#26: Bag Lady, Revisited

NaBloPoMo #26

I put out a call, a few weeks ago, asking everyone to find a functional bag to fit my current lifestyle.

Is it any surprise that it was a soldier that got me on-track? Sean suggested a few of his favorite rugged, outdoors-y brand names: Mountainsmith, Kelty, Keen's.

I didn't feel like I had time for internet shopping, but Sean set my wheels to turning, and I hit the outdoor stores in this berg. I fell in love with the first bag I found, at Champaign Surplus. Still, I moved on to comparison shop. Wild Country. Dick's.

I ended up returning to the first one I liked, figuring I could return the thing if I hated it, right?

Hey Mikey! She LOVES it! It's Eagle Creek brand, a messenger bag of sorts. It's larger than I'm used to, but I knew I was going to have to "upsize" my bag. It has about 1 million pockets, organized oh-so-efficiently. Here's an outside view of mine:


Under that flap, look: Pen, camera, card reader, blue tooth, water bottle...


A place in the back for me to throw mail, TFT flyers:


And the main compartment, with another inner pocket, a key chain hook, room for a wallet, checkbooks, and a book:


To top it off, the bag, though larger than a purse, isn't ENORMOUS. It's just...."a messenger bag" which doesn't constitute a second look in this University town.


And, ladies, don't overlook this:

The Number #1 Redeeming Factor of My New EagleCreek Bag:

It's Unisex! Clint looked just fiiiiiiiiine carrying that puppy around while we were in Vegas, loaded down with dual waterbottles, maps, tickets, and souvenirs. It's more backpack than handbag.

The Boy may be secure in his masculinity, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have done as much time with the cutesie lime-green handbag I'd been carrying around before.

Thanks Sean!

P.S. Sean's on his way to another tour in Afghanistan, folks. Go and give him some lurrrrve before he takes off.