I've had it a little over a week, and so far I like the bag. I agree with "Fantasy Fiend" in that the style of the bag was a nice balance between the casual nature of a backpack and the stuffy business-like feel of most laptop bags.
I have a 16" widescreen laptop, and it's a perfect fit.
The handle is a little awkward if a laptop is not in the bag, but I intend to keep a laptop in it at most times, plus I don't usually use the handle, I use the shoulder strap. I do wish the shoulder straps had swivels attached to the ends. It seems like everytime I pick it up, I'm having to twist the strap around to make sure it's straight.
I also wish it had at least one small pocket on the outside of the pack..one that you could get to without undoing the two main clasps (for gum, pens, thumb drives, etc). It has a pocket on the back of the bag, but anything you put in that pocket is right between the laptop and the padding designed to protect the bottom of the laptop..I can't really think of anything I would put in that pocket aside from folders, papers or other soft flat items that wouldn't damage the laptop.
The pen holder is kind of strange. Look at the picture. The black patch between the two main clasps is the bottom of the pen holder, so your pens are visible outside the bag, even though you can't access them without opening the clasps. Not BAD exactly, just strange.
Overall, aside from the little issues mentioned above, I do like the bag. It does what it's supposed to, I like the way it looks. Mobile Edge Eco-friendly Canvas Messenger Bag (Green)
The offset placement of the carrying handle helps to balance the bag IF you are also lugging a laptop. Without the laptop in its slot and a few heavy textbooks in their logical place carrying by the handle is quite awkward because the bag is very out-of-balance.Unfortunately use of the shoulder strap does not alleviate the pressing against your lower body.
I am updating my review to report additional consequences of the offset handle. After 5 Months of use the bag is splitting, tearing at the stress point of the imbalance. This bag is misnamed. It is not a messenger bag it is a Laptop-only carrying bag.
It seems like the bulk of the bags out there are made for business men or school kids. I've had to look hard for a bag that's my style and can still reliably protect a laptop. The backpacks are definitely not my style and the business style bags are just to stuffy and old school business for me. My style is more canvas bag meets compartmentalized storage. This bag is exactly that. The bag fits my style while providing a nice extra pocket for files and article printouts. Meanwhile my laptop is protected in a nicely padded area with a thick leather "skid plate" at the bottom to hold up to surface friction when set upright on a desk or the ground. All in all the bag is perfect for someone like me.
As an added bonus I feel I should mention that an eBook reader like the Kindle would fit perfectly in the extra compartment, and I will likely be adding one of those in the near future.
I'll admit that this wasn't my first choice in a messenger bag. I had wanted one for a long time, and had researched long and hard to find one that I wanted. However, after ordering the first one (which I don't even remember), I found out that it wasn't available anymore. Since I didn't want to wait 4-6 months for it to get back in stock, I went back to researching and found this bag. I love it! The color is a perfect neutral color (the green one), not too flashy, but looks good. It has lots of pockets (more on those later), is accessible and well-built. I rarely, if ever, use my bookbag now and use this messenger bag for most of my toting needs.
The pictures are fairly self-explanatory, but I will go ahead and give a rundown on what this bag has.
Main Pouch: It has one main section underneath the flap, divided into three pockets. The pocket closest to the back of the bag is padded for laptops. My 15" Dell fits easily in it.
Flap Pocket: There is a zippered mesh pocket on the inside of the flap. It can be a little awkward to get into, but when I went to Paris for a week I used to pocket to keep my passport and money in. I felt that it was very safe in there. (I had a friend along who kept "pickpocketing" from members of our group to show them how unaware they would be if a real thief came along. However, I was the only one who had a bag that he was never able to steal anything from.)
Front Pockets: There are 3 large pockets in front of the main pouch section. One is as wide and deep as the bag, secured with a strip of velcro. The second is similar, but about 1/3 as wide and in the center. The third pouch is off to the side, and has no closure system.
Pencil Holders: As has been previously stated, the pencil holder is....weird. When the bag is full, the pencils don't stay in the black strip and stick out. I generally just stick my pencils in the smallest front pouch; I can just grab them from the side without unbuckling the bag.
Outer Pocket: There is one pocket on the back side of the bag. It is secured with a velcro flap. It is hard to access while carrying the bag, since it is right next to the body, but it's still a useful pouch.
