Messenger bag help

[mimitabby]

So what are the advantages to these over a backpack that sits in the middle of your back?

[onimity]

So what are the advantages to these over a backpack that sits in the middle of your back?

I just gave up my backpack for a messenger bag on my daily commute. TE seems to not have the one I got anymore but it is a Timbuk2 bag with a huge (pink ) reflective panel. It's so over-the-top obnoxious that I always take it out when I'm riding at night, even if I don't need to carry anything. It's amazingly waterproof. Those are benefits, but of course you can get that in a good backpack. But I do like that the messenger bag is more cyclist-friendly in terms of visibility and keeping stuff dry on a commute.

I love the way my messenger bag fits. When I rode with the backpack my back, especially neck and shoulders, would get sore. Especially when riding home with my laptop. The strap on my messenger bag sits further out and I don't get nearly as sore with it.

Then, the sweaty back. My back still gets sweaty but not nearly as bad as with the backpack (where it was the whole back); with the messenger bag I can readjust my position slightly and get a nice cool breeze between me and the bag.

I agree with the comment on positioning, I wear my bag pretty high on my back while riding, much more comfortable/balanced that way.

Anne

[VeloVT]

Hmmm... backpack vs messenger bag... when I first decided to commute via bike I ordered a big, beautiful custom Timbuk2 messenger bag (a lefty -- and this does make it easier for us southpaws). Although I wore it the correct way (tight and pretty high on the back, with the cross strap buckled), to my great disappoinment, I found the weight distribution fairly uncomfortable and shifty while on the bike, and when walking with the bag worn as described above, if I had anything heavy like books or a laptop, I'd get a bruise on my last vertabra or two from the bag bouncing against them.

So I got this backpack (in orange):
http://www.fogdog.com/product/index....ductId=2051274

And it's been great, so much easier and more comfortable to ride with than the messenger bag. The back is very comfortably padded/molded, the load is very stable (esp with hip belt/sternum strap buckled, which I always use when on the bike), and three panels means I can store laptop/books in a separately zipped compartment from my clothes, and still have a panel for organizing pens/pencils/wallet/keys/bike light etc. It even has an integrated, stowaway rain fly. And the back compartment is hydration bladder compatible, though I haven't had reason to put a bladder in this pack yet. And the sweaty back thing -- it's a tossup between the two, I think this backpack may actually be better than the messenger in that regard since the back has molded aeration channels. Oh -- and my pack has an exterior expandable mesh panel that's perfect for carrying my helmet and lock. And water bottle pockets so I can take mine with me when I lock up my bike ...

So I'm a backpack convert -- more comfortable and more convenient for me. But I still think messenger bags look cooler .

[Geonz]

I also don't like the way messenger bags "hang." I got me a Camelbak Blowfish that carries a fair amount. It's not *really* enough, though, which is why I got the Xtracycle, which can carry everything in the whole wide world.

[surgtech1956]

Have you checked Ebay? Quite a few of these bags up for sale.

[mimitabby]

thanks. Too late, i spent hours today and ended up buying a North face bag
similar to the one suggested.
backpack that is

[Bron]

So what are the advantages to these over a backpack that sits in the middle of your back?

For me the advantage was not so much when cycling (if anything, a backpack distributes weight better), but that I can get at the things inside it better when I have reached my office, unlike with the backpack where I have to take everything out to get at the stuff at the bottom.