Since I was yeh high, I’ve always wanted a messenger bag. Finally, a couple days ago, my wish came true. REI was having this awesome and I was able to snag a  deeply discounted bag. The MSRP was $65 and it was discounted to $20. So what is this wonderful bag I’m talking about? Well it’s the “Novara Messenger Bag - Men”. Yes the “Men” is part of the name, they had the women edition too, for even cheaper. Alas I meander.

The Specs

So first let’s talk about the specs on this baby. The bag itself has plenty of room with its 19×11x8 inch in other words 1,953 cubic inch. So how big is that? Width wise it’s big enough to accommodate a large binder and a water bottle. For you Timbuk2 lovers, it’s just a pinch bigger than the medium classic bag. In my opinion, it’s even better than the Timbuk2. Now don’t flame me, I don’t know about its durability but, in my opinion it looks better.

It’s not as iconic as the Timbuk2 but its design does the job. I know the size can intimidate you on carrying it for daily use but, the bag has a fastener to shrink the bag when you don’t need it.

The Side Flaps

Speaking of design, the bag implements “improvements” from the Timbuk2. Normally on the side of the bags (where the flap meets the bag), there will be a hole where rain water can go through. The Novara on the other hands, adds another flap to keep the rain water out. Personally, I don’t really like it because it restrains the flap from opening flat. I also don’t ussually play in the rain with my bags anyway. But It’s a minor thing that didn’t stop me from buying it. And I’m sure it will come in handy one day.

The Reflector

Another design  aspect, this one more common, the bags add several reflector. There’s 1 on each sides and 2 on the bottom. The tag that’s attached to the bag said that the reflectors can be taken off. But after scratching my head a couple time, I couldn’t find away to detach it. Very minor but I think it’s worth mentioning.

The Inside

Inside the bag you will find 1 micro, small, medium, large, and a thin pocket behind the large. So that’s the 5 pocket you’re going to live with. What do I mean by micro? It’s basically just big enough to hold say a Moleskine. By the way, the micro pocket is the only one outside of the bag, it lies on the flap. The small is enough to fit a pencil case and the medium enough to hold story books. Inside the medium you will also find 1 playing-card  sized pocket, an ipod sized one and 2 pencil holders. The thin one on the back of the large one is just enough to fit your loose leaf paper stack. Now the large is the meat of the bag, basically all 8″ of it. It’s the only pocket with a bottom. The other pockets are basically just piggy-backing on it. When you nearly fill all 8″ of the bag, you will barely be able to put anything in the other pocket. All the pockets but the main one has  a zipper. The medium one even has 2 zipper.

The  Back Padding

The bag also has a nice back padding on the bag. It’s like those memory foam stuff except a bit harder. Sure it feels good but if you dent it, it will take a while to decompress leaving an unsightly blemish. They also engraved their logo in the bag to remind you of them. How thoughtful! Overall I think it looks good and add to the “expensiveness” of the bag.

The Front Flap

Now the front has a good look to it too. The flap of the bag is the only 2 toned part of the whole thing. The other part of the bag are black with the interiors dark gray. the other color beside the black on the flap depends on what color you get, red, gray or dark green like mine. I like their unique design, it’s one of those few bags with diagonal pockets and seem which I think is better than the boring horizontal ones. In the corner where the 2 colors meet the sewn on a faux leather, for an unknown reason to me. I think it’s just a design touch. Beside that, they add a subtle but cool flame design on their logo.

The Strap and Handles

One final part of the bag is the strap and handles. The strap is nice and wide with its 2 inch width. The padding of it is basic, and just enough to make the bag easier on the shoulder. the padding also has a barely sticky substance so that when you move the bag around, the padding stays on your shoulder. A nice subtle touch I should say. On each side of the padding there is a  strap buckle (Or so I’ve been told that “that” is what it’s called. I’m talking about the plastic thing that makes the strap shorter and longer). Some people apparently finds this annoying. Personally, I have no preference. The handle is just a basic handle, no padding, just a handle. It’s nice and wide like everything else the bag has. Basic but does its job.

Conclusion

Overall I think this is a fine competitor and alternative to the timbuk2. I would recommend it to people that wants to buy a messenger bag. And it sure was a steal at $20. So far I have no regrets, and very little buyer’s remorse. More pictures on Flickr.

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