Well I lug around a Maxpedition Colossus nearly all the time, with all my stuff, and a large knife & 21'' ASP Baton in it. I also have my Acer Aspire ONE Netbook in it most of the time, so if anyone asks me this is just my Laptop bag, and no one has ever given it a second glance after that. Just says nice and small for a Laptop and they are always amazed how much other useful stuff is in it too (and they never even have seen the knife and the ASP in the flat back pocket).
Have any of you considered that maybe the comments aren't directed at the bag you're carrying but rather at the person carrying the bag? No one has ever commented about any bag (mostly canvas sling-style messenger bags) I've ever carried for the following reasons: 1.) I'm in my mid-20's and it's acceptable for that style bag to be carried by someone my age ("it's probably just got a laptop in it...") 2.) I dress down and try to blend in (nondescript clothes, normal haircut, physically fit, etc.) as much as possible 3.) Being discreet is key - rummaging through your military-style bag in the check out line at the grocery store for that flashlight is not being discreet What's important is what's in the bag, not the bag itself. Yes, people are going to stare at you if you're in you're 30's or 40's (or older) and you're carrying around an olive drab condura bag or backpack with molle straps all over it. Yes, people are going to make comments if you don't fit in to societal "norms" - out of ignorance or otherwise. Again, unless you're trying to make a statement, fashion or otherwise, the bag isn't important - what's inside is.
i carry a canvas/leather vertical messenger. i'm always getting "nice purse". i just come back with "that's -murse- thanks very much".
The jokes always seem to stop when you have what you need to get the job done or get the jokester out of a jam. Funny thing is that I work for a Japanese company and when ever Engineers from Japan come over they compliment my bag for its functions and how I have what I need to get my work done quickly. Meanwhile my American coworkers like to poke fun. In the end they are always asking to borrow a tool or have to Make excuses as to why they do not have what they need to set up a test or fix a unit. Pays to be prepared jokes and comments be damned
I've always been the "geek", "nerd", or "dork" and have always had any number of odd bags.. The best is when my wife started calling my TAD Gear FAST pack my "murse".. Until she needed something fixed, then I broke out the flashlight and tools.. Now it's the coolest bag ever.
+1 She used to bust my balls in the beginning, but, after repeatedly asking to borrow a surefire or leatherman, she is thankful. She actually now carries a fenix e01, mini pink sak and a fox 40 whistle in her bag! I think its the funniest thing in the world because she is such a girly girl who works in the fashion industry. You'd never imagine she carried this stuff in a chanel bag! Makes me smile just thinking about it. As for other people, I've never ever received a comment - even when carrying just a Neatfreak which is pretty purse-like. But living in NYC, everybody carries a bag. I've even used a lands end tote bag (which is actually a WONDERFUL and durable bag) as a briefcase for a few months and got no odd looks...
"Murse" god help me if my wife sees that! She will die laughing and pointing at me. :lolhammer: Never got much grief for carrying my Devil Dog, actually came in handy a couple of times to hold water bottles etc for her when we were in Florida this spring. Cheers, Sean
oh ya, especially when I first started carrying it and when I got hired at my new job. But then after they found I was the one that could always fish out what someone needed on the spot it kind of died down.
I EDC some form of bag everyday. The days I try to minimise the "socially unacceptable" things are the days I find I need those things! fairly common remarks: 1. Going camping? 2. Why do you bring a big camera bag in there? 3. going mountain climbing? 4. Going for a holiday? Even when I carried an off the shelf bag which is smaller than an average laptop bag, I get the same wise cracks. What is socially acceptable anyway? PS, the day I wasnt carrying anything was the day my friend got snatch theft right in front of me. Trying to be "socially acceptable" is sometimes being unprepared. No way was I ever going to let that happen again. Being laughed at is a thousand times better than having something horrible happen that you could prevent.
I started wearing a waist pack more than 15 years ago after spending time in South America with a pilot friend. He always wore such a pack and I found it was very convenient for carrying ID, flashlight, pens, wallet, etc. At the time I was using a locally made string bag usually worn over the shoulder. It too was convenient for carrying said items, but I quit using the string bag when I got back to the States where my shoulder bag made me stick out in a crowd. I probably heard a few cracks about my “purse” so I switched to a much less conspicuous waist pack. Since those days in South America I’ve called my EDC bag a “GO pack” because we were required to keep such a bag prepared at all times in the event that we needed to evacuate the area. My "GO pack" was actually bigger than my string bag, but between my string shoulder bag and “GO pack” I had minimal stuff to last a few days away from my apartment.
My Neatfreak was called a Murse by one of my female coworkers. Funny thing about the Neatfreak, is that at the time I was using it as a tool bag so I had things in it I needed to work on PC's. (Hard drives, screwdriver set, spare batteries for my flashlights, CD case, etc..) I've always carried a briefcase or backpack of some sort since I was in middle school. Throughout school, Middle - High, I always had a Samsonite briefcase. College also. Can't remember why that started exactly other than perhaps asking my parents for one. I still have all of them tucked away some where. Started carrying a backpack the 3rd time I tried college and went over to a Kensington Saddlebag when I got a laptop.(I've had that for about 10 years now.) Stopped using it a few months back. Now I have the LAPolice gear Diplomat bag I carry to work everyday and the Neatfreak is at home since I've switched to a NOC position vs. desktop position. I'm still kinda debating the new County Comm XL bag, but I really can't see needing a bigger bag than the one I'm using. Edit: also the funny thing about the Jack Bauer bag is that it needs to be renamed to the Indiana Jones bag..I mean come on Indy's leather bag is cooler and it was around way before Jack Bauer!!! (I haven't watched 24 since season 1 so I'm assuming Jacks bag has all sorts of cool stuff in it.)
I just bought a drop leg MOLLE platform and attached a Maxped MSM Admin Pouch to it. My wife is still giving me hell about it even though I only wore it out once. As far as public reaction, it was a mixed bag.
Wife calls it my purse. The guys and gals at work know better than to tease a Senior Chief Petty Officer :laugh:
People like us are are the "leperous outcasts",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,until somone(s) is in need of OUR resources :-X
I've been called a Boy Scout too many times, but it stopped because most of my friend ask if they could use something off my EDC one time or another.
i had to pick up my girlfriend's handbag while she went to the car the other day and her niece turned round and said "That's not your handbag, that is" (pointing to my Maxpedition Jumbo on the chair. Slightly embarrassed that I was being mocked by a six-year old. Richard
