Tough but a little rough

By jedito Ranked #322 - Slings & Messenger Bags March 11, 2009

Let me start out by saying I tried out about half a dozen different messenger bags searching for something that I could use every day on my road bike, and this is the bag that came out on top.

All and All this is an awesome bag, the material it's made out of is tough like a coffin nail and when it's zipped up it's pretty much water PROOF. Not water resistant, but fill-it-with-ice-and-use-it-as-a-portable-beer-cooler waterproof.

Also, it's fairly unassuming and doesn't look like a trendy hipster messenger bag. I ride through some fairly gnarly parts of Oakland on a daily basis and not drawing attention to myself is desirable (for obvious reasons). Slap a band sticker over the big north face logo and the bag goes from looking a little pricey to a little dollar store-y. Mucho bueno.

However, where fit and finish is concerned it's rougher than those hipsterish bags are. At first the zipper is a huge PIA to close when the bag isn't resting on a table or something (IE, when it's on your shoulder). Once you break the bag in a little it gets easier, but you'll still fight it a little. Also, there's no cloth or padding over the plastic on the back so you can expect a nice big sweaty spot on the back of your shirt if you're riding in hot weather.

And finally, I don't know who North Face thought was going to be buying these, but I've never encountered a bag with some much superfluous length to the straps before. I literally had to roll up and zip-tie all of the extra length on the main shoulder strap, as a good 2ft of it would flap around behind me when riding, and the bag is designed in a way that makes it impossible to cut the extra length off.

All that said, it's a rock solid bag, and a steal at the discontinued color price.

View Details: The North Face Base Camp Messenger Bag

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