Columbia LiteSpeed Messenger Bag

extremely light weight and minimalist
May 21, 2010

This bag arrived in a regular envelope and I nearly though it was a letter, the only source of thickness in this thing is the strap adjuster. The rest of the bag is mostly made out of nylon (two layers), and the bottom is reinforced. There are two pockets, both with zippers, making the flap over the top kind of superfluous (but I guess that prevents it from looking like a purse). Surprisingly you can fit a lot into the bag, I squeezed in a 13" laptop, two books, and my gym clothes, and had room to spare. There is no protection or padding except on the bottom, so if you drop the bag anything fragile will likely break. Also, if it's heavy, the strap may cut into your neck and shoulder a bit. A small problem with the bag is the slight swooshing sound it makes as the bag rubs against your clothes (like the sound made between your thighs when you walk around in track pants). All in all it's extremely packable, very light weight, apparently water resistant, and the zippered top is an important touch (especially if travelling to countries with theft problems ). This bag is worth the slight irks and seems solidly constructed, so I would definitely recommend it if you need a bag that you might put a lot of stuff in (especially in light wet weather) but that You would need to stow away later.