So there I was looking over Brendon’s recent post on space pens, and I find a reference to his Murse. Now I’ve been a man-purse user for quite a while, but I always just accepted that I was eccentric, or at least eccentric enough to carry a man-purse. And yes, I’ve caught my share of crap – at least util the crap-givers needed something I had. After reading Bren’s post, and the various comments, links, and further posts, I now believe that not only are man bags perfectly normal, but one can probably draw a coorelation between murse usage and intelligence. Or at least creativity.
It started with a green Eagle Creek guide bag, which I used mostly for hiking & travelling. The problem with backpacks is they have to be taken off to get anything out of them, where with a shoulder bag I could grab water whenever. It served pretty well, if a little dorky looking. It was nearly the perfect volume – you could jam just enough stuff in it to make it heavy, without being too heavy. Unfortunately, it’s green, no longer made to be bought in black, and doesn’t hold an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper without folding.
Next came the “scary bag” – it is actually a Billingham Hadley camera bag I used to carry my old Contax G1 – after all, no one can tease a guy for carrying a camera bag, especially if there’s a camera in it. Anyway, on one of our early dates my now wife invited me for a walk by the lake front – I brought the Hadley. Later, when we were recounting the story to each other she said she’d found the bag (and the fact I need to bring all that stuff, including two cameras, on a 3-hour date) to be pretty scary. We called it the “scary bag” ever since. I’ve sold the Contax, but kept the bag.
Then came the Tumi Small Messenger bag, which is probably my favorite so far. In good old manly black ballistic nylon, pen loops, very functional pockets, little places to put little things (like batteries and memory cards) and the tracker plate with serial number. I’ve got a Tumi expandable briefcase which I love – Tumi knows luggage. If only the messenger bag was just a tad bit bigger…
Then came a Tom Bihn cafe bag, which took like 3 months to arrive because they were swamped. Yes, it’s got the label in French about the President and it’s just big enough to hold a magazine without folding it. Too bad it wasn’t a tad bit thicker.
What’s next? I’m thinking one of those messenger bags by Timbuk2 or others. During a recent trip, I found that my Tumi wasn’t super waterproof, and I know the other aren’t but the Timbuk2 seems pretty tight. Not sure about the styling, though. I agree with this guy – leather is out. Is brightly colored nylon/vinyl in?
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Okay, it’s cool to have a single murse…but, dude, you’re *collecting* murses. :-)
C’mon – I have to have just the right one to
go with my outfithold my stuff. Don’t want things falling out, or getting disorganized.Honestly, I’ve always had an obsession with luggage ;-)