I have loaded this bag with books and my laptop, and it has felt sturdy every time. I rarely use the handle, mainly because I prefer the strap. The handle is in a slightly awkward position, but I don't mind since I don't use it. You just have to remember to have the bag closed and clasped when you use it.
I have had this bag since March and have loved it sooo much! It's many compartments make it easy to organize things, it is well constructed and sturdy, very comfortable and overall a great bag!
I purchased this to protect my laptop and carry around my books about a month ago. I must say, even with a 15.6" notebook, there is plenty of room for all my stuff. The only thing this bag is missing is a water bottle holder, I tend to just stick it in the middle inner pocket. I prefer the shoulder strap so I never use the handle on the back but the stitching seems adequate for most uses. Not Rowsdower adequate, but it would probably serve the purposes of Bob Johnson or Blast Hardcheese, whom I put my faith in. Remember, this is a notebook bag, so I try to not put anything too heavy or large in the bag. Bowling balls and/or cinder blocks probably wouldn't work. Yes the notebook carrying part is padded, but why take an unnecessary chance? It still fits my notebook/mouse/power adapter, paper notebook, various loose papers, ipod touch, and 2 of my college text books with ease (Think giant law tomes or organic chemistry, not... well I can't think of anything because all I have taken are law or science classes... nerd alert).
The bag itself is nice quality. The canvas is not as yellow as it looks does in the picture and the spots for the velcro id holder above the black straps don't look as weird either. There are two strips of black padding on the back, towards the bottom, which actually makes a difference when I walk as the bag tends to stay against my legs more instead of bouncing around (well, stays as much as a messenger bag will). The underside of the canvas is a velour like quality; I find it ero... wait, wrong review. The underside is a fancy water resistant plastic. However, I probably would not take this out in heavy rain, unless fully loaded, as the sides where the shoulder strap clips on tend to stick out a little from under the flap. When fully loaded the sides don't flex out. I put a trashbag over it when it rains. When people ask me what I'm doing I act all offended and ask them why they don't like my bags and the cord I use in lieu of a belt.
There are a lot of pockets. On the outside there is a pocket which is against your body when you wear the shoulder strap, I tend to not use this. If anything, I would probably only put loose paper in there. The flap has a zippered mesh pocket on the underside, perfect for my power adapter and usb devices. A 7 pencil holder on the front, the black rectangle on the picture is a little slot to keep them in so you can actually bring writing devices which do not have clips. There's an open pocket on the right side about the width of an ipod touch and a little taller and deeper, I wish there was a similar pocket on the left side. A pocket the size of the black strap directly behind it (about 6" across guestimating) with a slight velcro enclosure. Another pocket the length of the bag with a slight velcro enclosure. Inside the bag are three pockets: a thin one good for one of those 5 subject notebooks plus a little extra, another pocket which can fit two large text books and a supplement, and the padded notebook section which rests against you. The notebook section has a velcro strap on the top which you can use to tighten the pocket if you don't use a 16" or 15.6" notebook. The pockets are all a good size, and I can bring pretty much anything I want and not have to dig through the bag to find it.
One of the reason I got this is because I'm decently tall (6'2") with pretty broad shoulders and a lot of other bags did not have the shoulder strap length or width (so it doesn't ride off me) I look for. I like the middle of the bag to rest against my hips... <raise eyebrow> ladies? This has a very long shoulder strap which does the job nicely, with enough to room to spare for a much taller person; I only have the strap loosened slightly below half-way. I tried pretty much every bag at a couple of computer stores and this was the only one that felt right, like when you try on a pair of running shoes. The shoulder strap seems sturdy, however, make sure it is not twisted when you pick the bag up because the strap-clips will detach from the bag. This really isn't a problem with me because twisted shoulder straps really annoy me when I walk, but I lifted it up off the table one time and the shoulder straps just popped off (the bag stayed on the table so nothing was damaged). With the shoulder straps straight, I put a few heavy books in and swung the bag around violently for a while. It did not detact and seemed very solid, so I'm not really worried about a repeat.
Overall I like this bag, it doesn't really scream "COMPUTER BAG... STEAL ME" when I wear it around and lets all the cool kids know that "Yes... I have a bag. So you know... yeah." I would give this 5 out of 5 if it wasn't for the clip coming off that one time, and the sides sticking out slightly further than the flap when it isn't fully loaded. - Laptop - Laptop Messenger Bags - Laptop Bag - Messenger'
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