After countless hours of design, material and hardware hunting, and testing, our messenger bags are finally here! Our bags will be launching in 4 colors to start off (Black, Chocolate, Royal Blue & Scarlet Red). We will be adding to our color stock for the messenger bags as time goes by.
I'm going to skip over the boring logistics and get right to it. Around November we had pretty much wrapped, on a solid prototype for a messenger bag. Why not release them way back then, and keep you from the 3 month wait, you ask? Because making a pretty bag and saying “it looks like it's tough” just aint' good enough. We put this bag through the ringer before making it available to you. With a little help of course.
Thankfully for us (and you) the messengers were ready for us! We kicked down 2 of our large bags to local couriers here in LA, for some product research & development. We were relying on the couriers out here to provide us with feedback concerning comfortability, and functionality.
As far as weather goes, 20days of rain a year, and an average temp. of 65, wasn't exactly going to be enough for us to put these bags to the test that mother nature can put the rest of the country though.. Don't get me wrong, I like LA, but 65 Degrees and sun in the middle of January just, isn't winter.
Enter NYC: Have you been watching the news or paying attention to weather reports, over the past few months? The North-Eastern to Mid-Atlantic seaboard has been getting it's ass kicked by old man winter this year. Sleet, Snow, Ice, rain, and sub-zero temperatures.
Sounds Perfect! 2 more bags off to NYC!
These 4 brave souls, beat the hell out of these bags for 6 weeks, and came back at us with some feedback. Overall, they all seemed to love the bags, but had a few few suggestions. Here's a peek into what they were looking for.
- Deeper Pen/Tool Pockets (check!)
- Add a stash pocket (well, if you say so!)
- Longer webbing straps on flap for larger Items (done, and done)
- Add a little more Volume to the outer Pockets (and, DONE!)
Not bad overall, we'd say. At the end of the day, we were more than happy to be hearing critiques on minor stuff like pockets size and strap length, over hearing that they just plain hated it. We provided them with a short questionnaire going over the bag all together, as well as an itemized list of all it's attributes for them to note. Here's a few direct quotes taken from what they had to say.
- "I have Scoliosis, reversed lordosis, & 3 herniated discs, so bag comfort is an issue. But this really works for me, hours + hours, all day every day."
- "I really appreciate the reflectors, and ease with which I have for the bigger outer Pockets"
- "It was very snug, and I was surprised at how much could fit"
- "The bag does not sway, and wraps nicely around the torso"
- "It's a great bag,good for all types of riders"
- "I put hard drives, laptops, film, prints, all in there in a downpour. Totally Dry"
- "I LOVE the strap, very easy to use"
- "Hardware is Solid, nothing slips, even with boxes in it"
- "Really held up well, to NYC winter. The strap is really comfy, the buckle is quick and easy, and pocket in all the right places"
- "If you really want the real deal, 100% reliable Messenger Bag, this is the one. It will fit all your laundry, or a whole bankers box. I even fit 5 gallons of paint!"
Well, I guess it would be safe to say that they liked it! These guys live on their bikes. Getting in and out of their bags countless times, over the course of a single day, and beating the Christ out of them in the process. We designed these bags with the couriers in mind, because if it's good enough for them, odds are it will be good enough for you!
Here's hoping, only time will tell,now that they're out in the public arena. We have a feeling that you'll be happy that you waited for us.
Lastly, I want to give a quick shout and thanks to everyone involved in making this happen.
Without you guys this wouldn't have been possible. From testing the bags, to modeling for the site, to supporting us on the web and helping to spread the word. We appreciate it, good looking out!
With that said, it's 6am, and I am going to bed. Dreaming of tomorrow, when all we'll have to do now, is make and ship these suckers! I might have missed something due to sleep-deprivation, but I'm sure I'll remember in the morning, and bless you all with another update. Talk soon folks!
-Alex
Cranky's Bikes
