Customer Reviews Timbuk2 Classic Messenger Bag - Large

I had a bag for more than 20 years. It was fabulous but finally falling apart. I used it as my work bag every day stuffing it with everything I needed. I can figure the new bag when it arrived. It was slightly smaller, had less functional compartments and the inserts that were sold by timbuk2 are no longer available. It's exceptionally disappointing when a company that made a fabulous product still makes a good product, materials craftsmanship, but changes the design enough that it's no longer what it was meant to be.

I recently bought a new messenger bag to replace my old one which I liked and used as a brief case. The new bag does not have an outside pocket so you have to stop and unsnap the bag to get anything out. The water bottle slip is not outside the bag so again you have to undo the bag to get a drink. Lastly, the handle to carry the bag is off center (moved off to the side just a bit) so it is a bit funky to carry (i.e. the bag leans at a angle versus being positioned pedicular to the ground.). Though I like being able to customize the colors of the bag, I would not buy it again.

This bag is my 4th Timbuk2 that I have purchased over the years. I love its size and storage capability. I am very disappointed that the bag is now made in Mexico instead of USA. Also the quality of construction and materials is not as good as my old bags. This will be the last time I purchase a Timbuk2 bag.

This is my 3rd of these custom messenger bags from Timbuk2. My first two bags were made in San Francisco and this new one is from Mexico. The materials on the current bags are no where close to the quality used on my older bags. The very high quality Ballistic nylon of my older bags has been replaced with a lower quality and thinner ECO Cordura make from recycled plastic. The current padded laptop sleeve also has a lot less padding compared to my older bag. For the money, appearance and expected durability, the bags should be made with the original ballistic nylon. Also the previous bags came with a choice of liner colors which is no longer an option.

Over the years I have purchased many custom Timbuk2 bags made in San francisco. This most recent purchase was a custom bag which is now made in Mexico and is of poor quality compared to the old bags that I have previously purchased. I am very disappointed in this company cheapening its product.

Vastly overpriced for average quality

Super bummed with the latest version of the classic messenger bag because of what I believe is a design flaw with the hand grip being sewn on the back of the bag instead of the top like older models. When I contacted customer service, they explained this wasn't a flaw, it was purposefully modified. Customer Service wrote this: The new design aims to prevent items from falling out if the bag opens while you're grabbing it from the handle. While we believe this adds a layer of safety, we recognize that it may take some getting used to, especially if you are accustomed to the older model. In my experience (daily use for many years) the hand grip on the older model was never a safety issue. And I'm disappointed to own this model which has a wonky unusable grip. More disappointed with the response from Customer Service. This is my household's 11th T2 bag, and perhaps our last.

I knew this bag would be somewhat large, I got a medium. It is WAY too big and very cumbersome. Incredibly awkward to wear. Unfortunately there are no options to return or exchange. I am now stuck with this bag, it is custom built. I will not be purchasing any other products from Timbuk2.

This is my fourth TImbuk2 messenger bag in roughly 11 years. Two Small Messenger, a Micro Messenger, and now an XS Messenger. I absolutely love the bag. I absolutely HATE the buckle placement. It's so high on the strap that it rests on my neck. Maybe it's because I'm tall (6'1) and large, but the metal buckle digs directly into my neck. The buckle should be down at the side of the bag like it used to be on my two other classic messenger bags. If this is the new standard it will be my last Timbuk2 bag.

This is my third Timbuk2 bag. I have an Authority deluxe backpack and a flight messenger bag. I wanted to buy a custom classic messenger bag for many years. Finally, we took the plunge and gifted myself one. I ordered the bag in February. I chose Cordura fabric for the bag, assuming it would be the most durable. However, it's been only six months, and the fabric at all four corners of the bottom of the bag has already started fraying. This is disappointing. This is my office bag, used only during my commute (I drive to the office and back) to the office from home and back. I live in India. The shipping charge and customs alone were equal to the bag's price. In the end, it was not worth it.

The material is a lot thiner as it used to be so sad!!! Missing the logo in front! In anyway disapointing. The closure alos used to be on top lid not inside.

