Earlier today I got my Seagull black bag (standard size) in the mail and was able to go out on a couple short rides with it, thought I'd post a review/initial impressions for those who are interested. First off, I should say that Seagull was great to deal with. Email responses were quick and friendly, and I received the bag in a little over two weeks when they estimated it'd take three just to be shipped, which was a pleasant surprise. Also, the bag is $95 shipped which puts it at the low end of the price spectrum for quality handbuilt bags.
First thing I noticed when I pulled it out is that this thing is really big (as expected). To conform to the industry standard measure of carrying capacity, it can easily fit a case and a couple 40s with room to spare. I went and got some groceries (two boxes of cereal, half gallon of milk, a big thing of oatmeal, and some cornbread mix to go with the chili we made tonight
) and it seemed to hardly put a dent in all the space. Later I hauled my gigantic anchor of a laptop, a bunch of books and a jacket and there was still plenty of room. This load was pretty heavy and the bag stayed situated and comfortable. Check
here for a link to tons of pictures of stuff being packed in it and more info about the features.
The layout and features of the bag are good, although not incredibly fancy. On the outside of the main pouch (under the flap) there is a big velcro pocket that I'm keeping my tools in to separate them from everything else. Also on this part of the bag is a strap to clip a blinky too. This is nice for me since I don't like switching my light from bike to bike and messing with mounting hardware all the time. When the bag is unloaded the flap can cover the light if you pull it all the way down, which is a bit of a downside. In the main compartment is a smaller velcro organizer pocket good for a cell phone and some pencils or any other small things you want to keep separated, along with a clip for a toolbag or whatever else you can think to put on there. The main strap has comfy padding and a centering strap that has so far done well to keep the bag from moving around.
The construction of the bag feels very sturdy and looks clean and professional. All the buckles and straps are solid and the cinch mechanism on the main strap is the beefiest damn thing I've ever seen. I obviously haven't ridden it in the rain yet but the lining seems like it will keep things dry.
Overall, I think I'm going to be really happy with it. I dig the simple design and nearly non-existent branding. Basically the flap is a big canvas that I'm pretty tempted to do something with (ideas?), but we'll see. Its size makes it a little silly to use if you're only carrying a small load, but I already have a smaller bag for that (crappy as it is, it works). Anybody else here have one of these?