| | |  | Bicycle Accessories | Home » » Timbuk2 Classic Messenger Bag | | | | | | | Description: | | Originally built for hard-working messengers, the Classic Messenger Bag has been in production for 20 years. Known for its long-lasting, rugged durability and distinctive three-panel, multi-color design, the Classic Messenger has been adopted in cities around the world as the everyday, all-purpose carryall. It features a ballistic nylon exterior and waterproof liner, and remains the bag-of-choice for bicycle messengers, cycling enthusiasts and urban dwellers everywhere. [Imported] | | | Features: | |
• Classic messenger bag originally designed for hard-working bicycle messengers
• Ballistic nylon exterior and waterproof liner help the bag last a lifetime
• Large main compartment, front pocket with extra zippered pocket, and internal pockets
• Quick-adjust, side-cam shoulder strap; cross strap for stabilization (except XS)
• Comes in XS, S, M, L, and XL sizes in dozens of color patterns; lifetime warranty
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 8.5 inches | | Product Width:
| 22.5 inches | | Product Height:
| 12.5 inches | | Product Weight:
| 4.0 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 57 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 57 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
55 of 55 found the following review helpful:
 The last messenger bag you'll ever needApr 18, 2008
By SH
I've been using my medium timbuk2 messenger bag for the past 2 years. Frankly, I think large is way too big. Even medium is a bit much for my 5'3" frame. Let me give you an idea of how much a medium bag can hold: 2 thick textbooks, a 15" laptop in casing, lunch, portable mug/water bottle, gym clothes + sneakers. So in short, it's perfect for those who leave early in the morning and don't get home until the evening. It has enough various-sized pockets on the inside and outside of the bag to feed all my compulsive needs. It works also exceptionally well as a carry-on and overnight or weekend trips. The bag is certainly durable and stylish with an added bonus of having the option to customize the color blocks. I liked that about timbuk2 bags -- crumpler bags seemed a little boring. And to clarify, timbuk2 bags are waterproof in a sense that the contents of your bag will not get wet; but the bag will, because it is the inner lining of the bag that is waterproof, not the outer material. Once the bag dries, it's as good as new, but I now spray my bag with a water-repellent from time to time.
If you decide to buy a medium or large, definitely shell out a few more bucks for a padded strap, because while the strap is nice and wide, it provides zero cushioning for your shoulders.
17 of 18 found the following review helpful:
 Good, but not for meJun 17, 2009
By Kyla P.
I ordered this bag because of all the great reviews it had, but I didn't like it as much as everyone else did. First of all the bag came with different straps, and as a first time user of this product I had a hard time figuring out how to loop the main strap so it won't stick out (or should it?), so a brief instructions could have been included. Secondly, when i put the bag on it did not feel right on my back and it was also crumpled to the side due to the main straps, something i was not used to with my old Messenger bag ( this was with 1 extra large textbook, a calculator, lotion, notebook, and a lab manual with various pens and pencils). I like my bags to look neat on me and that definitely wasn't cutting it. I also would have liked that there was a back support instead of just the normal material, which probably would have prevented it from crumpling and feeling flimsy. And, although it has nice compartments for different things, it is a major hassle to open up the loud sounding velcro flap and push my hand into the side just to get to my metro card or id. Again, my previous messenger bag had the zipper compartment on the front so it was easily accessible. I guess I was too busy comparing it to my previous bag that I was blinded by the greatness everyone else sees in these bags. Maybe if I opted for the Laptop messenger bag instead my results would be better. But, I returned it to amazon and am currently looking at the Jansport Elefunk which seems to be in my taste.
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
Good, Durable BagApr 11, 2008
By Pete
I got the small one.
Pros
1) Heavy-Duty Construction
2) Lots of pockets inside
3) Detachable Reflectors
4) Detachable Cross Strap
Cons
1) The velcro can be disruptive in quiet situations
2) It might not be good for protecting things that get creased easily (e.g. loose sheets paper), esp. when it's relatively empty (as it has no structure)
I use it every day. Looks like a good investment.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Discreet Camera Bag!Jan 19, 2010
By Todd Wagner
I was tired of carrying a camera bag that screams out "expensive equipment inside!" After seeing a link on the Internet of another photographer that took a Tenba messenger bag insert, and placed it inside of a Medium Timbuk2 Messenger Bag, I imitated his idea. I've now been carrying my Timbuk2 for the past month, and am amazed by the amount of equipment I can comfortable carry inside of it. It has been through both a snowstorm and a rainstorm, and my equipment stayed dry.
