Customer Reviews Timbuk2 Classic Messenger Bag - Large

Bought this large bag to commute to work. Picked custom colors (yellow+black+orange) to make this bag very visible. Good compartment for laptop and plenty room for clothes. The only improvement I would like is to have couple more internal zippered pockets.

Purchased the messenger for use as my everyday work/commuting bag.Great size-holds my lunch bag, water bottles, shoes- everything I need for day at the office and more. Fits comfortably. I also purchased the padded strap which has made a difference when wearing it for extended periods of time. Highly recommend this bag - very practical and not too big.

I use this bag when I need to pack everything for the gym including a towel and change of clothing.

I bought my first Timbuk2 bag about a dozen years ago, and wore it everywhere. It was my laptop bag, my carry-on bag when traveling by plane, my daily shoulder bag - I never went out without it. Finally, the colors started to fade and the dirt started to get ingrained, and I decided it was time for a new bag. This time I did the research and realized that I wear my bag left handed. (I mouse with my left hand at work, write with my right hand - I'm mostly ambidextrous.) I decided to get a custom bag made left-handed, and I'm really glad I did. Having the cam buckle accessible for adjustment makes a big difference. The only downside of the new bag is that it has fewer pockets and compartments for stuff. The Napoleon pocket is pretty inaccessible for a left-wearer too. I think I'll need to find some sort of internal organizer.

This bag is great. I use it while biking and it does amazing! I recently took it on a week long trip for training, which was much easier than using a suitcase. I have a large and I will say that I like other bags better for laptops and laptop protection.

When I put my laptop in the bag, it tilts forward and feels a little awkward. I wish it had a handle in addition to the shoulder strap, and I wish the shoulder strap was padded. I do like the custom look of the bag, the durability and the roominess.

The color aqua didn't match the bag. Otherwise the bag is great!

This bag is clearly well made and I use it for work every day. I do wish that the strap was longer and that it had its own structure. What I mean is, it wants to kind of bend in the middle, even with a laptop in it, and you have to be deliberate about folding back the flap because the bag is kind of floppy. There is no stealthy way to open this bag, so open it before you go into a room if a meeting is in progress. It does do a good job of keeping the rain out, even in Seattle.

My 12 year old bag has been given new life and the possibility to last another 12 years. Thank you! The repair PDF could have been streamlined a little bit but overall it wasn't too much of a hassle. In this day and age, I'm surprised the form to fill out wasn't a web form which would pop up after the purchase was complete.

I'm so happy with my bag. I particularly like the old style inside pocket I ordered. I use it for going between school where I teach so I need the room and organization.

I am a nurse/mom and carry everything in this bag. I take my wallet/smaller purse out when shopping. I've had and loved a classic messenger bag forever but it was getting rather worn. I'm disappointed in the new one. The shoulder strap is not as durable and there is not an inside zipper pocket. The inside pockets are smaller and the straps that come around the bottom and click seem way too long. It is a nice bag though. The divider pocket is reinforced at the top so should stay up and there is more velcro so the bag stays closed without the click straps. I don't think it'll last as long as my old one did.

The bag itself is great; however, the water bottle holding net is quite small. It seems to be intended for a standard store bought bottle of water, so if you have a Yeti or some other re-usable bottle, don't be upset when you find that it does not fit.

Great bag! I only wish I'd known the "dark gray" had an olive-ish tinge to it, I would have picked a different color. But it doesn't look that bad wth the hot pink!

I just love that I have the only bag that's in SF Giants colors on the outside and purple/wite polka dots on the inside. I'm seeing more and more Timbuk2 bags around campus and I feel trendy now!

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I wish the strap was longer so I could throw it over my shoulder and carry it at my side instead of on my back. Everything else about the bag is great.

