I've been looking for a messenger bag for a few years now - yeah I'm picky! I found lots of possible candidates, but didn't love any of them so I held out for The One. Recently I found the Alchemy Goods Urban Messenger bag online and it caught my interest, but of course there was no way to buy locally. I decided to take a pass until I got my REI dividend notice and a 20% coupon for 1 item. Since they just happen to carry this bag I decided to try one out. The great thing about REI is you can return anything you don't like.
The design of the bag is fairly simple. It is made from 76% reused materials [bike inner tubes, car seat belts, etc...] by some nice folks in Seattle. The result is a functional, attractive and waterproof bag. Having used it a week now I can see why people are so fond of messenger bags. I've carried a bike fork, fenders, groceries, DVDs, large prints and a whole lot of other stuff in it so far. Having been a backpack guy all my life I'm quite impressed. Best of all they included a tab to mount a red blinky to the bag!!!Some cool features:
- fits a 17" laptop
- external waterproof pocket for cellphone & ipod
- internal pockets for pens and small items
- large patches of reflective materials
- tab for attaching a light
- waterproof exterior
I'll report back later in the summer when I've got a few months of use under my belt.
2 comments:
How's the bag holding up? I'm particularly curious if the bag smells of inner tubes, or if teh rubber degrades over time or in high temperatures.
Hi Gene,
The bag is holding up great...no real wear and tear visible. I don't smell anything when using the bag. If you press the bag right up against your nose you can smell a very faint rubber odor, but you really have to have it right up against your nose.
Based on other reports I've read these bags are very durable.
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