Messenger / Courier Bags List

Aye, was hoping for a bit of input from working messengers tho.. will utfs tho and have a read through too, thanks.

you're going to be messengering heavily with this bag? buy once, buy twice etc...
chrome bags and the like wont stand up to the abuse, invest in a pac, a BRP (probably the best bag you can buy right now, but most expensive) or "danb" on the forum makes fantastic bags with his company levrier. cheapish, extremely well made etc. my "fuck-off massive bag for holding everything" which is so large cost me 170 quid. if you're looking for a cheap but well made bag, go for a levrier, he has a thread on this forum so UTFS etc...

:)

In the Messenger Bags List, there are asterisks on each side of the name/make of the bags that are actually courier quality (**Like This**) - this recommended sub-list came about from feedback on this forum. I used to be a courier myself (many moons ago), and my own bag is still in daily use, and is close on 18 years old.

Cheers!

chrome bags and the like wont stand up to the abuse,
:)

this is a load of bollocks.
I used a chrome metropolis as a courier for almost 2 years it was fine if a little small for the biggest loads and was still going strong if a little tatty when i sold it. I then got the lovely people at Belk bags to make me an awesome and enormous 'XL Technical Sling' which was undoubtedly a better bag. Ironically that was when i quit being a courier but its served me very well since i got it.

I also used a BaileyWorks bag while couriering. Great bags aswell

get a back pack

this is a load of bollocks.

alright, chill out. just a couple of mates have some chrome bags and they aren't the best bags function and strength wise.

highly recommend timbukt2. i did a couple of years on the circuit with it and it's been thrown down on pretty much every london street in anguish, triumph, disgust etc and is still absolutely fine. i have the extra large one and i never had to turn down a job because something couldn't fit

however, my housemate has a pac and it is very, very, very nice

BRP!

BRP look like they're gonna be great, but pre-order price i've heard is 320 quid? Way outta my price range. Same with PAC really, they're nice but the big one is 280 or something? That's BLB's price so admittedly it's likely to be a little high, but still, a bit rich for me. I do really like the look of those vernier bags, but for various reasons I like the removable liner feature of the metropolis, so tbh I'll prolly just go for one of those I think. In a weird way, the fact that they're so replacable and ubiquitious adds to their appeal to me, I don't want a bag I'll be attached to or really give a crap about, if I got something nice that someone had hand-made I'd care about it, would feel obligated to treat their hard work with respect - I just want something I can rely on that I can throw stuff in and not care about. (Like my ex, boom boom). Anyway, I haven't heard any critisisms of chrome's stuff before and they've got some "lifetime guarentee" thing going on so I'll prolly just plump for one of those. All Black. Nice and predictable..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHOelqyFLXc&feature=related

Yeah, sorted.

The Linnell Royal Mail red post bag, is so similar to the Chrome, many people think it possibly is, just with less pockets and frippery. They're cheap, so you could buy 2 or 3 for the price of one bag of a better make.

+1 on the Timbuk2 bags. Mine has just 2 years to go till its 20 years old. And I think it will make it. It swings one the back a bit, unless the one main strap is tight. I love it; but I do think there are many others that are much better, but not more long lasting.

The Linnell Royal Mail red post bag, is so similar to the Chrome, many people think it possibly is, just with less pockets and frippery.

They are nothing alike.

Never used a bag for messengering.

My experience/thoughts:

Chrome has less features than MissionWorkshops, and are in the same price range (180 to 190€). If you double more or less the pricetag, you'll be able to afford Black Rainbow Project bag (350GBP...), which seems to be amazing, really.

I got recently a Shed from MW, and added a quick release buckle to it, and am really happy with the bag comfort, capacity of load, and design.

I just got a T Level Rolltop, it's ace.

One thing to bear in mind when comparing prices of bags is the actual size/capacity/features and materials quality....just because something looks similar, doesn't mean it is.
For example, I've seen people comparing the £34O Black Rainbow Project 'RED' bag to the PAC ultimate which is approx £5O cheaper in Brick lane bikes...But is also smaller, has all plastic buckles, and some different materials and features. If you were to compare the BRP 'RED' to the biggest PAC which is the ultimate oversized the price difference would be smaller.

Also bags like Chrome, Mission workshop, SAG, T level, etc are all made on a much larger scale, and are made in countries with a weaker currency than ours which will always make them far cheaper than a UK made bag...especially if the UK made bag is then having to import the materials from other countries.

At the end of the day, You pays your money, you takes your choice.
It's like comparing a mass produced frame to a handmade custom frame...some people may not notice the difference between the two, and can't understand why one is twice the price of the other, but the devil is in the details...and it can quite often be the smallest details that make the biggest difference in both comfort and longevity. Just because a bag looks good on the outside, it doesn't mean it's been made to last.

From what I've seen of Belk, Levrier, Project Tortoise, and myself over the years...The UK is doing a bloody good job of giving the bags from other countries a run for their money.
You may save a few quid in the short term by buying bags from other countries, but by supporting the UK builders you're making it that much more likely for them to be able to expand and hopefully, eventually, be able to reduce their own prices a little.
One of the biggest reasons the UK builders are less well known worldwide is because the cost of shipping combined with a potential customers weaker currency just makes them too expensive to people outside of the UK.

I'm not one to promote the 'buy local/buy British' thing just for the sake of it...but the UK bag builders are now able to offer products of comparable, and sometimes even better quality to their foreign competitors. With companies as good as PAC out there, that is no mean feat.

^what he said

I just got a T Level Rolltop, it's ace.

...£34O Black Rainbow Project 'RED' bag...

Added T-Level and Black Rainbow Project to the list.

@BRP,

Price comparison is unfair without features and built quality comparison, to balance it. I agree with you, sorry to have written a little quickly, and thanks to have straighten up the stuff.

Thanks,

I got an undeliverable when trying to email Levrier, anyone else?

ooh - thanks for that - will check it out :)

edit: All fixed now - emails ok :)

Anyone has a Mission Workshop messenger bag?

I'm interested by your ideas about where to put a second shoulder strap.
Currently, I would velcro it to the roll-top system, or I would buckle it to the bottom flap buckle.

What are your thoughts?

Greg

Buy a real messenger bag?

or just buy one of their backpacks

bit the bullet and sprung for the PAC ultimate, and bloody hell this thing is cavernous when I need it to be, just swallows anything I throw at it
now the straps broken in and I've gotten used to it it's so bloody comfy as well
and the canadian lady that helped me out at BLB, she was brilliant, really helpful, wish I had been more grateful at the time!