Originally Posted by
squareballbuddy
I agree with v..dart on the timbuk2 being a lightweight bag. Its definitely flimsy feeling. I can't fit more than one big school book in it before it starts feeling like its gonna bust. However, after using it for over 6 months to carry 2 big books, notebooks, and etc, its never ripped and shown very few signs of wear. My old Aerostich bag felt much sturdier under load!
Timbuk2s are still well made. One bag of theirs died on me after 6 months (Commute), but I beat the snot out of my medium laptop messenger for at least as long and other than stains it looks new. I know lots of people who have been using the same Timbuk2 bag for years.
My problem with Timbuk2 is that they are the retrogrouches of the messenger bag world. They seem to think that it's good that they haven't changed their strap design since 1985 or whatever, despite the fact that their straps are fundamentally unergonomic. Good companies like Bailey Works, Seagull, Zugster, PAC, etc., continuously update and experiment with different strap designs. I don't know about Chrome, but their straps are quite good and very ergonomic.
You can see that Timbuk2 doesn't get it just by watching their little animated "how to wear your messenger bag" thing. Their model wears her bag way, way too low, and probably too loose for cycling. Fine for walking around with, which maybe is the point since that's about the only thing their bags are good for...