Customer Reviews Timbuk2 Classic Messenger - Extra Small

I love timbuk2 bags and have an old messenger style but was ready for a new color. I was excited about some of the new features. However, I am missing some of the old messenger style features: 1) deeper inside pocket with more compartments. I am a fitness professional and carry with me at all times sm shampoo/cond, face wash, razor, etc. With this new bag the inside pocket is small and doesn't have the different compartments to store my razor for example. Now I need to get a case for my razor so I don't cut myself and a case for my shower essentials to throw in the main compartment of my bag. 2) the strap is not as heavy duty as my old model. Every time I pick my bag up I have to untwist my strap. Not a big deal but when I am so use to just grabbing and throwing over my shoulder it's just kind of annoying.

I ordered the Medium messenger bag due to reviews stating that the Small size was too small for a 17" laptop. The Medium is way too bulky. I customized the colors and I love the look of it but the strap is too long to wear cross-body with a winter coat and the bag smells terrible!

The strap is too soft and folds over when clipped to the chest strap. The inside mesh bottle holder is already starting to tear (1,month). Not worth returning because I gave away my previous bag and I need one now.

Before this, I had a large crumpler that I lost. I loved that bag. I was hoping this would be good enough, but I'm actually really unhappy with it so far. It's a bit too small for my normal usage (say, bike tools, climbing shoes/bag, change of clothes, toiletries, jacket, laptop, charger, spare battery). After 1 month, the 2 little straps are rather fuzzy from getting stuck to the velcro all the time. Not going to last well. The adjuster keeps getting caught and causing the main strap to loosen completely. (I don't need to adjust that often. Why are bags designed like this?) Too many pockets. Previous bag had 4 (main compartment, 3 small side compartments inside) and that was just right. Now I'm losing things in the bag all the time. Overall construction quality is lower than my previous bag. (The other lasted 8 years and merely looked used. This one feels like it's going to to reach the same level of wear in probably a year). On the plus side, the little handle strap on the back of the bag is excellent. I don't know if it'll hold up, but I use it all the time and it's a great feature if it does.

Like the bag overall. But nothing special or unique. Wished it had one outside pocket for quick access. Snapping straps not needed for closing. Velcro is enough. I like to Open and access a bag fast. I cut the snapping clips off. Too cumbersome

I have been carrying a backpack to work (University campus) for over three years and wanted something a little more stylish. I saw a review of this bag and it looked great. I actually received it as a birthday gift in Medium. As a woman, who is not that tall, the size of the bag concerned me but looks wise, it was okay. Here is why I returned it: The pockets and inner compartments could be tweaked a bit. I think for men, they work okay but woman have more stuff and need deeper pockets. This is one example that could go either way but the pen pockets are not deep enough when you have something in the zippered pocket behind it. I was afraid to leave a pen there because it seemed like it would poke through. The interior mesh water bottle pocket and the one across from it are pretty useless unless the compression straps are fully extended (loose). When cinched at all, they do not allow those pockets to be deep enough to hold anything. I had trouble getting a smallish water bottle in there and who would want a water bottle inside with their laptop anyway? Laptop slash pocket was the perfect size for my Macbook Pro but there is no padding. I am not hard on my bags but this should be noted. The grab handle is really not meant to be a carrying handle. I knew this going in but what I did not realize was that grabbing it with the bag slightly open causes everything to be thrown forward. Not a problem for larger items but smaller items could be lost if you aren't paying attention. Overall, it just didn't work for me because it could not hold all of my stuff and still be organized. Yes, the stuff fit okay in a medium but it was all on top of each other. Would I recommend it? Yes, to a man but not to a woman. Too bad because I was very excited about the bag but in the end had to return it.

This bag is good i'm just not really blown away for the price. The best feature is the two water bottle holders inside on the ends. It's pretty durable too. What I especially don't like, is that the one side of the bag (the side that is under the flap) has an outer pocket with a zipper, an outer sideways pocket, an outer outer pocket, a larger inner pocket with a zipper, and then several "organizer" pockets on the outside of the zipper pocket, ALL ON THE SAME SIDE IN THE SAME AREA!!!! I absolutely HATE when bag manufactures do this. If you were to actually use all of the pockets (outers, inners, organizers, etc.), all your stuff would be bulging out in every direction and make everything tight and bulky! If you were to slip your hand in the inner pocket for example, you would feel all those items from the outer pockets and the organizer. So no one would ever fill all those pockets up, unless your are carrying flat items like paper only. I just hate that, what's the point of making all these separate compartments and then sticking them all together on one side separated by thin pieces of fabric? And then you have this huge area of free empty space with no separate pockets or organizers. Maybe it's just me, but i hate that. It's such a bad decision in my opinion. I carry a "man purse" because i have lots of odds and ends like chargers, adapters, headphones, flash drive, first aid kit, nylon bags, keys, wallet, cigarettes, chapstick, umbrella, lotion, sanitizer, etc. All things that are not exactly flat. Why not separate all these pockets up evenly throughout the bag? The water bottle holders are the best part like said, because they are a good use of the space to accommodate items that are not flat, but bulky. This bag just didn't meet my needs, but maybe it will meet yours. I just don't think it's worth the money. And one other thing, the velcro flap is annoying. I would've preferred a magnetic strip, button, or something, to make it feel closed but without having to rip it open with velcro.

