Opinions are like azzholes. Everyone has one.

I'm 6'-3", with 'big and tall store' shoulders, long arms, and a big chest. My Chrome Citizen fits really well if it's about half full, maybe 8-10" of 'stuff' in the bag. It hugs my body, like a comfy envelope.

If I try to put lots of big stuff inside - say, a bike helmet, pair of shoes, and a change of clothes - it starts getting too bulky and becomes much less comfortable, mostly because the stabilizing strap starts cutting into my underarm, and the shoulder strap starts getting too close to my neck.

Which shoulder? Dunno, I use the standard 'left shoulder' one and it's fine. It feels more natural to fish around in the bag with my right arm.

I'm probably 'scaled' more to a Metropolis. I've been trying to get one, but Chrome's stock is really low after Interbike, and I have no idea when they'll have the colors I want back in stock.

pictures, we need pictures of you and your bag and you with your bag and you with your bag full of stuff and the inside of the bag and the secret stash pocket and how many cubic inches the bag is and a picture of your cat for good measure.

now go, do my bidding.

I got my mess bag for free?

At least buy me a glass of wine, first.

Make it a French Pinot Noir, or an Australian Syrah, not that cheap 'in a box ****', and we'll talk.

Am I the only one that's a bit weirded out right now?

Sorry none with the bag on, or it loaded up. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrkott3r/
But you can see the inside pocket and buckle.
Its a reload citizen and it showed up yesterday. They forgot (not reload) to pack a stabiliser strap so hopefully it'll be here tomorrow. But its pretty stable without it.

Now for size, its not huge, you wont get the kitchen sink in there. I had it fairly loaded up last night with, jacket, milk, salad, light set, bike lock, pump, and tools. It was I guess around three quarters full. If you really want more pictures I can do it, but only if you really want it.

Sorry I cant really compare it to other bags (for things like comfort etc) because I haven't used other bags.

only hipsters would argue about bags on the interweb.

In relation to the pictures our forum superstars post, I thought that was rather tame.

yeah, i wasn't that weirded out at all.

late night post from ryand, that was the weird part.
(no internet at home)

[QUOTE=fatbat]I find the single strap messenger bags are the best compromise for carrying a little vs carrying a lot. Just removed something big from the bag? cinch up the main strap, and you're good to go.
Backpacks tended to not be stable on my back, flop around, and interfered with head-checks. /QUOTE]
This is what brought me to buy a mes bag. I dont always carry alot on my commute and when I do the bag handles it. I can take something out while riding and cinch the pack up as I go. Back packs have a place also and I plan on investing in one.

I used a backpack for awhile until I got my messenger. I fu-king hated it (backback).

And don't forget to vote for Backpack for ASB president on friday :p

I wear messenger bags all the time (even when travelling/flying/nothing to do with bikes). I totally f**ked my AC joint in my right shoulder and backpacks make me weep like a child.

My mess bag is old and I bought it whilst I was a courier (for two whole weeks). So I claim dibs.

I love yuz all.

Anyone got a backpack they wanna unload? pm me....

do you guys know where i can buy a distressed courier bag?

(aka why wont this thread just die with the rest of them)

My 18 year-old son and I share a Chrome Metropolis, a Chrome Kremlin, a cotton newspaperboy bag, and various backpacks.

My son definitely prefers the backpacks and I definitely prefer the Chrome messenger bags and the cotton newspaperboy bag.

I prefer the messenger bags because they distribute the load better, for me, and I sense that I have a lower center of gravity with the messenger bags.
I forget I have them on my back.

My son prefers the packs because the load feels more directly attached to his body and therefore more controlled.

He rides a lot faster and more aggressively than do I, but I don't think that makes the difference as much as simple personal preference.

this thread delivers. maybe, idk, i didnt read the whole thing. i started using my girlfriend's old timbuk2 a whileago. she wasnt using it and i found the design made the 12pack inside it very accessable. now that im takin classes and loadin it with books im def in the market for a backpack.

on a side note: these stupid fridge packs are makin it hard to shop for a new bag.

My $.02...

I was using a backpack for a while and I found that no matter where it was on my back it was always pulling back my shoulders and made my neck hurt if I was in the drops (sometimes, but rare). Plus, all that tight clocse contact was WAY hot in the New Orleans climate. I bought a discounted crumpler bag to test the mess bag configuration and found that it was much more comfortable and cooler (as in temperature.)

Plus, after I broke my collarbone last year backbacks HURT like hell when my shoulder gets sore. Which is odd, because I thought the backpack would be better.

After I started doing on-site appointments and needed to bring cabling, routers, modems, tools etc with me I had to upgrade to the bigger Jandd Iniki and haven't looked back. Messenger bags are doubleplus good while riding, IMHO.

is it just me, or does this phrase


entirely contradict this one?



it would seem that by your logic, you're better off using mess bags for non mess purposes.



*edit* gotta love people who take each word as literaly as possible without care for sentiment....

i guess i should have said, that in finding mess bags to be unsuitable for mess work, to state that mess bags are only for mess work is perhaps not entirely contradictory, but certainly a ridiculous statement. Why not either say mess bags are useless? - the actual extension of the logic. And yes they do have something to do with each other. the subject, mess bags, is the same.

and of course my point being, rather than nitpicking as mr not taking sides is doing, that if something is ill suited for the purpose someone states is it's only purpose (and they conceed that something else works better), yet many find it perfect for their own purposes, it cannot be only for messing. Wow that was truly a convoluted thought. Once again if the grammar police would take a doughnut break, they might see what i'm saying, nah probably not.

Not taking sides here but, yeah it's just you.

The former expresses his desire for a backpack when he messengered. The second states that that messenger bags are made for messenger work (even though he didn't like using them)

One statement has nothing to do with the other although they are related by subject matter.

carleton, why are you so smart and level headed?

my response would have been:
"no, you suck, let the thread die."

edit; why do i keep posting in here? ugh, im an idiot.

Do you spend a lot of time visiting the sets of television shows you don't like and trying to talk the cast and crew into not making the shows anymore? Just curious.

I rock them both.
My backpack:
+ bigger than my messenger for large loads (non heavy ones)
+ Lots of pockets for EVERY LITTLE THING in my apartment
+lots of straps (chest and waist) to keep it from shifting
- doesnt colapse as well as my messenger when i stuff it under my pedicab (or other tight place) for storage due to all the padding
- Heavy loads make me unstable with my backpack (center of weight is about 6" behind my lower back) even when the bag is hiked up high.

Chrome lg messenger
+ Most of the weight is distributed along my chest by the strap and not on my shoulder
+ most comfortable while riding (hiked up high on my back, oh yeah)
+ stays in place with out using the extra strap
+ easy to grab items while in motion
+ most comfortable when carrying heavy medium sized loads.
- cant carry as much as my backpack
- not as much padding as my backpack for wierd pokey shaped objects
- too few pockets (as compared to my backpack)

those are the + and - of my two bags. my backpack is a large bmx backpack similar to this one.
http://www.danscomp.com/730013.php?cat=STREETWEAR
but bigger.

-

why not?