I loved my older Timbuk2 bags and was super excited to customize my own bag. Overall it's nice inside and has good organization but two things really disappointed me and are a deal breaker, at least for me. 1) The handle is in a weird and awkward place, on the side of the bag, not really on the top so it's not easy to grab/pick up the bag using the handle. 2) No slide through for luggage handles. Seriously?! My older bags had this feature and I love it for travel. Extremely disappointing and makes the bag cumbersome for travel. It was custom so I can't return it but if I could I would.

I love that I was able to custom design my bag and have gotten a number of compliments on it, but I was really disappointed with the outcome. I'm not sure if it was the fabric I chose (Rain Resist), but I've had my bag for a month now and it still has a bad chemical odor. It's nowhere near as bad as when I first got it, but if I leave the flap closed overnight, the next morning when I open the bag it's super strong. I was also really disappointed in the laptop sleeve. The product images made it look like it would be an extra padded compartment for my Macbook, but it isn't. It's a pouch that only gets sowed on the sides so literally everything in your bag that isn't extra big slides and gets stuck underneath, and it's not even attached to the back of the bag, so things often find their way stuck behind it, making anything that isn't secured in a pocket difficult to retrieve. I also got water bottle pockets, but they are so small I can't even fit a 20oz bottle of water in them. Not a 20oz Yeti, Stanley or Iron Flask--a 20oz bottle of Deer Park is too big to fit. Worse, because the laptop sleeve isn't a sleeve and is a pouch sowed in the middle of the bag, the "pockets" are actually behind it, so even if I wanted to use them for something I can't because it's super hard to even reach them. I will say the Rain Resist fabric is amazing. The day after I got my bag it stormed heavily for an entire week, and I had absolutely no issues at all in my commute to work. There were on leaks, no pooled water anywhere, everything was completely dry and safe. Overall though I'm really disappointed that I spent almost $200 on this and because of the no return for custom order policy, I'm stuck with it.

I purchased my first custom messenger bag in 2008. After 16 years of heavy use it was time to replace it in 2024 because all of the interior was flaking off and getting everywhere. I just received my new bag and it is nowhere near the quality of my original. The shoulder strap on the new one is similar to a gift wrap ribbon (silky and thin vs heavy weave and thick) and the grab strap is attached way lower than it should be. Really disappointed in this new bag. I can't recommend this product anymore and won't come back for another. On a positive note I do like the colors and available pockets.

This is the third bag I purchased and the second custom bag from your brand. Parts have become cheaper over the years.

The world has changed and so must timbuk2. Probably the last bag I'll buy and I don't mean that from a quality standpoint. Does not compare well to bags that were built in a bygone era when they were manufactured in San Fran. Pockets are smaller, can't get an XL anymore, shoulder strap is a slick material with an aluminum buckle that doesn't stay in place and is cold as an ice cube when it is 30 F out. It is a bag, it holds stuff so it works but a let down compared to the 2 other bags I own. Bike messengers are a small market, hard for Timbuk2 to stay true to that mission.

I've owned my previous Timbuk2 messenger bag for over 15 years and it was a GREAT product! This recent purchase is a total miss--strap adjustable buckle is thin and flimsy; fabric is less sturdy; fewer zipper pockets and fewer organizing slots both of which are made with lesser quality materials; and even the D rings are plastic and cheap (not metal like before). Every aspect of the newer messenger bag just isn't as good as they used to be. You charge a lot more for a whole lot less. Very disappointed.

first off, i never write reviews and find people that write reviews to trash companies/products to be noise and just trying to put attention on themselves. that being said i am here writing a review, trying to love this bag. let me set the stage for my review. i had a Timbuk2 custom classic messenger bag that fit a 17 inch laptop for 10-12 years, loved this bag and was a huge brand advocate. been everywhere with this bag for work, etc. why would i not want to buy another one from the same company. super quality bag with all the pockets and thoughtfulness to boot. so i am 1 week in with my shiny new custom classic messenger bag, same size as before to fit a 17 inch laptop. my expectations are based on the previous 10-12 years. what do i expect? i expect the same bag with some modifications from product development to make it even better and i can see where some modifications were made to help with durability, etc. good job! now to the what were you thinking and why change something that was amazing. my previous bag had more inner zip pockets and bigger pockets across the board. seriously, why mess with that? the photos you had online did not really show much. did customers say they wanted less pockets and cheaper material? doubtful. the insert to protect my laptop is maybe a quarter of the protection as before. my laptop is my life, so now i will have to purchase an addition case. not happy about that. so i have been giving it a week to adapt to the less is less approach and where to put my cords and stuff. again, i will adapt. But here is my one RANT and strong recommendation to fix and quality control. i chose to have water bottle holders put in, thought is was a good idea. i am not trying to place a 32 oz Nalgene bottle in, what i have is way thinner, maybe 20 oz,. i can barely get my water bottle in, but with way more force and frustration than it should be. this was an easy win for you all. measure twice, cut once. enough said.

