I'm looking for a nice looking small to medium size messenger bag for an urban type environment. Size wise I'm looking for something 12-14" wide with 4-5" of depth. Not so concerned with height as long as its over 9" or so. (large enough to fit a binder) In general I want to carry my iPad, a fairly slim pad folio and my edc organizer plus a few small items. Retaining the ability to occasionally carry my Lenovo x220 is a plus but not a must. (smallish 12.5" laptop) Material I'm not picky on. Leather, canvas, whatever. Internal organization with some pockets is a large plus. Price wise I would prefer to keep it in the $600 or under range if we're looking at leather. I really like the looks of the Belstaff Colonial 556 bag. Infact if I could have found a mountain brown 556 in stock at a reputable store I probably wouldn't be asking this question. For reference: http://www.lineafashion.com/store/mens-belstaff-bags/belstaff-colonial-shoulder-bag-556-mountain-brown-11290.html One comment I'm not a fan of the design on either the Saddleback satchel or briefcase. Those designs are most likely out. Thanks for any help! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
These people make good quality at a reasonable price , been going for years here's a link http://www.chapmanbags.com/men/shop-by-collection/modern-classics.html
Since you are looking at some very nice leather bags, I'm not sure that Timbuk2 would even be considered. They do make a very nice, high quality, and very durable bag. I've got one of their medium sized messenger bags in all black. It has been a fantastic bag and carried far more stuff and weight than I thought it would. Just a thought.
I currently have a medium TB2 messenger. Its been a great bag, but I want to replace it with something a bit nicer looking, more professional. Will definitely check out Chapman tonight! Re: Saddlbeback. I tried the slim briefcase is a bit too slim for me didn't like the orientation of the dividers and things and the normal briefcase is too huge.
If you like that style of the Belstaff you might want to check out some of the bags from Ralph Lauren/RRL/Rugby/etc. Some of their messenger bags obviously take some of the styling points of Belstaff, Filson & others. They are a bit overpriced IMO but not anymore so than the Belstaff bags. My favorite tablet vessel these days is a Filson medium Field Bag. Something else that might work for you are some of the smaller leather angler or mail bags from Korchmar and Mulholland Bros.
Nice call on the Tumi Fairview gibbsrule9. I wasn't aware that Tumi had any waxed canvas bags. Excellent quality and good resale value too. I sold my mint 2 yr old leather Tumi computer bag on the bay for more than I paid originally.
The last time I looked at their stuff was several years ago when I was looking for a shoulder bag. They've really expanded their line and materials. Might have to grab one but will have to look at everything. I do like the terrain color.
Rickshaw's black sailcloth is very shiek looking. Would be awesome on the Zero (which I have) or their Commute bag (which I also have, but not in the sailcloth). Their performance tweed bags look awesome. I have the Commute in performance tweed and it's .
Filson 240 seems pretty cool, but I dislike the zipper on the opening. If it were just flap over, it would be very similar to what I'm looking for. Poked around the Tumi site, the only complaint I have about their designs seems like the laptop compartment would be pretty hard to ignore on most of them.
This looks to be a good bag - gets good reviews http://www.atlantaluggage.com/adventure-flap-over-mail-bag.html On occasion, I've seen them for about $250.
The Filson Medium Field Bag 232 at 14x11x5 is roughly the same size as the 240 at 15x11.5x5 and has a flap over without a zipper and has the 2 snapped front pocket and slash rear pocket. http://www.filson.com/products/field-bag-medium.70232.html They look better in person than they do in photos and as they age they gain more character. I get as many compliments on my Filsons than I do on more expensive leather bags.
