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Seeking a Thinkgeek Bag of Holding Replacement. Edit: BoH returns to Kickstarter in Q2!
Forar
#432Toronto, Ontario, CanadaRegistered User regular
#432Toronto, Ontario, CanadaRegistered User regular
For over half a decade I rocked the hell out of a beige messenger bag style Bag of Holding. Eventually it just started coming apart, the back layer of fabric wore through, was repaired, and wore through again, the should strap broke off (on both ends after being temporarily repaired) and was replaced, etc, but that doesn't change it being my absolute favourite bag to date, and I'm seeking a replacement.
Now, yes, I have google'd this, and it's a question that has been asked before on a variety of places, but answers from 3 years ago aren't always going to reflect the best current answer.
There are a number of options suggested in those threads, and I find they usually fall a bit short in one way or another, or go well beyond my needs and budget (unless it's otherwise a perfect match, I'm not really looking for a $250+ leather bag).
- I liked that it was a resilient canvas. Yes it wore through, but this was after 5+ years of literal daily use. It took a beating, and if something spilled I could just throw it in the washing machine.
- The magnetic closure on the outer flap was amazing, and even held up well when under load because I'd stuffed it to capacity and then some, but was quick and easy to pop open and access stuff all the same.
- The massive amount of storage space, and especially the dizzying array of zippered pockets that then had interior smaller pockets was astounding.
In my dreams, some company just took the design and is making knockoffs of the same caliber, but I suspect this would be known by now and I might as well ask for a Unicorn to deliver it while I'm at it.
Resources aren't limitless, but after 'making due' for a few years now, I'd be willing to invest in something of quality, especially if it hits most of the marks.
Any suggestions? I get that this is a highly specific set of criteria, and I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I figured they seemed popular enough that someone here might have successfully made the hop to something available now, and have wisdom to pass along.
Edit: so far one of the closest things I've seen might be the Alpaka 7ven, which is currently out of stock on their website (this is a recent find, I haven't dug deeper), which is probably on the higher end of my budget but at least it seems to checkmark the storage capacity and possibly the resilience elements. From glancing at the questions it appears they're supposed to be releasing a 2022 revision/iteration at some point.
Now, yes, I have google'd this, and it's a question that has been asked before on a variety of places, but answers from 3 years ago aren't always going to reflect the best current answer.
There are a number of options suggested in those threads, and I find they usually fall a bit short in one way or another, or go well beyond my needs and budget (unless it's otherwise a perfect match, I'm not really looking for a $250+ leather bag).
- I liked that it was a resilient canvas. Yes it wore through, but this was after 5+ years of literal daily use. It took a beating, and if something spilled I could just throw it in the washing machine.
- The magnetic closure on the outer flap was amazing, and even held up well when under load because I'd stuffed it to capacity and then some, but was quick and easy to pop open and access stuff all the same.
- The massive amount of storage space, and especially the dizzying array of zippered pockets that then had interior smaller pockets was astounding.
In my dreams, some company just took the design and is making knockoffs of the same caliber, but I suspect this would be known by now and I might as well ask for a Unicorn to deliver it while I'm at it.
Resources aren't limitless, but after 'making due' for a few years now, I'd be willing to invest in something of quality, especially if it hits most of the marks.
Any suggestions? I get that this is a highly specific set of criteria, and I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I figured they seemed popular enough that someone here might have successfully made the hop to something available now, and have wisdom to pass along.
Edit: so far one of the closest things I've seen might be the Alpaka 7ven, which is currently out of stock on their website (this is a recent find, I haven't dug deeper), which is probably on the higher end of my budget but at least it seems to checkmark the storage capacity and possibly the resilience elements. From glancing at the questions it appears they're supposed to be releasing a 2022 revision/iteration at some point.
First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
Forar on
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otherwise, I'm a Tom Bihn stan for raw quality-per-dollar (edit: with the caveat that I mostly prefer their backpacks, though the messenger bags are extremely well-made still)
I'm not seeing an "Engineering" edition, but Sutro styles of backpack and a Messenger variant make it appear I've found the correct Rickshaw Bags you're referring to.
The Tom Bihn site has some options. Looks like the Maker's Bag may be their biggest messenger bag available. Seems to be a quality product with lots of pockets, but it's a bit smaller than what I'm looking for (site says it's around 14x10 x 7, the BoH was (according to Google) 17 x 16 x 7 or so, putting it around half the interior dimensions, give or take a little).