I bought a new X-small bag to replace one that is 13 years old. I love my old bag, however the interior lining is disintegrating and it was time for a new one. One of the old bag's best features is the interior organization. The new bag was delivered yesterday. The exterior is fine, I knew the side entry kangaroo pocket was no longer included on the XS bag - bummer but I can live with that. The HUGE disappointment is that the rest of the interior organization is not the same. Gone are the multiple pockets inside the zip one, including the pen and pencil slots. Gone are the cards slots on the front of the zip pocket, gone is the pocket that closed with a flap. These were replaced by 2 open pockets which are not as useful. The closed pocket kept small items from rolling around or falling out. The card pockets were used for business cards. I used each and every one of the older bags interior pockets to stash things and I could easily find stuff without fumbling around. instead of 4 areas inside the zipper pocket there is now one. Instead of 3 areas on the outside of the zipper pocket (one of which closed, there are 2 and neither can be sealed closed. Nowhere do I see anything on the website that would have indicated these changes. I would seriously consider returning the bag if it wasn't a custom build. It would have been nice if there had at least been a choice for deluxe organizer pockets that included all the features of the older style.

I have had a timbuk2 bag for over a decade and a half. It looks great. It is one of my favorite bags. However, the bag's material that I just ordered did not even hold up a week before there was a hole in the material. Not the Timbuk2 I remember.

Don't get me wrong, it's a decent bag but it's obvious the bag designers have been working the cost out of the product and in exchange haven't replaced it with much in the way of customer value. Compared to my old bag, the cloth padded interiors are gone, most of the inner pockets are gone, the exterior water bottle holder is gone, the inside card holder is gone, and the thick rubber bottom that would protect my stuff from scuffs on trains, planes, and automobiles is no longer in this build! Oh I miss those features and would play handsomely to have them return. What's left is only a shell of what it used to be. Sign of the items I'm afraid.

Everything about this bag is great EXCEPT for the strap, which has to be the worst design decision someone made. Without fail, every day I bump the lever on the strap, and then 15lbs of laptop and everything else in my bag bottom out. I don't need to "quick adjust" my strap - I need it to stay at one fixed length. I wish there was an option to just get a basic strap without this quick release lever.

Love the product. However there are a myriad of weird belts and odd items which stupid me cannot navigate. I was saddened that NO instructions are sent to a newbie and the result it is lying unused on the couch figuring out which charity I can donate this to...its not the product...its just a tangled web beyond my or my friends comprehension.

I really didnt understand how much worse the strap is. I read the reviews about it, and I thought how bad can it be? But now I regret buying this bag. I feel like you should say on your website that it isnt the same. very disappointed and kind of angry

I ordered the configured, small messenger bag to replace my old one that was getting pretty worn. There have been changes in design and construction that overall were very disappointing. I did contact T2 about my concerns, and received a reply that amounted to "yeah, that's the way it is." The bag itself is as well-constructed as previous models. The fabric is a bit thinner, but still seems durable, and the liner is more flexible. The computer pouch is NICE, and I really like the extra pocket it has, and that there is space behind it. I also like the new Velcro layout for the flap and the inside attachment of the flap clips. The pockets are a let-down from previous versions of this bag. There just aren't as many places to put things and keep them separate, and for me, that was always a big draw to Timbuk2 products. The biggest disappointment is the strap. Previously, the straps were wide, thick, and stiff. Not always the most flexible, but the performance was exceptional. The new version of this bag has a narrow, flimsy strap that is a complete disaster. Even with a strap pad, it is constantly twisted into a rope that is uncomfortable and terrible-looking. This strap is so poor that I am surprised that T2 lets it through the production process. It leaves me thinking that perhaps T2 has changed being a company that puts customer service and the quality of their product first, to being just another expensive boutique label with junky products. My disappointment was intensified when I got a response to my complaints. The old Timbuk2 would have taken a "we will fix this" approach. What happened to that?