I have had my very favorite Timbuk2 bag for about 10 years (classic, medium, black). I love it, and it's still functional, but the lining was getting a bit worn out. I'm in nursing school, and the books are BIG, so I decided to upgrade to the new model in large. The bag looks great -- the carbon color is better in person; the lines are a little cleaner than my past bags. The fabric seems durable (hard to really tell so far). The inside is great and roomy, with just enough little pockets for me. The water bottle holders are pretty useless as I use bigger bottles than they will hold. However, I hate the new strap set-up. I've been trying to get used to it, with very little luck. My previous bags have had a stationary cam buckle on the top-right corner of the bag. It was always easy, even one-handed sometimes, to get a close fit or to loosen it to grab something out of the pocket. It was always in the same place when I went for it. The new buckle is a floating buckle, and the adjustment is unnecessarily fiddly, a multi-step process. It moves to different places along the strap, and more often than not, the buckle digs into my breast or my ribs. Another "improvement" that I found to be disappointing was the strap pad. It looks durable, but it kept getting in the way of trying to adjust the strap. I wanted to take it off, but it's permanent. Or it was, until I cut it off. It's a waste, unfortunately. It might have been useful later on, but I'll never know. Ultimately, I could still learn to love this new bag if it weren't for the new cam buckle. I'll probably start scouring the Internet for a leftover large bag in an older model, but until I find it, this one will do.

I use this bag as my daily work transport. I with Silencers it's great for my day-to-day office life. However a couple of redesign items are problematic. The shoulder strap (as others have noted) is too short for the bag to ride on my hip when worn cross-body. I am a stout 5'6" so not a giant in either dimension and at its most extended the bag rides just at my lower rib when worn cross-body. Which is kinda nerdy. Can't really wear it on one shoulder because the strap pad while light, vented and comfortable is NOT non-slip--in fact is is pretty slippery--and with my work laptop cannot have it slide off my shoulder. Interior is good, but with fewer pockets there are fewer places to secure stuff like wallets, extra credit cards, ipod, etc--inside the zipper pocket there are NO pockets. Worry that dumping this under an airplane seat I might lose stuff--as I have in the past with other bags.

I am a bigger person and the shoulder strap is just too short. Yet the cinch straps are freakishly long, and the reflect tape does not allow them to be tucked into the buckles. This iteration eliminates pockets inside the zipper pocket as well. I have several Timbuk2 messengers. I was looking forward to a lighter version. I grabbed this on sale. I would say FOR THE PRICE it is just OK. Won't get another. And won't pay the double price to get a custom version, that's for sure.

What's otherwise a great bag is spoiled by the poorly designed cam. As mentioned by several other reviews here and elsewhere, the cam doesn't bind securely enough, resulting in the bag plunging down the length of the strap on you occasionally, which is, for me, a deal-breaker. I emailed Timbuk2 regarding the possibility of retrofitting the previous cam design (True-Fit), which, although not without its own shortcomings, was a far superior unit. They replied saying they could send me one of the True-Fit cams, but that I'd have to take the bag to a seamstress to have the alteration made, and also, if I wanted to go through with it, they'd "help me along the way". I didn't expect them to offer nearly such an accommodating reply, and give them a lot of credit for their willingness to cooperate. That level of customer service speaks to the integrity of the company for certain. Although I'll be looking elsewhere for a bag that meets my needs out-of-the-box, given what a great value the 2014 Classic Messenger is, those of you handy enough with a sewing machine might consider buying one anyway, and retrofitting a True-Fit cam. Here's hoping they update the cam design for next year.

At 6'1" the strap at the longest is still too short. Very disappointed as I have had other TB2 messenger bags that the adjustment for the straps had a lot more room to adjust.

Seems well-constructed but any bag like this should have a catchall back pocket. I want to get to my water bottle without opening the flap. Great colors and comfortable strap.

I have a number of Timbuk2 products from the D-Lux, Classic to iPad sleeves, etc. Most of the improvements and improvements for the 2014 Classic Messenger are great. FINALLY! ears that keep the elements out of the ends of the bag. Love the cordura, it is an improvement over the ballistic nylon. The new buckles with the compression straps look very nice. And now the bad: the strap is way too short. I am only 5'9" and the bag rides almost entirely above my hip. Taking the bag off does mess your hair up. I have the small, and have returned the X-small. The length of the strap is almost a deal killer for me. While the bag is very nice, it does not carry as well as my other Timbuk2 or Rickshaw bags.

