# Recommend for me a bag **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-for-me-a-bag/336548 "2005-12-21T01:00:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-for-me-a-bag/336548/1 "2005-12-21T01:00:40Z")
As I mention briefly in [post=6920211]my shaggy dog story of a hijack[/post], I’m looking for a bag to replace my dying softside briefcase. I was looking at the Patagonia Half Mass bag–I’ve a Critical Mass bag that has survived many a boat/plane/hiking trip with only moderate staining–but it isn’t large enough to accept my 15" PowerBook with a protective cover. I don’t want a big leather computer case, and indeed I’d rather avoid something that screams out, “Hey, look at me! I contain an expensive laptop computer! Steal me!” I’d like something that is either a bookbag-style briefcase or a large messenger bag that is relatively weatherproof, with a couple of internal pockets, a place to stash pens and cards, and ideally a 1l nalgene bottle externally, though the latter is negotiable. Price isn’t a big factor–as long as it’s in the low three digits I can swing it without cutting into my whiskey budget–but I want a bag that is going to hold up when it comes to action, adventure, and really wild things that form my dislocated sense of reality. Recommendations? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-for-me-a-bag/336548/2 "2005-12-23T03:58:19Z")
\Nobody has a favorite bag they want to pimp? What am I, the Galactic Emperor of Useless Threads? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-for-me-a-bag/336548/3 "2005-12-23T11:21:44Z")
- - - When I got a laptop I looked around for laptop-type bags, computer places that had decent ones wanted $120-$200+ for them, even for just nylon ones. … I found a great one by accident at a local Cummins tool store. I paid $20 for it, the website has it for $16.88, item #5401, the Toppers™ Wallstreet Computer Bag. I don’t know how big a 15" Mac with a protective cover is, but my laptop (closed) is 13 x 10.5 x 1.5", and it’s still got a couple inches of width left in the bag. The inside of the bag measures around 18" but the info on the Cummins site says it’s only 16.5", which might be when the whole thing is crammed full of stuff to block it out perfectly. And no 1L water bottle pocket, unfortunately. [http://www.cumminstools.com/browse.cfm/4,1418.htm](http://www.cumminstools.com/browse.cfm/4,1418.htm) ~ ---
**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-for-me-a-bag/336548/4 "2005-12-23T16:02:29Z")
A few possibilities: The classic Timbuk2 bike messenger bag. [This one](http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/retail/catalog.htm?categoryId=45) is even designed to hold a laptop. Eagle Creek makes great stuff. They no longer make the bag I use (and have had for almost a decade) but [this bag](http://www.eaglecreek.com/60132.html) seems pretty close. Duluth Trading also makes nice stuff. Their [evolved briefcase](http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/briefcases_bags/briefcases/37002.aspx) looks pretty good. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-for-me-a-bag/336548/5 "2005-12-23T17:33:34Z")
> [@Emilio Lizardo](#): > > The classic Timbuk2 bike messenger bag. [This one](http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/retail/catalog.htm?categoryId=45) is even designed to hold a laptop. Yeah, not only does Timbuk2 make great bags you can get them customized in exactly the colors you want for not much more than an off-the-shelf version. But the absolute coolest messenger bags around are [Chrome](http://www.chromebags.com/) bags. The buckle is a [car seat belt buckle](http://www.chromebags.com/buckle_close.jpg). I want a new bag but my stupid back pack from college just won’t wear out, dang it. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-for-me-a-bag/336548/6 "2005-12-23T19:09:56Z")
I’m liking the Timbuk2 messenger bags. The Chrome bags look good, too, but they don’t appear to have any internal divisions, non? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-for-me-a-bag/336548/7 "2005-12-23T19:23:53Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > The Chrome bags look good, too, but they don’t appear to have any internal divisions, non? But they have a seat belt buckle! Surely that trumps internal divisions? 🙂 Here’s a quote from one of the reviews: > [@](#): > > Besides the main compartment, there are three inside stash compartments, as well as a zippered pocket and some pen pockets. All are well-placed and useful for stashing the various odds and ends that you might need to transport with you. Additionally, Chrome sent me a nice, padded laptop sleeve that kept my laptop good and safe while riding my bike–although, I still don’t recommend crashing with your laptop computer slung across your back. So it doesn’t have a seperate laptop compartment but they sell a padded laptop sleeve to stow it.