Is This the Ultimate Messenger Bag? [Tech Tuesday]

October 13, 2015

By Laura Brauer

With close to 5 million dollars raised in record time, we were, of course, curious whether The Everyday Messenger bag’s features were worthy of being the “most funded bag” on Kickstarter.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that photographer Trey Ratcliff, who has a huge following, collaborated with Peak Design. In fact, Ratcliff actually approached Peak Design because he wanted a bag that functioned both as camera bag and, as the name spells out, an everyday bag.

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If you’re not familiar with Peak Design, the company started out about five years ago and has since successfully funded a number of interesting and useful photo products including clips for attaching a camera directly to a backpack strap or belt (there’s also a new clip for lenses). The company is certainly innovative, and it’s no surprise that Ratcliff signed on for a collaboration.

20716412136_d2cf28c47a_oWhile we haven’t yet had any hands-on time with the bag, the specs, videos and photos are impressive. Indeed, it’s designed for double-duty. You can easily go pack it with a DSLR, two or three lenses, a ton of accessories, laptop and tablet along with personal items. Alternatively, ditch the camera gear, throw in a sweater, a couple of books and whatever else you need for walking around or heading to work, and you’re good to go.

Organization is easy with the bag’s multiple pockets but there are a few other design elements that are important to note. Internal “FlexFold” dividers are origami-inspired and collapse and expand—as does the entire bag—depending on how much you pack into it. And they leave less wiggle room around cameras and lenses for better protection.

lifestyle-flex-fold-dividersA new latching system with multiple magnet attachment points to adjust to the volume of contents also provides quick, one-handed access by opening the front flap. But a top zipper also offers easy access to grab your camera. And if that’s not enough convenience, Peak Design added external attachment points for their Capture clip, so your camera can live outside of the bag for grab-and-go shooting.

studio-maglatch-2lifestyle-general-captureConstructed from waterproof and semi-rigid material, the bag can be worn as a traditional messenger bag or a shoulder back. It also comes with a stabilizer strap, dedicated laptop (up to 15-inch Macbook Pro) and tablet sleeves. An optional Field Pouch ($40), which fits neatly into the bag’s main compartment, is available for those who want to be super-organized. The Everyday Messenger is available in gray or tan and can be pre-ordered for $250; it’s slated to ship in December.