Great bag, but it NEEDS AN EXTERIOR POCKET. I can't stand hearing the sound of ripping velcro every time I want to do something as simple as put my keys away. The napoleon pocket is useless because I use the bag crossed on the opposite shoulder. Maybe that pocket should have a zipper on either side, I don't know. Or maybe there should just be an exterior pocket, small or large, doesn't matter, zipped or not, doesn't matter... as long as you can drop something into it quickly without opening the bag. That's my only qualm, other than that, it's cool.

The bag is good. It is sturdy, it looks good and it is big enough (medium size) for the daily use between home and office. But the biggest con: The strap! It is so short that I even can not put on the bag in comfort! Okay, you might call me above average if I tell you that I am 1,92m in height ... but even the friend of mine, who's bag the inspiration for me was to order the bag, can not do so ... an she is just 1,80m ... and the strap of her ~2 year old bag is about 40cm (!) longer! As I am living in Austria and I do not want to go through the hassle to return the bag to the US (and lets be realistic the next strap will be the same) I will buy a matching piece of strap and go to someone with a heavy duty sawing machine and let him extend the strap. I would like to know why Timbuk2 does not use a strap that is at least as long as the one in the models/years before. The mechanism to shorten the strap is so clever that it would be able to deal with a strap even 50~60cm longer ... did a financial controller decide about the savings you can make by delivering less material? So my recommendation for that bag: do not buy it without giving it a test ride! Kind Regards! Stephan PS And yes I still would recommend the bag! But only to someone below the height of 1,70m!

Been using these bags for 20+ years, got a new one in June. The Velcro on the bag attaches to EVERYTHING including the nylon clip straps and the strap pad, both of which are already fraying within a few months with limited use. Decline in design quality is real here, I may just get my old bag repaired and retire this one. Sad to see!

I was really excited about this bag, coming from a Flight Messenger in the same size and loving it since COVID for its practicality and ease of use, but honestly, I hated this so bag so much I can't stand it. The idea of the bag being righty or lefty friendly is ultimately not true because no matter how I adjusted it, the metal buckle ALWAYS wound up in an awkward position on my shoulder when I wore it for a lefty and the shoulder pad would end up out of place, so it was super awkward. Not that the shoulder pad was helpful, because the Velcro on it made it so stiff that it wouldn't sit right on my shoulder anyway and I would up taking it off within the first day. Without the shoulder pad, however, the strap material slips around on my shoulder so I end up getting choked or the bag slips off entirely, and there's always an extra length of strap just hanging free and flapping around that I would have to figure out how to tie shorter. Is there a way you're supposed to do this in the bag design? Because the elastic piece to help hold it in place DOES NOT WORK. I appreciate how LONG I can make strap with this version if I want to wear it like a true messenger bag, but adjusting it any length shorter than that is just impractical. The functionality of the bag itself and the pockets is gold and I love the padded handle on the bag, but the strap makes it unusable for me. I love Timbuk2 products, but I wish I hadn't bought this one.

It's very pretty and useful, but the buckle broke in the first week. My husband has used and loved his for years with no issues.

It holds a pie.

It has the great Timbuktu features, but falls a bit short. I was very surprised the back section didn't have a Velcro strap to hold a laptop or iPad in that location in place. I've always appreciated that extra touch and it was missing. Size seems larger than what a medium would be.

I have purchased Timbuk2 bags in the past. The bags Were well constructed, and customer service was excellent. This new bag quality is not as good as in the past, and after 2 weeks customer service has not even responded to my email regarding quality and delayed delivery of my bag

These are still a good functioning and simple bag.... but changed since the previous version. The strap has become quite narrow - not great if you loaded up and heavy. The number of zip and stash pockets in the front area has gone from four down to one. Seems like they've cut a lot of the features that I really liked. Decent bag, but will be returning it based on strap and lack of pockets in the front. Just sharing so people who've used these for years know that they have changed.

I wish I could say the new one is better, but so many parts of it are significantly smaller than the previous model that I had to return it and go back to my 20 year old messenger bag. There's even one less compartment in the bag then there was 20 years ago. Overall, and this was even an issue 20 years ago, there has to be some way to have an external water bottle. Keeping a full bottle of liquid in the same compartment as your laptop is not a great idea.

The quality is good, so that's a pro. However, they shortened the strap so that even fully extended it practically sits under your chin. And what's with the velcro? Nothing like being in a theater, needing to get something from your bag, and making a super loud ripping noise. It's useless and cumbersome. After 15+ years and about as many variations of TB2 bags, it's time to move on. Sad, this was always my mainstay through all life changes.