Both are good to know about, thanks for the recommendations!
Edit: I've also cast the net into Reddit's "ManyBaggers" sub, but I figure with how popular the TG bags were around here over the years, it was a good place to focus on as well.
With that being said, they are not as Bomb-Proof as they once were. They used to be completely waterproof (My messenger bag actually keeping a camera dry through a downpour) but they are still very-well-made (Albeit not from America anymore).
Are they pricey? I'd say yes. But considering that it's something you can reasonably hope to have for the rest of your life and their customer service stands behind it (Never had a problem with them) I'd say it's worth it.
The Corudra the main body of the bag is very, very tough. I was wearing one of their bags on a motorcycle crash and I just slid right on top of it. Not so much as a scuff.
Stupid FOMO Brain... after seeing this thread, I checked their website and they were offering a flash sale on their older products, taking 15% off the price. That got me to pull the trigger.
I will say be careful about getting a bag of holding off of ebay. I got one of the last ones before thinkgeek stopped selling them and the quality was...not great.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
ah woops I messed up the company name, meant to say Rickshaw Bagworks, but yeah that is the correct one
and yeah unfortunately Tom Bihn are less a messenger bag specialist, but for those kinds of smaller size ranges they're very efficiently stitched and laid out in a way that tends to make them fit more than you'd expect
Must not ship to Canada, the one showing on Canadian eBay is ~$172 US.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/134197095369?hash=item1f3ec52bc9:g:kz4AAOSwNOdi9ZWH
Well its a shame you didn't get the Fallout 76 super handjob collectors edition, I hear that came with an AMAZING Vaultec branded Canvas bag.
... plus I was all out of handjobs at the time, you see.
This just came in, after a bunch of shenanigans with UPS shipping. Woohoo!
Came in a recyclable bag with their branding on it, opaque.
The material quality is absolutely insane. Like everything just feels premium, which is nice. The bag did seem smaller than my current one, though, but I think that's just due to how it opens and being a true messenger bag versus my current one. Plus I completely forgot at first that the laptop is stored in a different compartment.
The luggage passthru can open on the top or bottom, making it another sealed compartment, which is nice. The quick access zipper is only on one side, so it isn't terribly useful to me because I wear it on my left side. The water bottle is a bit thin for Sodastream bottles or my usual kinds... but it goes the entire length of the bag, so I am willing to bet it will be secure as hell.
My laptop is a behemoth of a Surface Book 3 15", and it just BARELY fits. In fact, I need to put it in a specific way to make it fit. This probably won't be an issue with my work laptop. And bonus, I was able to fit my portable screen in the main pouch as well.
It really does look upscale from what I was using before.
I've decided to take the plunge on a bag from Amazon, only $60 Canadian (~$45 USD) that has a magnetic closure, seems to be in the same size ballpark (claims to hold a 16" inch laptop, the BOH was designed for a 17" macbook pro), exterior dimensions seem to be an inch or two smaller but should retain some decent carrying capacity, has a similar pocket layout (not quite identical, at least one fewer pocket), but I'm optimistic.
Timbuk2 and CourierBags are leading contenders if it doesn't work out. As long as it isn't an absolute garbage fire of a purchase, it should at least better fit my needs while I really weigh out my options with the higher end bags.
It looks like the Courier 2.0 doesn't have a zipper for the main section? Just the cover that snaps in place?
The Especial holds some appeal as well, definitely something to keep an eye on.
You are correct - no zipper for the main compartment, just the buckles. However, I did learn that there's a pair of velcro strips that are usually covered that can keep the sucker closed if needed.
They have waxed canvas stuff now, too.
I know it's a stupid reason not to buy anything given our capitalist hellscape, but the Saddleback leather guy gives me wicked bad douche-chill vibes.
Oh, one hundred percent agree. He's also got an Evangelical Christian bend that I've purposefully gone out of my way to not investigate any further.
The bags are great, though!
I was gifted a saddleback years ago. It's a solid piece of craft, but the weight of it makes it not as good as a canvas bag that might only last you 5-10 years but doesn't weigh however many pounds empty. Like, it will outlive my for sure but that's not the primary use of a bag imo.
You have confirmed my worst fears....
*add to cart*
The Bag of Holding is coming back!
It'll apparently be on Kickstarter in Q2 of this year (so sometime in the next 2.5 months or so?), and is being run by Rollacrit, who are the same merchandizing team that take care of Gencon's annual swag (they may do other things as well, that's just where I'm familiar with them from).