# Men: would you carry a purse- like bag if you had stuff you needed to carry? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 14, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629 "2011-08-14T00:02:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/1 "2011-08-14T00:02:32Z")
For the sake of argument let’s say you do not use a PDA or other electric organizer. In your day-to-day work you have, at minimum a daily planner you need to carry with you. Maybe a Filofax. Your job involves you traveling around, visiting people in their homes, or maybe their places of work. Now, leaving your organizer in your car is impractical because you need to reference it. Or maybe you use public transportation. Anyway, you have stuff you need to carry. Maybe you have some paperwork now and then that you might need to carry for the day until you het back to the office. What do you carry your stuff in? Seriously. Probably won’t use those big wheeled bags that students use (too impractical), and I’m guessing most guys won’t choose a proper purse. So what do use? ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/2 "2011-08-14T00:05:18Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > For the sake of argument let’s say you do not use a PDA or other electric organizer. In your day-to-day work you have, at minimum a daily planner you need to carry with you. Maybe a Filofax. Your job involves you traveling around, visiting people in their homes, or maybe their places of work. Now, leaving your organizer in your car is impractical because you need to reference it. Or maybe you use public transportation. Anyway, you have stuff you need to carry. Maybe you have some paperwork now and then that you might need to carry for the day until you het back to the office. > > What do you carry your stuff in? Seriously. Probably won’t use those big wheeled bags that students use (too impractical), and I’m guessing most guys won’t choose a proper purse. So what do use? A briefcase? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/3 "2011-08-14T00:09:47Z")
Briefcase is one, or a nice duffle bag, laptop bag or even a backpack thing. Plenty of options out there, depending on how professional you want to look, but a nice laptop bag is fantastic even if you don’t have a laptop. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/4 "2011-08-14T00:10:41Z")
[http://www.javari.fr/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=sac+messenger&tag=slhyin09-21&index=aps&hvadid=8589135469&ref=pd\_sl\_6xdlbcqf89\_b](http://www.javari.fr/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=sac+messenger&tag=slhyin09-21&index=aps&hvadid=8589135469&ref=pd_sl_6xdlbcqf89_b) It’s called a messenger bag! The one I have is all black, and looks like something a mailman would carry. If had loose papers or folders and stuff, I would use a briefcase. But usually it’s just my e-reader, wallet, ipod, keys, and a few other things that don’t comfortably fit in my pocket. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/5 "2011-08-14T00:32:31Z")
Briefcase --\> backpack --\> messenger bag --\> purse --\> fanny pack, in order of most to least desirable. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/6 "2011-08-14T00:51:00Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Briefcase –\> backpack –\> messenger bag –\> purse –\> fanny pack, in order of most to least desirable. I have an old, thick aluminum Halliburton case I could use… I’m guessing that’s to dweeby to even consider. I’m liking the idea of a laptop case/messenger bag/book bag. I work as an in-home caregivers, so I need to carry some file folders as well as a day planner. Starting next month I’ll be in school, so I need room for a couple of textbooks as well. You’d rather carry a purse than wear a fanny pack??? Wearing a fanny pack was the coolest thing in the world when I was in gradeschool! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/7 "2011-08-14T00:51:52Z")
I’ve carried a messenger bag for years. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/8 "2011-08-14T01:13:56Z")
This is why they invented the [Bag of Holding](http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/bags/aaa5/). ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/9 "2011-08-14T01:14:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Men: would you carry a purse- like bag if you had stuff you needed to carry? No. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/10 "2011-08-14T02:27:00Z")
I’m with **antonio**. I have the one made by Lands End. It’s light khaki canvas trimmed in leather, and I love using it. When I was single, it held everything I needed if I got lucky (which didn’t happen that often), and it makes a great carry-on. My son told me once it makes me look effeminate, and I told him, “Son, I’m 60 years old! Do you think I give a flyin’ **fuck** what people think anymore???” 🙂 Suzette, my Alzheimer’s counsellor, calls it my “European shoulder bag”, like that guy’s on the Geico commercial, but they look nothing alike. Like **antonio’s** it’s called a messenger bag, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Q ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/11 "2011-08-14T02:48:10Z")