The bag is great. I kind of wish the pockets in the organizer were slightly bigger to accommodate Moleskine reporter books, but that's a personal gripe. The really weird thing though is the laptop insert you can have sewn in. The pouch is great, and it has a really nice iPad/Kindle subpouch attached to it. BUT... the strap to keep the items secure isn't really adjustable and it's huge. As if you were only supposed to load in a 1999 gigantic ThinkBook. Anything relatively thin gets tossed around as there's no way to singe down the strap. A quick fix would be to make the entire strap have Velcro on it, so you could adjust the fit. As it is now, it just has one square, so there's only one size adjustment - extra large. I bought some 2" Velcro and sewed it on the strap and it works so much better. I can keep my new MacBook Pro secured tightly, and if I ever time travel back to the mid-90's, I can loosen the adjustment and bring back an ancient laptop, no problem.

This is my second Timbuk2 messenger bag. My old one has travelled a lot with me and is still in great condition but i wanted a larger bag. The new one is a medium. It definately hold a lot more but i find it a bit too big for my daily use. That said I am small. You wont go wrong with these bags, they are solidly built and have great compartments. But i do see some differences with my old bag that I wish were on the new model. The Nepolean pocket at the front seems a bit smaller, which makes getting my wallet out harder. The front has also gone from 3 zip areas to 1. 3 was excessive but i would like at least 2. My main gripe here is that on the big bag it sits quite high, and with the wight in the pockets i find the bag slouches when on the ground. I know this is minor but i find it annoying. If this whole area were bigger and sat lower i think it would work better, and my phone would sit in the pouch more safely. I also miss having some of the compartments inside the inner zip area. Again, not a huge issue. But it helps with organisation. Now my bike lights and other tools rattle round in there. Finally i dont like how the laptop bouch isnt jointed at the bottom of the bag. so small things can go from the very rear compartment to the front. These gripes aside it is a great bag. If you a looking for a messenger bag. Go Timbuk2. They are very well made. The new sides to keep the rain out are good, as is the new strap adjuster. The handle is so useful and i wish my old bag had it. The new laptouch pouch is a great improvement too. The padding works well and is stylish, the small puch in front is good for a tablet/paper work, and its placement in the middle gives another good compartment in the back. The medium is definately big enough for a samll grocery shop, or a six pack of beer and chips. The ordering online was seemless and the delivery was so fast I was blown away.

A great bag I hope to be using for the next decade! Unexpectely [for me], the optional interior mesh wattle bottle holders seem to be sized for more of an evian bottle than a bicycle's water bottle.

I loved my bag other than the strap for my key was sewn into the seam so it doesn't come out. I've emailed Timbuk2 with pictures but have not heard back. MAYBE my email didn't go through? Not sure but I'll need to follow up with a phone call I guess. That was a little disappointing since it was a custom bag.

Recommend customizing. Water bottle pockets only work for small water bottles and shoulder pad moves around, but everything else quality.

Love the bag. I customized mine and I am so pleased. My primary disappointment is that I was given the option of putting holders for water bottles. Unfortunately H2O bottles are just too big for the holders.

I loved that I could create my own design for this bag. I wish Timbuk2 would offer a longer strap option, one outide pocket that zips for sunglasses, and an interior inset with compartments for other than a camera. That said, I absolutely adore my bag.

Use this as my day-to-day work/commuting bag. Love the versatility, and the ease of use. The bag is also lighter than I thought (I bought on-line), so am pleasantly surprised about that. I am very happy I bought it. My main complaint is the shoulder strap. It twists very easily. Others have commented as well about this (especially vis-a-vis the previous models). Since it is sewn on, I doubt a "fix" is at hand, but for a custom designed, premium ($$) product, they should figure out a way. Only other "quip" is that the interior bottle holder is not that easy to access. You can't just slip a bottle in with one hand. You need to set the bag down and use two hands to insert it in the mesh bottle holder. And "noisy" refers to the sound of the Velcro opening. Far from discrete.

It's my own fault for ordering an XS. I wanted it to hold my camcorder and accessories. It just about does that but it's hard to really grasp how small the bag is without seeing it in the flesh. I think that the strap is too narrow but apart from that it's a good bag.