Before I get into the case for the Satchel let me define what it is not: sissy looking.
My least favorite commercial on TV at the moment is that insurance commercial where there is a guy carrying a "European carryall". That dude has a strait up womens purse. The defining factors that make this one a purse.. 1) It is uselessly small 2) The way he is carrying it. 3) His wife bought it for him. If you are a man and going to carry a bag around it can be none of these things.
Now that that is out of the way lets look at some men who are doing this correctly.
We all know the famous individuals Jack Bauer and Indiana Jones. Rugged and carrying all kinds of fun toys and treasures in those bags.
There are also groups of men who use them for their jobs or hobbies, GeoCachers, Writers, Postal Workers, Students, Single Fathers, and many more. The bags themselves may go by different names, go-bags, laptop bags, diaper bags, or messenger bags but the common factor in all theses professions/hobbies is that we have more gear than what we can carry in our pockets.
This pocket overload issue is a problem that has moved from specialty professions and hobbies to the daily life of many men. Thirty years ago a wallet with some cash, your keys, maybe a pocket knife was all you carried around. Now add to that a phone (sometimes two or three), a small laptop or tablet, Credit Cards, Store membership cards, portable digital storage, chargers for all these gadgets... all of this stuff is way more than one pocket can handle. That is why rule number one is "The bag must be functional". It doesn't have to carry a laptop or a every book from you library but it should be larger than a woman's pocketbook.
The bag also cannot have a short thin strap. If you have a bag loaded a wide canvas or leather strap is absolutely necessary to distribute the weight well. The second defining factor that makes a man's bag acceptable is how they carry it. Always, Always, Always slung across the body. If you wear a bag on the same side of the shoulder that it is hanging from... I'm sorry.. It's just wrong.
There are several places to find a good bag. I got my current day bag from a Aldo Shoes. Great prices and quality products much similar to something like a Tumi messenger bag.
If you want to go with a more rugged and utilitarian style try looking at military and police gear. For my next bag I'm leaning towards this one in particular... the battle bag. It's a medium size bag with a canvas look and feel. I also like the fact that it is modular and would be great for caring a variety of tech gear and a few tools.
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