Review: The Adobe Messenger Bag

Ordering Process and Delivery

OK, so this part isn't about the physical aspects of the bag, but customer service is as important to me as the product itself, so I feel like it's worth noting. The order process was the standard "shopping cart" format we've come to know and love. However, I went back to the site a few hours later to check the Order Status (like I said, I was antsy), but figuring out where to log back in was a chore in and of itself. In short, I'm not a fan of their store layout.

Anyway, I don't want to get off-topic by critiquing their site. However, I do want to compliment MEDIUM on one thing. I selected two-day delivery as my shipping option, and they overnighted it to me instead at no extra charge. A seemingly small enhancement to my order, but great customer service.

The Bag Itself

OK, so I had no way of physically seeing the bag before placing the order. I had to rely on the Flash demo of the product for my information because I am apparently the first one on the internet to have bought the bag! Upon arrival, I ripped the box open and saw this beautiful black leather bag wrapped in plastic. After taking it out of the plastic and removing the 768 mini sacs of desiccant (I swear, I thought somebody was messing with me), I noticed it was a bit wider than I thought it was going to be. That's not a bad thing, but just something I noticed. Then I opened the bag up.

Opening the bag... that's an interesting "feature." The flap with the Adobe logo is standard, and there is a slot for a name/address tag on the inside of it. Curiously, there was no tag provided. There is a swath of fabric that you roll up and down to open and close the inner compartment. When rolled up, you secure it by pulling down on straps on either side of the bag. The straps don't buckle and unbuckle, they just tighten and loosen. This rollup fabric is part of the "water-proof your contents" feature, and it's not bad. In the rain, the inside will definitely stay dry. However, I'm curious as to why there would be a need for it when you have the "rain hood" built in to the bag to cover the bag in the bad weather anyway. This thing is made of good-quality leather, so I'm definitely going to be using the hood if it's ugly outside.

After unrolling the fabric, I noticed that the bag didn't open as wide as I had hoped it would. At first I just thought that maybe the new leather was a little tight, but I came to realize it just doesn't open that wide. There are a ton of pockets and pouches in there, but since the bag doesn't open that wide, it's hard to get to any but the ones at the top. (I also found about another ten sacs of desiccant while perusing the pockets. This is crazy.)

Now, the big test... How does the bag handle a standard size laptop with a couple of books that I am reading. The laptop pocket in slightly "elevated" from the outer lining of the bag, so there's an extra cushion to protect your machine. But herein lies my biggest complaint about the bag. Remember how I said the bag didn't open that wide? Well, the natural side-effect of this is that you can't put a whole lot in the bag because that means the outer flap then won't close. I had my laptop, my new Pragmatic Ajax book and another amazing book I just finished entitled The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. Neither book is very thick at all (a couple hundred pages each), but the combination of the three made it very tight to close the bag. There's no way the thick Ben Forta books would ever make it into the bag while still being able to properly close the flap. That being said, I thought about how much I really carry with me on a daily basis. I occasionally carry my laptop, but always carry a book with me. With that sort of load, this bag is perfectly adequate. However, if you're a "road warrior," I think the "tightness" of the compartment might be a showstopper.

The strap that comes with the bag is a bit of a mixed review as well. On the one hand, the strap itself is made out of the fabric that airplane seat belts are made from. It's smooth and it's sturdy. The padded part of the strap is great. It's a very good size and with all the aforementioned contents, it didn't bother my shoulder at all while walking to and from work over the last couple of days. That's the good part. The downside to the strap is that they don't give you a whole lot of slack. I like carrying my bag across my shoulder diagonally. In that position, I have the strap length max-ed out and I still find that I would like for it to be a little longer. It's not that big of a deal, but I do notice it. If you're a taller person (I'm 5 feet, 10 inches...178 cm for the non-Americans), I don't know how the bag would feel if carrying it cross-shoulder; it might be a bit snug. Also, the clips on the shoulder pad for streamlining your headphone cord isn't really useful if you're not carrying the bag on one shoulder.

The built-in rain hood is pretty cool actually, and even unexpectedly give you an outer pocket to put a book in without having to actually open the bag. It full covers the front and bottom of the back, but the back is exposed. That's not really such a big deal though because that's the part that would be hugging your body, which is (hopefully) covered by an umbrella.

Overall

Overall, I don't regret buying the bag at all. Heck, even the iPod has design flaws, even though nobody likes to mention them! The last big question is whether or not the bag was "worth" the $250 USD I spent on it. In a word, "no." (And again, other than the "cool" factor, are iPods worth their current prices? Not sure about that.) If the price point was around the $185 USD range, I think this would be a great buy. It is made of top-shelf leather and has all the fixings of a solid bag, but the space constraints on it don't really warrant the higher price tag, and can even be a showstopper in certain cases.

But I also realize this is a "boutique" bag as well. You can't walk in to a store and purchase it. Living in New York City, it's all about keeping your own identity. I now have a bag that I am happy with and is also unique to me. I won't get on the jam-packed subway in the morning and see others with it and that's kind of a cool feeling. To that end, if you're looking for a higher-end bag for work that exudes professionalism, it should definitely be on your list of candidates.