What's your favourite Manbag?

[penlightening]

I have used a Filson, rugged twill, compartment case for years. On the Filson site, they are listed at $225, but I think I picked mine up in Anchorage AK at a 'going out of' sale for some less. The bag is as sturdy as one could expect-- Filson has an add depiction of one of their larger rugged twill bags holding up a Volkswagon engine. Haven't put an engine in mine yet, but often dream of carrying gold bars or something else incredibly dense, valuable, and exotic (I guess I love heist fantasies). The bag doesn't look so 'purse-like', and I like the divider system to keep items separate, especially when I convert it to a camera bag. The downside to this bag is that it is a little too small to carry a full-size 8.5 by 11 notepad, though Filson has other options that can. But overall, a great 'Man-bag'.

[drawlikemad]

Didn't want to let this string die -- it's been great for a very long time. Check out the Domke line of bags mentioned earlier. I have been using the "Reporters Bag" for a couple months, and it is wonderfully comfortable.

 

Timbuk2 has also redesigned its basic messenger bag -- does anyone have views on it.

[Vargouille]

A Marley Hodgson No. 95 Counselor Gurkha Bag, with a Registered No. of S52. Got it for ten bucks at a flea market, and its worth lots more. For images, see below. The one I have is darker, and slightly smaller, but very similar.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ORIGINAL-MARLEY-HODGSON-GHURKA-BARRISTER-BRIEFCASE-/170505748735?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_CSA_MWA_Backpacks&hash=item27b2ef40ff#ht_1058wt_1137

[Pentech42]

I have a Land's End green canvas bag that's been with me for 15 years now. The zipper broke after 5 years and they replaced it for free then after another 4 years the stitching on an inner pocket started to unravel and they replaced it for free. Figure I will keep it just to prove that some company does honor a lifetime guarantee.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Haversack, I can put in a bottle of wine, a loaf of bread, a quart of ink, and a pack of post it's to use the ink on.

It beats waling in the woods with a brief case.

[Chris]

Just aquired a Billingham Packington bag. Perhaps a bit large for everyday-round-town use (for that, I have my Brady game bag) but it is a perfect (I hope) carry-on bag for all the stuff you seem to need on a flight - books, notebooks, pens, camera, film, phone, glasses, sunglasses, wallet, passport, tickets, money, cards, etc. etc.

 

Hey, if Michael Palin can get by with one, it is good enough for me.

 

Chris

[Marko Kloos]

Someone else mentioned Far Horizon Traders, and I have to add a hearty "+1" and "ditto".

 

My wife got me one of their bags for Father's Day, and it's exactly what I had been looking for: something to last a few decades, sturdy, good-looking, and comfortable to carry, not too big and not too small.

 

It's one of their Samarkand satchels:

 

http://munchkinwrangler.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/satchel.jpg?w=810

 

Excellent bag, very thick leather, brass hardware...and almost shockingly inexpensive for what you get. (The Samarkand is $129 on their site, but they also have an ebay presence, and my wife got this one for $99 and $15 shipping.)

[jniforat]

Someone else mentioned Far Horizon Traders, and I have to add a hearty "+1" and "ditto".

 

My wife got me one of their bags for Father's Day, and it's exactly what I had been looking for: something to last a few decades, sturdy, good-looking, and comfortable to carry, not too big and not too small.

 

It's one of their Samarkand satchels:

 

http://munchkinwrangler.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/satchel.jpg?w=810

 

Excellent bag, very thick leather, brass hardware...and almost shockingly inexpensive for what you get. (The Samarkand is $129 on their site, but they also have an ebay presence, and my wife got this one for $99 and $15 shipping.)

 

 

does it have any pen slots in it or anything?

 

thanks,

 

j

[inkyhands]

I have two bags that I carry routinely. One is the Tom Bihn large cafe bag(http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/200/TB0203). Great for every day use, carries a lot of stuff. I usually am dragging a couple of issues of the New Yorker, a couple of issues of the New York Review of books, a notebook or two and my MacBook. No pen loops per se, but it has several pockets in it and a couple of them are sized just right for pens.

 

The second is a Waterfield Design Vertigo-large. (http://www.sfbags.com/products/vertigo/vertigo.htm) This is my work bag. A little bit bigger than the cafe bag, I can carry my work notebook, a bunch of journal articles, some other stuff to read and my work laptop(Lenovo Thinkpad)This is the one that I usually carry when I am traveling. I am going home tomorrow, and since it is a vacation for me(I work in one state, my family is in another. Modern Life!)I will be carrying my Tom Bihn bag.

 

They're both great.

 

Inkyhands

[myrrhman]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but I love this bag:

 

http://imgur.com/l8C38.jpg

Heavyweight Classic Messenger Bag

 

I tend to prefer more rugged bags. I've used this to carry my notebook and textbooks (which are quite large and heavy) to school for over a year, and it's held up brilliantly. If you need to take your writing equipment into the jungle or something, this is the bag, but it's also great for daily carrying.

