It’s not only women, who need a new bag every once in a while to feel better, guys have similar wishes, but -that’s the big difference – other requirements. Male requirement. That means usually more functionality and less style.
I am – what is usually referred to – as an urban professional. Someone in a technical profession who commutes by car or public transport, who needs to lug around a laptop, a smartphone and all the earplugs, spare batteries, and cables that go with it. Sometimes I go to a ‘site’, a lab, a client office. And, due to the nature of my job, I sometime carry paper documents, sample material (boxed, plastic wrapped or in small bottles), or other equipment that I might need on a particular day.
Due to the nature and schedule of my work, I usually do not have time or the right opportunity to sit down for a lunch. So there is food in my bag, too. A packed sandwich, maybe some fruit, usually dried ‘survival’ food, like nuts or energy bars – sometimes a real life-saver. And something to drink, a thermos bottle, water or hot ‘coffee-to-go’ (no brand names here).
I realized very quickly, that the usual office bags and office bag-packs, rucksacks, etc are not the right thing for my purpose. They are still built as if people carry many paper files, back from and to the office. Maybe lawyers do, some teachers, definitely not me. Also those ‘typical’ office bags are relatively expensive and some branded bags much too expensive, considering build quality, material etc. So I had to find something else.
How about a photo bag?
Here are pictures of the first photo bag that I used. It is easy to load from the top, space for thermos, sandwich, gadjets and enough closed compartments for all the small things like keys, wallet, ATM-card, pencils. – But not enough space to take a 13″ laptop.
So I went out and got me a custom made leather bag modeled after the original, let’s say photo bag 2.0. Just a bit bigger than the original , so the laptop – very important for me – would fit into the bag. Inside with fancy soft red leather (see picture on the left), pretty nifty. Almost too nice. This custom made bag was not even expensive, not cheap, but cheaper than some of the brands seen in the usual corners of the mall. But the new fancy bag attracts attention which is not good in and urban environment. And it was not as practical and functional as I had hoped.