

  • The bag uses too many pieces of leather to assemble the bag thus making it less durable
  • The leather is still too thin for my personal preferences
  • The handle is way too thin
  • Sections of the shoulder strap were spliced together to make up the desired length which weakens the strap
  • It has only a two-year warranty

Final thoughts

The Buckle & Seam Sierra 15″ Messenger Bag remains an attractive business messenger bag with many pockets and slots to organize your materials. It is made from vegetable tanned leather which is more environmentally friendly than chemical tanning processes. Buckle & Seam also donates a part of their revenue to send Pakistani girls to school to help increase the literacy rate.

However, I remain disappointed in the quality and craftsmanship of the bag. Although the updated Buckle & Seam Sierra 15″ messenger bag is made from thicker leather than the previous model, it still falls far short of the other premium leather products that I have reviewed in the past. These other companies make leather products that have much longer warranties thus illustrating their confidence in the craftsmanship and quality of their products (Saddleback, Pad & Quill, Colonel Littleton, and Go Forth Goods products).

The Sierra messenger bag is created using many pieces of leather and thus has many seams thereby decreasing its durability. Its handle and strap contained no improvements. Both were made by layering together two thin pieces of leather. The shoulder strap was made of pieces that were spliced together to obtain its full length which weakens the strap.

In addition, this bag is only backed by a two-year warranty. If I had $330 to spend on a leather bag, I’d rather spend my money on a product that was better made and backed by a better warranty.

Price: $330
Where to buy: Buckle & Seam
Source: The product used in this review was provided by Buckle & Seam

The post Buckle & Seam Sierra 15″ Messenger Bag (2018) review appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

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Buckle & Seam Sierra 15″ Messenger Bag (2018) review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 29, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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