Classic Messenger Bag - A Review Article
The classic canvas messenger bag. How does it measure up as a “get home bag?” In this review, I will be describing the basic features of the bag, and relating those features to my own use of it for carrying gear. I asked the question, “How will this work as a gear bag for use in emergencies?” Here is what I learned.
The first thing I noticed about this bag is that it’s pretty big. For a shoulder bag, it seems like it can hold enough gear to help get you home, or at least to a safer location during an emergency. This bag is an old-fashioned messenger bag, and as such is missing some of the bells and whistles that come on modern bags. But this lack of “modern” features doesn’t detract from this bag’s general usefulness. What you have is a simple bag you can use to carry some basic gear.
The bag is olive drab canvas with a two inch wide non-padded shoulder strap. The strap is stitched to the bag through some reinforcing canvas, so it’s going to stand up to some abuse. The canvas isn’t a hard, burlap-like material, but a soft canvas, similar to jeans. The main compartment doesn’t have a specific enclosure, so it relies on the Velcro flap to hold everything in. The flap attaches to two pockets, which are sized perfectly for carrying an MREs.
If you need to put small items in the bag, I would suggest you do a couple of different things. Inside the main storage compartment, there is a small zippered pocket you can use for small loose items such as spare keys, a multi-tool, or similar. Larger loose items, such as paracord or a backpack first aid kit can go in one of the smaller pockets on the side of the bag. There is one pocket on each side, and a lone snap to secure your items.
Like most bags, this one isn’t waterproof. It can withstand a little bit of rain, but if you’re out in a downpour, your stuff is going to get wet. If you have anything in the bag that doesn’t interact well with water, put it in a zippered plastic bag. That’s a standard thing to do with your gear, so make sure you do it. Matches, pocket survival guides, etc., should all be in plastic bags. This will make your bag easier to organize, your gear will stay in place better, and it will stay dry.
Overall, I think the bag is a fine candidate for a “get home bag.” It’s got room enough for a little bit of gear and some food and water. That should be plenty to get you home, or to some other safe location in case of an emergency. The wide strap – even though it is not padded – makes the bag easy to carry. I filled it up with some books to make it heavy and walked around with it. The wide strap helps tremendously. Even with the bag filled with heavy items, you’ll be able to carry it a long way if you have to.
If you’re looking for a small bag to carry some survival gear in your car or keep at the office, this simple shoulder bag will do the trick. It’s light and durable, and it has enough storage space to carry the gear you’ll need to get through the first stages of a disaster.
[Note: This is a marketing-oriented article that reviews a piece of merchandies, but then links to the item's product page -- an online survival gear shop -- in the resources section of the page. It was published in an article directory.
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