The quality craftsmanship of the Timbuk2 is one of the first things I noted upon receiving this bag, making it obvious why this cost a bit more than the run of the mill big box store messenger bag.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Great for grad studentJan 06, 2010
By CS Grad Student
As a grad student in computer science, I take my computer with me *everywhere*. I need bags that can take a light beating every day for a long time. When my old computer bag developed a large tear at the computer pocket, I wanted something that would be large enough for me to carry my computer, its accessories, a textbook, a notebook, and my digital camera, which is an oversized point-and-shoot that's just a little too large to fit comfortably into any bag. Needless to say I also wanted something that wouldn't rip open or have the clip for the shoulder strap snap and drop my computer onto the sidewalk, both unpleasant experiences I've had with other bags.
I was a little wary of carrying the laptop in a sleeve that could rattle around inside a larger bag, but many of my friends do it that way and seem to have no problems. One of them introduced me to Timbuk2's products, and after a lot of research and agonizing I ordered the Classic Messenger Bag and Timbuk2's Timbuk2 Wiki Laptop Sleeve.
The CMB is great, though it is basically "just a bag" with a few auxiliary pockets. The medium size -- which looks big and is actually a little bigger -- holds everything I need, with just a little room to spare, and if I ever want to carry other stuff (groceries, camping supplies) I can just take the computer out and have a pretty humongous bag. It's comfortable, the lining is waterproof, the strap has a nifty quick-release length adjustment, and it feels very, very secure. My girlfriend admired mine so much that she asked her family for one, and I got my brother one as a Christmas gift, as he frequently bikes to work.
Some caveats, all of which I consider minor points a buyer might want to be aware of, rather than real issues I have with the product:
- It took me a couple days of fiddling with the length of the main strap and how the bag sat on my back before it was really comfortable. I could tell when I first put it on that it was well-built and would be comfortable; I just had to spend some time and find the sweet spot.
- The top doesn't really close; it's just the main flap of the bag flipped across the opening. Things seem to sit so that the bag pinches shut at the top naturally, and there's a safe margin of overhang, but I've noticed that the main strap can pull the overhanging edge of the flap up, rather than down over the side of the bag. I've never had an actual problem with this, and neither has the friend who showed me the bags in the first place, but it seems worth mentioning.
- The cross strap -- yes, it can be a little confusing at first. However, it's not outrageously difficult either. I got it backwards the first time I tried it, reversed it, and had no further issues. Once you've got it it's pretty obvious, and you don't really need it unless you're riding a bike or something similarly athletic.
- The quick-release on the main strap seems prone to a little slippage unless you really clamp it down. I assume that's why it has a kind of double-loop system that allows you to adjust the amount of slack strap available for extending at any given time but that's a little tedious to work with.
- There are a lot of auxiliary pockets inside and a couple outside. They're all useful sizes and pretty much perfectly hold all my stuff, but the interior pockets are built of some much lighter material than the rest of the bag, and it seems to stretch and sag with use. I'd had a lot of pens in the pen pockets for a couple weeks until I noticed they were getting loose and slightly misshapen. I wouldn't rely on them to hold a lot of stuff, despite the apparent size.
- You can't really carry anything on the outside of this bag without buying some accessories from Timbuk2. This doesn't bother me, as I keep phones in holsters and keys in my pocket, but if you put everything in your bag it might be a hindrance.
- Word of caution: Despite being a righty, I wear my bag "left-handed," i.e. over my right shoulder. This puts the strap adjustment behind me, so I have to take the bag off to adjust it. However, if there's any weight in it, it seems that the bag might be difficult to adjust while wearing, regardless of which way you wear it. Timbuk2 offers an option on this if you custom order a bag.
Apart from these points, which are very minor, I really do love this bag. It's simple, it does exactly what I need (viz., carry stuff), everything seems very well-made (with the possible exception of those interior pockets), it's attractive, the size and shape are useful, it's comfortable to carry and wear. I look forward to long use from this bag.
Oh, and Timbuk2's Twitter feed gave me the answer to the issue of velcro noise: just take the velcro out of commission. Buy some matching velcro strips at a fabrics store, cut to fit, cover the bag's velcro with the loose velcro, and use the clips to secure the bag. This hasn't been a problem for me as I don't attend a lot of meetings and open my bag before classes start, but if it ever comes up, at least there's an easy way around it.
See all 57 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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