Contrary to popular belief on this forum, not all "reviews" from noobs are feeble attempts at advertising on here. I'm just a regular joe blow with an iPad who happens to be a gear junkie at the same time.

Below are my brief scatterbrain thoughts on the Timbuk2 Freestyle Messenger bag..size XS in black.

All photos are hosted on the public site Tinypic.com. You decide where you want to buy the bag if you're interested in it. I'm putting the photos on a public host so no one thinks that I'm trying to advertise for a store or something. I guess this should be a standard disclaimer with my "review" posts.

The Timbuk2 Freestyle Messenger bag. Overall it's a nice bag for the money. Are there better, more expensive alternatives? Sure.
The F.M. bag has enough room for a lot of iPad related gear and documents for it's size. The construction is pretty good and the bag feels sturdy. Nothing cheap feeling. IIRC TB2 has a lifetime warranty on the bags. Zippers are YKK and the plastic hardware feels nice as well. The shoulder strap is firm yet supple. The shoulder pad is nicely padded and comfy.

I have the shoulder strap adjusted to the longest setting and the bag sits right at the small of my back when worn across my body. My ONLY beef with the bag is that it's not 100% sealed from the elements although the nylon material has a plastic feeling liner on the inside. You'll see what I mean with the pictures. This could be a disaster during inclement weather.
That's it so far... It's not really a thorough review but you get the gist of it.




The internal sleeve is nicely lined with a soft material and is permanently sewn in and has it's own hook and loop flap. There is room on both sides of the sleeve for items.


This is the "main" compartment. There's plenty of room for other stuff. I just couldn't expand it well with my hands.


Inside storage..Hook and loop pouch, slotted sleeves for your smartphone or other items, and zippered pouch.



The opening I was talking about. This is the same for both sides. This is NOT good.

Does it look...femine? Like woman's purse? I don't have the need for a large book bag now that I don't have my laptop anymore...

It doesn't to me at least. At minimum I went with the black color for that purpose (low key) and wear it across my body and have it resting on my back so it doesn't look like a murse. lol The buckles are left undone..
The ballistic nylon also gives it a more manly feel. It's up to you and how comfortable you are with smaller messenger bags.

Looks very rugged and tough. Great option for people that are outside often.

How much did you pay?

$58.43 shipped. Or minus $5.99 if I had it shipped to my local REI.

Picture of you carrying it? That's what I need to sell me on it

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuygRWVwuUI[/ame]

lol at that clip. I need to watch the movie again. I have dinner and a function to attend to. Stay tuned.
In the meantime if you go to Timbuk2's website and search for the product, you can see sample pictures of it worn by a male and female. It's under the Laptop-Messenger Style tab. I think the photo is that of the larger Freestyle but you get the idea.

HTH

Yeah it's too large for me to picture :lol:

I had a few minutes to spare. This is the best I could do using my bathroom mirror..
Now I'm really out the door. Gotta go grub.

Hmmmm...thanks. Maybe I will try it out.

I kinda wanted this but now that I think about it, not sure when I can use it. I can't use it in uniform because I'm not allowed to sling bags across my back. They either have to be carried on one shoulder like a purse, or like a book bag with two straps over both shoulders.

"No, it's a man purse"

(couldn't resist)

That's about what the one I just got looks like when using the shoulder strap.

I guess you're better off with a backpack or something else if you don't want it to appear like you're carrying a purse. I could care less if I am made fun of. Then again I'm a gun totin' and Crocs wearing guy.

Well it's just a matter of, I'm not allowed to wear it like you have it when in uniform.

Eh, to hell with it, I ordered one.

My murse is supposed to be here on Wednesday

i went with a sleeve inside a backpack for carrying it around the first week i had it intill i got the sling bag from kensington ..i like the backpack for it was a lot easlyer on my to grab it and go out the door as it need ..

haha cool. Welcome to the murse wearers club.

I just got mine. So far, I don't think it looks bad at all. It's a little stiff. I wish it were a little more relaxed against my back but I suppose that might come with time.