For the longest time I’ve wanted to have a Timbuk2 messenger bag but always shied away from it due to the nice little customs+taxes trap you end up in when ordering anything over EUR 20 from the USA (or anywhere outside the EU without) some special trade agreements.
Anyway, thanks to the fine folks that organized this year’s PyConDE in Leipzig I finally got one :D A big THANKS for that!
Given that I already have enough laptop bags I opted this time, with the “Classic Messenger”, for a general purpose messenger (not that this will keep me from stuffing what I can in there) and so far it is great. Given its basic structure the bag is not as comfortable as for example the Wolfskin Office Jam (better back padding) when packed to burst but it has just the right price, size and amount of pockets… and the Napoleon Pocket is probably the single best thing I’ve seen in a messenger bag for many years! How it holds up against something like the Chrome Buran is yet to be determined ;-)
So if you’re looking for a medium sized messenger bag < USD 100 with tons of storage room (without looking like it from the outside) and probably quite rain resistant (haven’t given it a try in one of Graz’ really heavy summer rains yet), the Timbuk2 Classic Messenger so far seems like a great option :D
And if the weather isn’t too nasty tomorrow I’ll probably give it a try on the bike. I’m really curious if it comes close there to the two other bags I’ve mentioned above.
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