 

It may not be pretty, but I think ruggedness and reliability can be stylish in their own way. Plus $18 is a pretty incredible value for something that holds up as well as this bag.

Edited July 1, 2010 by myrrhman

[Moynihan]

Being a bit of a bagaholic, I read the whole thread with interest.

 

My favorite non-work users:

 

Filson (small field bag, medium field bag, Knapsack).Excellent bags. Used mostly and literally as field bags, and sometimes as a day carry in bad weather.

 

Levenger Stanley (original model).

Duluth Trading and Frost River Knapsacks.

Petermann Counterfeit mail bag (very similar to the very nice J Crew mentioned a few times, but with shorter straps, & new, almost 1/2 the cost of the jcrew.

[drawlikemad]

I have a number of bags and always room for one more. I ordered one, in Khaki, from Duluth Pack yesterday. Here it is. http://duluthpack.com/business/briefcases-bags/briefcase-portfolio-bags/builders-portfolio.html.

[hereim]

I use one of these bags from J. Crew when going to & from work:

I like this too

[zerobuttons]

I don´t think Fogg has been mentioned yet. I´m looking into this one:

http://www.foggspecialistbags.com/soprano.htm

 

So far, I am going with Billingham. To be specific, mostly the Hadley Small and the Hadley Large when I need to pack a lot more than camera gear:

http://www.billingham.co.uk/acatalog/Hadleys.html

[Darth Indiana]

Here's one!

 

nice, kinda looks like mine:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h10/erikbrock/Camping/EDC-MK-VII-01.jpg

Edited July 4, 2010 by Darth Indiana

[ianmedium]

I used to carry a Banana republic leather bag whice served me well for many years. But with the onset of more writing projects I needed something a bit bigger.

 

I was having coffee with a friend the other day and he noted I take my bag with me everywhere and understood how important it was to me. He then produced a package which contained a beautiful pebble grained leather courier bag from a Canadian store, Holt Renfrew.

 

Turns out he purchased a few years ago thinking he would use it and never did so I have become the lucky recipient of it and it is truly wondeful, thick heavy leather, leather lined and with all the space I could ever want! This bag is bulit to last a lifetime and I know will get many years of use from me!

A few pictures with all the essentials for my day to day life (Can't go anywhere without Wagner and my fountain pens keeping me company!).

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm225/ianmedium/ipodbag1.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm225/ianmedium/bag3.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm225/ianmedium/bag2-1.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm225/ianmedium/bag1-1.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm225/ianmedium/P1000749.jpg

 

Please excuse the shoddy homemade pen pouch..I love it though!

[Eamonn]

Well, I have to admit that the one and only bag I really love and feel better carrying is The Bowfront Briefcase from Alan Mackenzie Leather manufacturer in Scotland. His products are exquisite, well-built and age with dignity and individuality. Yes, they're definitely expensive but they are designed and manufactured to literally last one's lifetime. I have bought a couple and given them as gifts and I know they're all going from strength to strength. They are made on a Scottish island (Arran) from Italian tanned vegetable tanned leather and the brassware is from Britain and the locks from Germany. These are the subtle, understated and classy bags for men who are comfortable in their own skin. Best of all - even the 'standard' size can take a laptop. I *highly* recommend them and obviously I do so unaffiliated in any way, except as a very satisfied customer. Website and international mail order available here: http://www.mackenzieleather.co.uk/index.htm

[EnviroDawg]

Haversack from Duluth Pack. We were given these at Society of Conservation Biology meetings years back. Perfect for journals, binocs, pens and ink, cell phone, gps, etc. http://duluthpack.com/accessories/handbags-purses/haversack.html

[Flounder]

This is the manbag that got me through most of uni. It's a (most likely reproduction) PanAm shoulder bag in brown and white faux-leather. I wanted something small, but with space to hold a laptop inside, books, pens, phone and so on, without telegraphing to dangerous types that I had a laptop on me.

 

 

 

It was a cheap as chips eBay find, suprisingly downpour-proof, and I always liked the PanAm logo. And I'm writing this on my thinkpad, never been mugged, so it did the job!

 

My favourite, but sadly unattainable, manbag would be a Cretan sakouli. Came across these reading The Cretan Runner, they were goatherders' haversacks, covered in woven geometric designs. Their origins were probably Byzantine. "The Cretan sakouki... is an elaborate affair, woven of bright colours, with red predominating. As the patterns vary from village to village, it is possible for an expert to spot at once where the owner comes from. the most splendid come from Aoyeia" (Patrick Leigh Fermor)

 

Before globalisation, every home had a loom to weave these things; I understand that now there is only one shop in the whole island that makes them, with a massive backlog.

[drawlikemad]

Haversack from Duluth Pack. We were given these at Society of Conservation Biology meetings years back. Perfect for journals, binocs, pens and ink, cell phone, gps, etc. http://duluthpack.com/accessories/handbags-purses/haversack.html

 

 

Duluth Pack's products are wonderful. I just purchases the Builders Portfolio -- probably the best briefcase I will ever own.