I often carry a puppy bag. One should best be preprared when you drag a 7 week old puppy into a public place. A roll of paper towels, plastic bags, cardboard for soft bowel movements, Simple Solution, chew toys, literature, note book, pen, business cards, food, folding water dish, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/12 "2011-08-14T03:11:49Z")
That’s pretty much what briefcases are made for. As others have said, laptop bag, messenger bag, and bookbag all work as well, depending on the image you are trying to present (if you have a job that has you wearing something like a suit, the bookbag might ruin the effect). Though, amusing anecdote: When I was in Basic Training at Lackland AFB, we had to carry everything (except for our canteen) in a little leather pouch that the instructors called “Gucci Bags”. It was big enough for a three-ring binder, a notebook, pens, highlighter, ruler, and a flashlight with a little plastic yellow cone for the end of it (think what you see guys marshalling airplanes with at the airport. We called them “Lackland Lasers”. Yeah, it was goofy as hell, and not quite practical, especially since we were required to hold them by the zipper, rather than tucking them under our arms. Also, it was only _just_ big enough to carry all the stuff we had to carry. EDIT: Nowadays, more often than not, either I will carry everything in a bookbag or a laptop bag. If I don’t have _too_ much to carry, I tuck everything into my camera bag (for such a tiny bag, it has impressive carrying capacity) and sling it off the opposite shoulder. Tends to stay out of the way that way. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/13 "2011-08-14T03:13:29Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/14 "2011-08-14T20:17:46Z")
Middlebro wears handbags (in Spain there are both gender-neutral and “this one’s for dudes” designs available), and he’s a construction foreman. Some of his subordinates mocked him at first but ended up copying the idea. A briefcase requires a free hand; a computer bag is large; cargo pockets are too small for some of the stuff he carries. A long and narrow nylon handbag is just right. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Bosstrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstrain)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/15 "2011-08-14T20:32:52Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Men: would you carry a purse- like bag if you had stuff you needed to carry? > [@An\_Arky](#): > > No. > [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > No. NO!!! > [@DigitalC](#): > > Briefcase –\> backpack –\> messenger bag –\> purse –\> fanny pack, in order of most to least desirable. However, the grand canyon is between the purse and fanny pack, I could explain a purse: “it’s my GF’s”. Fanny pack…I’m fried, there is no quick recovery, and no witty excuse, just plain toasted. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/16 "2011-08-14T20:35:14Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > [http://www.javari.fr/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=sac+messenger&tag=slhyin09-21&index=aps&hvadid=8589135469&ref=pd\_sl\_6xdlbcqf89\_b](http://www.javari.fr/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=sac+messenger&tag=slhyin09-21&index=aps&hvadid=8589135469&ref=pd_sl_6xdlbcqf89_b) > > It’s called a messenger bag! The one I have is all black, and looks like something a mailman would carry. If had loose papers or folders and stuff, I would use a briefcase. But usually it’s just my e-reader, wallet, ipod, keys, and a few other things that don’t comfortably fit in my pocket. Nailed it! Every other guy I see in downtown Chiacgo has one of these. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/17 "2011-08-14T20:42:20Z")
\*\*Men: would you carry a purse- like bag if you had stuff you needed to carry? \*\*Why carry anything at all when you have a [best friend](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5142/5600170986_d5d1274d94.jpg)to do it for you? ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/18 "2011-08-14T21:11:12Z")
I carry as what’s been described as a messenger bag. Although I call it my Indiana Jones bag. Purse ? Never. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/19 "2011-08-14T21:42:33Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > I carry as what’s been described as a messenger bag. Although I call it my Indiana Jones bag. Lol, I told my ex that it was my “Jack Bauer” bag. Didn’t make it any less wussy, apparently…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629/20 "2011-08-14T22:14:04Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Briefcase –\> backpack –\> messenger bag –\> purse –\> fanny pack, in order of most to least desirable. Why is a backpack preferable to a messenger? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-would-you-carry-a-purse-like-bag-if-you-had-stuff-you-needed-to-carry/592629.md?page=2)