Kriega Urban Messenger Bag

[biggaudi]

[div]So for those of you interested in a motorcycle style messenger, your journey may have come to end. I was able to get my hands on a relatively newer Kriega product last Monday and have been using it all week whether I've been riding my motorcycle or not. And I will say that I'm really enjoying it. Picked it up from urbanrider, a store in the UK for $168 ish shipped to my door http://www.urbanrider.co.uk/brands/kriega-bags/kriega-urban.html
xHere are some pictures.
 





The bag is definitely built up to Kriega's standards. It's well thought out, tough, robust and of course mostly waterproof. It has a main waterproof compartment, a water resistant zippered pocket available once the top is flipped over (the white one in the pictures above), and water resistant side pocket for quick access. 16 liter capacity though you can add 2 additional US-5 WP Kriega bags to the front for some additional waterproof compartments. The only downside to that would be that your side pocket would get compressed quite a bit, perhaps giving you less room for items there. I did not ride around in the rain, but Kriega is generally true to their word and I trust it would hold up just fine. However, if you have important documents or things that need to stay dry and you are using the smaller front or side pocket it would probably be wise to put them in plastic bags, especially if you plan on riding in a torrential down pour.
 
Part of the problem and concern I've had with previous backpacks that I've worn is that 1) I feel they are too bulky, and 2) they tend to feel like a sail, especially on the highway, blowing me around and giving a lot of resistance on this unfaired, smalled windscreened bike. With this messenger bag those concerns are addressed. I feel like it is a nice compromise on the size as I can still fit most of my things for communting or a day trip (I.E. pair of shoes, my scrubs, disc lock, lunch, etc.), but it doesn't bog me down. The quick adjuster strap works so well and it keeps the bag close to your body. The easy adjustability combined with whatever rubber like material Kriega used in a checkered pattern(Hypalon?) on the strap and back of the bag make it so the bag stays put and does not move around. Gone is that sail like feeling. It grips so well, almost excessively, in that when you wear normal clothes and you swing the bag around to access the side pocket, it will take your clothes along for the journey. It does come with an easy to adjust waist strap that I have used a few times, but don't really feel it is necessary unless you have a lot of heavy objects in the pack and need a bit more support and stability. Like when I went grocery shopping and put a bunch of heavier, liquid containing items in it.
 
The only flaw that I have found, and it is an annoying one, is that the side pocket zipper will get stuck on the material inside that pocket, jamming the zipper. You can work around this, but you have be very mindful of the way you hold the bag, and if you meet resistance when zipping/unzipping, you have to stop, reverse the direction and put a finger in the bag to push the fabric out of the way before continuing the action. I went ahead and used some electrically tape to hold down the material inside, next to the zipper. This seems to be helping, but I don't think it is a long term solution. I'm sure Kriega will resolve this matter in the future as I cannot be the only one with this problem.
 
I've done over 170 miles so far, most of them highway and it has come to be my favorite bag. It is easy to throw on/off and is such a handy size. Plus it looks great. It definitely has a more mature and professional look to it. Even though a Hello Kitty bag is cool, carrying this bag into a meeting or to teach a class makes me look more official. So if you are into messenger bags I would highly recommend this one. With Kriega's 10 year guarantee/warrantee it is built to last and since it is waterproof it could be a nice light touring bag as well.
 
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[tbuck46]

Thanks for the excellent review. It mirrors the other reviews that I have read about the bag. A few have even mentioned the zipper problem as well, so you are not the only one. I probably would not use that pocket much so I am not too worried about it.
 
One question. Can you give the interior dimensions of the main waterproof compartment to give some of us an idea of how large of an item it is able to hold? It may be a little hard to get an exact size, but if you could get a somewhat close measurement it would help us.
 
Thanks
 

[rowdy]

Thanks for the review!
I sure like the build quality, but it's a little small @ 16L. My Shimano is 25L and I use the space, so I guess I don't have a great excuse to spend more money (this time).
 

[biggaudi]

@tbuck46 the rough dimensions are about 14in height with the top rolled up and sealed (three rolls seems to be the magic number), 15in internally from side to side, and the width from front to back is approximated at 10in when I stretched out to the max. Though realistically usable width is probably closer to 7in.

[tbuck46]

Thanks for the measurements. It sounds like this bag would probably work perfectly for what I would need it for. I already have US-10 and US-5 bags from Kriega so I know the quality will be there.