Top Ten Features for a Crossover Commuter Bag

If you are reading this, you likely know that I have been searching for a type of day pack that I like to call a crossover day pack or CDP (read about it here).  A CDP as a versatile pack that can serve as a commuter pack during the week, but can work well as a pack for your weekend adventures (a.k.a., the kids' soccer games).  As many of you who have followed this site know, that includes the ability for the bag to carry my photography gear. I am a committed photographer who never goes anywhere without a real camera. This is why it is essential that all of my bags (packs or otherwise) have the ability to carry the small, padded, camera insert show below:

Timbuk2 Camera Insert - holding my "iPhone"

More recently, having happily settled on my CDP of choice (read about that here), I started a new mission to find a bag that could fill a need for me.  As I have explained elsewhere, sometimes you need the compactness, ease of access, and formality of an across the body bag (also known elsewhere in this site as a messenger bag or soft-sided briefcase).  Because I am fond of the idea of "crossover" I have decided to coin yet another term to help define what I need in such a bag: the Crossover Commuter Bag (CCB).  A CCB has a slightly different function for me than the CDP. The crossover aspect is that it needs to be able to carry my camera insert and some business essentials.  In other words, the "crossover" aspect is that it should be a combination camera bag and briefcase in its functionality.


The one thing that it does not need to do, is carry my 15 inch laptop.  There are two reasons for this:

1) When you have to carry the load on a single shoulder, adding a laptop is undesirable. If I know I need my laptop, I will migrate to my crossover day pack; and

"That stinkin' laptop made my shoulder hurt!"

2) The bag necessarily must be much bigger in order to accommodate a 15 inch lappy.  I want the bag to be a compact alternative to my CDP.

After reviewing (or in the process of reviewing) 14 such bags, I have come to realize that I have certain needs for this Compact Commuter Bag (CCB).  Admittedly, this is evolving, but here is my current top ten list of must haves:

1.  Room for my camera insert (as seen above).  What is most important is that the bag can accommodate this insert or comes with equivalent built-in camera protection.  The bag has to be able to fit it with a bit of room to wiggle as I want to be able to extract and insert the camera without fighting the bag in the process.

2.  Briefcase shape as opposed to shoulder bag shape or the cube shape:

The "briefcase shape" is wider than tall and fairly thin front to back:

This is a beauty.  It has the right shape, but it is limited in functionality and a bit too formal for my tastes. 

The "shoulder bag shape" has a width that is equal to its height and is essentially a large pocketbook.  I am comfortable with my manhood, but maybe not this comfortable:

This bag appears to be smiling at me and I am not smiling back.

The "cube shape."  I love the look of the classic Billingham camera bag, but it is too fat from front to back to carry comfortably and move quickly in crowded or tight places.  Plus, it also looks like a camera bag, and being Asian, I would look like a perpetual tourist.

If I was only going to carry my camera equipment and I had $350 to burn, this would be my bag.

I do have a some latitude in terms of the acceptable shape of the bag, but for the most part, I have come to find that slight variations on the briefcase shape allows for the greatest range of functionality.

3.  A shoulder strap AND a handle set in the middle of the bag (front to back as well as side to side).  You may be surprised to discover that many big time messenger bag manufacturers choose to do this (see below):

Note the "handle."  Handle is in quotes because it is hard to call something that is thinner than a dog leash a handle.

Look at the placement of the handle.  I don't mean to pick on Timbuk2 here, but they ARE the biggest offenders when it comes to this handle design.  Know that if you pick up this bag with the intention of walking from your office to a meeting down the hall, when you grab the handle, physics governs that the bag will hang at an angle and the bottom of the bag will bump against your knee as you walk.  Clearly, companies like Timbuk2 have designed this kind of handle for simply grabbing your bag for three seconds and not actually walking with the bag from point A to point B.  I, for one, need to be able to walk with my bag using the handle.  Not all the time, but enough to make it a pain if my bag is careening into my knee.

4.  A separate padded compartment for my full size iPad. I primarily use an iPad mini, but if it fits a maxi, it will fit my mini.

5.  An external organizer panel pocket for pens, my wallet, and my phone.  Easy access and organization is key.

6.  A variety of pockets to accommodate my glasses, device cords, dongles, batteries, gum, etc.

7.  A side water bottle pocket that can hold at least a twelve ounce bottle.  Preferably bigger.

8.  Be able to stand up on its own.  This is really vital as I don't want to be forced to have one hand stabilizing the bag and the other hand reaching in for the item.  It just becomes a chore to use a bag that tips over or collapses under its own weight.  Again, you might be surprised to find that A LOT of bags are not designed to stand on their own - loaded or not.

9.  A pocket for storing file folders and enough structure (stiffness) so that the folder within stays flat and uncreased.  This is important for me as I am always dealing with papers and they cannot end up looking like I just extracted them from the bottom of trash compacter.

10.  Not so huge that it looks like I am using the bag to go away for a weekend trip.  After all, there are pieces of luggage that could meet the aforementioned criteria, but I can't have a bag limit my ability to move like a ninja.

C'mon man, are you serious!  This is ridiculous in so many ways.  And I'm not just talking about the bag!