Customer Reviews Timbuk2 Classic Messenger - Medium

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.

I like the size of the bag and the interior compartments..,. However the buckle that controls the length of the over the shoulder strap constantly comes undone causing the that strap to need frequent adjustments

The bag is well organized and roomy for its size. The reason why I returned it was the long and wide Velcro used to close the cover. I often carry a small knitting project with me and Velcro would destroy them.

I've had a Timbuk2 messenger bag for 10 or 12 years and absolutely love it. It's so well loved, it's time to replace. So I ordered a new one. The current version has a big problem - the laptop compartment has insufficient padding on the bottom and backside of the bag. Seriously? There is, however, one layer of padding for the laptop on the inside of the bag - but that is definitely not going to protect your computer from a hard set down, or if you're a frequent traveler. Also, the L does not fit my laptop with 17" screen - the laptop compartment is too narrow in the width. Note, it's a workstation class laptop, about 6 years old, so a bit larger than a typical 17" laptop. The positive: the bag is still a pretty nice bag. But I'm definitely returning it.

It is a very good quality (material, production), but not practical to use. The material of the bag is too thick/stiff. The bag tends to fall on or the other side all the time, regardless what is in the bag. I would preffer to have outside pocket for phone/work badge. Inside the bag, pockets on the front side are too small. The shoulder strap is too wide and stiff. Please contact me when you will be redesigning this bag!

Quality, design, etc, we're fine. But this size is smaller than I expected.

Sadly, my excitement was short lived. When I got my new custom bag the difference in construction and materials was night and day from my previous bag. Everything thinner and more fragile feeling. Less compartments. Even the shoulder strap is thinner and less sturdy than it used to be. I don't see this new bag lasting 10 years, not by a long shot. Based on the downgrade in materials and design, this will be my last Timbuk2 bag.

I had a messenger around 10 years ago that I loved. It was substantial and had quick access, and some other well thought out features. The Classic messenger I just received is a cheaper version of what these bags used to be. The material seems cheaper, and the handle is just a nylon strap, seems like there used to be an actual handle on the bag. It's also missing the quick access zipper on top that would let you gain access to the inside without having to open the bag up completely. That's a big bummer for me. Especially now that there's velcro on the main flap, has there always been velcro? I don't remember velcro on my last messenger. It sounds like you're opening a cheap wallet whenever you need to get inside and get something. This still seems like a decent bag, I guess. It's just not the quality it used to be. It feels like many quality corners were cut to bring costs down and pump these bags out.

My original Timbuk2 messenger lasted me 15 year and through twice as many countries. My newer Timbuk2 messenger is limping along after three years and zero international travel and it's already been back to Timbuk2 once to be repaired! These bags are not nearly as sturdy as they used to be. Thinner materials, thinner webbing, less solid structure. The pocket design has suffered, as has the overall integrity of the bag. The double-loop strap buckle releases itself constantly, so that the bag is suddenly hanging at butt-level, even though I'm just walking down the street. These bags used to be built to last... now they're built to replace, just like every other formerly-great product that suffers as the company "matures" into selling sub-par product at higher prices. As an SF native, losing Timbuk2 as a trusted brand really bums me out.

My original Timbuk2 messenger lasted me 15 year and through twice as many countries. My newer Timbuk2 messenger is limping along after three years and zero international travel -and it's already been back to Timbuk2 once to be repaired! These bags are not nearly as sturdy as they used to be. Thinner materials, thinner webbing, less solid structure. The pocket design has suffered, as has the overall integrity of the bag. The double-loop strap buckle releases itself constantly, so that the bag is suddenly hanging at butt-level, even though I'm just walking down the street. These bags used to be built to last... now they're built to replace, just like every other formerly-great product that suffers as the company "matures" into selling sub-par product at higher prices. As an SF native, losing Timbuk2 as a trusted brand really bums me out.

I have had to return 3 bags do to last of pockets. Why do the messenger bags only have 2 in the front and no others? I have a lot of small gadgets I commute with. Phone, battery charger, cords, IPAD, pens name badge, wallet, passport and airline tickets and paperwork. See where I'm going with this. The especial bag was getting there. I'll say the front pocket unzipping to the side is a bit dangerous. Things can fall out if you forget to zip it. Hope this helps?

The materials are of good quality and will no doubt last. A few points that I noticed right away however is the top handle that would be used to carry the bag like a briefcase is positioned more to the back of the bag and not centered on the top when the flap is closed. When you use it, it feels awkward and it puts stress on the material unnecessarily. If the product fails, I would expect it to fail at this point first. The second item that I find annoying is the redundancy of using Velcro AND clasps for closure. When I want to open the bag, it is annoying that I have to pull it so hard to loosen the Velcro. I will most likely put some Velcro receivers on those areas so the velcro won't activate when I close it, which is not what I would desire but in order to make it work, I will need to do that. Thirdly, the bag has an enormous amount of space that it can expand to, which is overkill for a computer bag. The space is so ample that if it was full, it would seem bulky and cumbersome at that point. If I had that much to carry, I would choose a different method, like a backpack type of unit which could be managed better on the body. The straps that close down the expandable area are also extremely long and just hang ridiculously low with no way to really manage them. It does hold my 17" laptop which is difficult to find in a messenger type bag. I was going to choose the shorter unit from them but the website dimensions were not clear as to what it would hold. It said the width was smaller than the 17" laptop it claimed to hold. I couldn't trust the information. Bottom line: I am making due with this bag for my purposes, but am extremely disappointed in it's engineering. I would have thought that some of these items (like handle placement) would have been extremely obvious issues if the bag had been tested in the field with a variety of users.