I love this bag. I just got back from San Diego where I used this bag for a conference and a day of sightseeing. And I am not sure if my backpack will make it back to work with me now that I have discovered the Timbuk2. Now let's start at the beginning. One thing that attracted me to the bag was the ad video showing that there was a cord that pulled across the waist to hold bag snugly on one's backside. That is a very UN-pursely feature that I was much looking forward to. I do not know about the larger bags, but I was extremely disappointed when I could not find this feature on extra small delivered to me. I thought it seemed much too like a purse and seriously considered returning it. I did not like the feel of it. Round two. I got the bag too close to my trip to spend time complaining, so I decided to make due for the weekend and complain later. Once loaded, even lightly, the pack felt better. More importantly, I discovered that while it lacked the across the waist strap, the single shoulder strap comes with a cinch system that allows you to tighten the back to your body. Once tightened, flip it around on your back and it rides with a back pack feel to it. That is very comfortable, secure, out of the way, and nothing like a purse. In retrospect, I decided that the strap I wanted would have been overkill on this extra small bag (and my threshold for overkill is not easily crossed). I love the way the bag feels riding on my back, and I love the way that I can easily rotate it around to my front side. If riding a bus, subway, tube, or in other crowded surroundings, just rotate the bag around to your front side and use it as an arm rest. In fact, the strap below the cinch easily functions as a make shift sling/arm rest. As for the removable shoulder pad, I removed it as I did not care with packing it along. I cannot comment on it, but I am liking the bag without it. I was glad to hear that others found the Velcro noisy in a conference setting. I solved that problem by sticking duct tape strips over the part of the Velcro system designed to catch the fuzzy part. No noise, and the latches held securely without the Velcro able to attach. I wish that I would have kept the tape on after the conference. When up early in the morning, messing with the bag tends to wake others in the room. I will be looking for something that looks nicer and can be easily attached or pulled up, depending on the circumstances. As for size; the dimensions given did not sound big enough. But I was easily able to fit my 11" Acer netbook and my large Kindle DX with heavy leather cover from Oberon into the bag. Mind you, the Kindle must be squeezed and shoved into the back partitioned pocket if the big Kindle cover is left on. IF the Kindle DX is removed from the cover, it easily fits into the large partitioned back pocket. I have ignored the partitioned pocket, and carried my Kindle DX and light Gortex jacket (just shell) in the bag. I can fit a few other things in the bag as well. It is roomier than it looks. Next big stop for this bag will be on my upcoming trip to Germany. Together with my travel vest, I should be well situated for touring. I hope that helps answer a few questions that troubled me when making the purchase. I am an enthusiastic convert to the Timbuk2.

This bag is extremely heavy duty! I own 4 different Timbuk2 bags (mostly in smaller sizes), and when I needed something a bit bigger than my old Metro Timbuk2 bag, I got this size (x-small) for my trip to Europe. I knew I was going to be in wet weather, so this bag was perfect. I've been stuck in many a serious down pouring rain storm, and all of my stuff was safe and dry inside. This bag was no exception to that as I was caught out in the rain without an umbrella, just my North Face Ventura jacket and this bag. The shoulder strap was a nice touch, but I found it was a bit more annoying, perhaps because my other Timbuk2 bags don't have them. The shoulder strap is very thick and tough, so most of the time I pushed the shoulder strap behind my shoulder...though people should note you should really in a way "break-in" the bag, especially as the shoulder strap is really straight flat when you first get it, and have it form to your shoulder. The clamp on the side of the bag was also annoying as it never worked right for me. The bag's strap is so thick and wide it just kept on slipping. Good thing I wear this across my body as it made up for the constant slack. The velcro inside is very difficult to open easily, and made such a loud sound, I would avoid opening the bag in quiet places such as a museum. The new side pocket in the front was extremely helpful. I put my foreign currency (a small amount and mostly change) as I used this pocket more than ever. I used to put my small pocket map of the city there too, but I ended up keeping that in my jacket pocket. The key fob was flimsy, but I never use them...especially since I use this mostly as a travel bag and most keys for hotels/B&Bs didn't fit or were cards. This bag isn't really light when empty and easily gets weighted down. I had: Kindle, guidebook, small camera, pens, various papers/brochures/maps, wallet, passport, and small purchases and it got pretty hefty at times. I have the red/black/red and it was a nice slight darker color than what you see online. I appreciate the new extra pocket in the inside back of this bag that can fit many of the papers that I carried separate from the main compartment. The smaller inside zip pocket held my more delicate items such as my iPod and other items. All-in-all, this bag was an awesome travel bag, even though it's very stiff. I did get a lot of small circular bruises on my left thigh due to the corners of the bag which was tiny bit painful but after a few days it didn't bother me at all. This bag fits easily underneath the seat on planes with half of the space free. I've flung this bag around, it's been on the floor a few times, and dragged on the brick wall a couple of times...in the end it still keeps its color and still looks brand new. I interchanged this bag with another Kipling bag now depending on where I go. That bag doesn't bruise me and is more flexible and holds just the same or maybe more...Kipling Lancelot. This is a great unisex bag and I saw a few of them during my travels.

Love my new bag that I bought for myself for my birthday to replace a shoulder bag that I had had for 10 years from Lands End. Great size and very manageable.

This was bought as a birthday gift for my son-in-law to bring on a family trip to Italy. As my daughter said, now I don't have to carry all the maps and guide books. The recipient loves the bag and his first of the kind. He says it does not look like a man's purse, it's a bag, a man's bag.

Perfect smaller messenger bag. Great for wandering cities or day treks. Carries water bottle, camera, wallet (in hidden inner zip pouch), cell phone, etc. Loved it in Egypt, riding camels, climbing the pyramids, shopping in crowded bazaars.