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I’ll admit it: I have a Bag Problem. I’m not one of those women who drop thousands of pounds¹ on the latest tiny little chi-chi fashion handbag (“because beadwork is so hot right now, sweetie”), in fact I loathe and detest handbags and don’t own one. On the rare occasions when I go somewhere where even I would feel awkward carrying a rucksack, I colonise the pockets of my beloved. No, I’m talking about real bags. The kind you can carry all your geek kit around in, and which doubles as a mugger-felling projectile or an emergency seat. It must have pockets—-lots of pockets. My problem is that I want the perfect bag that will do it all, the One Bag to Rule Them All.

I dislike having to transfer stuff between bags (partly because I don’t trust myself to remember to transfer the right things), so I need something that will carry my ‘core essentials’ (keys, wallet, phone, iPod, travel pass, camera, Leatherman) for day trips, but also take my work gear (PowerBook, A4 document wallet, books, VGA connector, laser pointer, lunch etc.) for work. Because I walk home from the station (a 30 minute journey), and travel on a couple of different kinds of public transport, it also needs to be waterproof and comfortable to carry.

Leaving aside hand-held briefcase type bags which are impractical for my needs, there are two main styles of bag: rucksacks and courier bags. In the past, I’ve favoured rucksacks because they distribute the weight more evenly across your back, but they are a lot more awkward to get things in and out of. Courier bags, on the other hand, can be swung around to the front to quickly extract your keys, wallet or travel pass. I don’t like to be awkwardly rummaging in public.

My last bag was a [STM Small Sphere][1]—-purchased through work—-which was nearly perfect. It was great size for my 12” PowerBook, comfortable to carry, and very nicely designed. However, I had two gripes with it. First (and most importantly), it wasn’t waterproof. Despite the ‘waterproof zip’, I found that my stuff was getting worryingly damp in all compartments, and when you’re carrying an expensive laptop, that isn’t much fun. I could have messed about lining the compartments with plastic carrier bags, but I would have had to line every pocket, which wasn’t really practical. Lots of zips and seams on the top of a bag are a bad idea when you often have to spend 30 minutes in a downpour. Second, the padded compartments were great for carrying the laptop, but they didn’t leave a lot of space for other things when I wasn’t going to work. So, somewhat reluctantly, I looked around for a replacement.

In the end, I got a [Crumpler Cheesy Disco][2] with a generous discount at the MacExpo. Despite the stupid name and frankly terrifying website, it’s a very classy bag. It’s beautifully made, with very tough material, buckles and zips. It has also remained totally waterproof after some drenching walks home, and has some very thoughtfully designed features. For example, an extra lip of material² folds over when you close the main flap, preventing any water from sneaking in at the edges. Chunky straps of fabric which lie flat against the bag make good loops for attaching camera pouches to, but don’t get in the way otherwise. Best of all, the padded laptop cell inside is self contained and totally removable. So when I take my work stuff out, I’ve got a very roomy courier bag. It looks as if it’s made to last, which is just as well because I really don’t want to set out on the One True Bag quest again.

¹ And not just because I don’t have thousands of pounds.↑

² Bafflingly called the ‘Prince Charles Seal’—-“keeps dirt, water and corgis out”. ↑

[1]: http://www.stmbags.com.au/smallsphere “STM bags” [2]: http://crumpler.co.uk/2.0/site.html “Warning! Lots of Flash”