The Man Purse Aka. THE MURSE YES or NO ?

[Edward]

I alternate mostly between a MkVII gas mask bag, and a string bag. The advantage of the string bag is that it is completely out of my way when walking or standing, and it's not terribly obvious that I'm wearing it, especially over a black garment, and I managed to find one in a nice blue tartan. Disadvantages: only two compartments, one very large and one very small, so things can be hard to find inside, and I can't drive while wearing it. And those attributes of both are opposites of the other: the MkVII is nicely compartmentalized for my needs, I can leave it on while driving, but it is somewhat in the way while walking/standing.

What's a "string bag"?

 

[scottyrocks]

What's a "string bag"?

This is a string bag:

Pull the opening to open it, and pull the strings to close it. You wear it like a backpack. Most are very lightweight. They come in many shapes, sizes, materials, and colors. Mine is black on the back side, and a nice subdued blue tartan on the exposed side, where there is a zippered compartment. Very comfortable. I almost forget that I have it on, even when I'm wearing it for extended periods of time.

 

[Edward]

Aha! Yes, thanks, I see now. I've owned a few of those - I've always thought of them as a lightweight, drawstring dufflebag. "String bag" is a new term for me. Definitely very handy - not least because they can stuff down inside another bag very easily.

 

[dman535]

Here is my Magnoli Mark 7 "Indy" Bag with an M1 rifle sling as a strap:

For something a little bigger the Lands End brief case is a great durable piece

 

[Sonero]

I dig the rifle strap.

Very Tactical.

 

[PeterGunnLives]

To me, it depends on what the bag looks like. And I call it a "messenger bag" or a "satchel." I only jokingly refer to a bag as a "man-purse" if it looks stereotypically feminine.

 

[Bigger Don]

Here is my Magnoli Mark 7 "Indy" Bag with an M1 rifle sling as a strap:

For something a little bigger the Lands End brief case is a great durable piece

My wife bought me a Land's End bag similar to yours, about 1990 or so. Monogrammed. Land's End replaced it, including the monogram, after a dozen years or so of heavy use, i.e. weekly airline/cab/train travel with a laptop and other consultant essentials. That one is now getting a bit ragged on the edges so I am considering a new bag, perhaps going to Duluth Trading this time.

http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/mens/mens-accessories/mn-bags/44402.aspx?processor=content

BTW, I have another 3 to 4 similar bags from different consultancies, vendors, and clients. None as worthwhile as the Land's End bag. Use them for range bags or whatever. They're great for range bags: two sidearms in their cases plus enough ammo for a good session, or for concealed carry. Just always wear the "holster" side out.

 

[Sonero]

^ Duluth kills me with the cartoon sketches. I can usually tell the quality of an item online by looking at a close up of the texture. However they have been in business for a while so I guess customers don't care ?

 

[PeterGunnLives]

^ Duluth kills me with the cartoon sketches. I can usually tell the quality of an item online by looking at a close up of the texture. However they have been in business for a while so I guess customers don't care ?

On their site, some of the products also show actual photographs, and you can zoom in.

 

[Bigger Don]

^ Duluth kills me with the cartoon sketches. I can usually tell the quality of an item online by looking at a close up of the texture. However they have been in business for a while so I guess customers don't care ?

If you were to click on the link you would find there are also photos. Furthermore, they have a great return policy and I've ordered a few things from them with never a problem regarding quality.

 

[BlueTrain]

If anyone remembers the old Banana Republic catalogues from over 30 years ago, they had the same kind of illustration and I think that Early Winters did, too. All the same, I found the lack of actual photos a little irritating. But they do have some now.

I carry two bags. How's that for overkill? One of them is brand new, too. But with one exception, I don't actually carry them in public. I commute by automobile and only tote them from the car to the workplace and back again in the evening. The exception is when I'm travelling and I'll get to that in a minute.

One is my lunch bag. It's an ordinary six-pack sized zippered top insulated bag. I actually carry my lunch in it along with a whole bunch of odds and ends, like a knife fork and spoon, a paring knife and a Swiss-army type knife. Mostly it's the fork that gets used. If I bring soup in my lunch, I bring yet another spoon, a soup spoon. I also have a box of aspirin and a can opener. My lunch, if sandwiches, is carried inside a surplus mess tin that fits neatly inside. This outfit is only used for going to work.

My other bag is a Samsonite (how suburban!) laptop case. It had convenient pockets for everything like banking stuff, notebooks, maps, pencils, flashlights, printouts and so on. It's really bigger than I wanted and I had been looking for a portfolio with handles that would have been better for carrying the stuff I usually carry. Then I wore a sweater to work one day and I realized that during cold weather, which is just starting around here, I usually wore a sweater and sometimes a windbreaker and gloves to work and packed them in my bag for the trip home in the evening. So I actually needed something large enough for all that. I still may look for a regular portfolio but I couldn't find one that I liked when I was shopping around a couple of weeks ago.

I used to use a very handy nylon canvas convertible backpack that held all of that stuff (barely) but the zippers began to fail and it was awfully dirty. But it was still just the thing for carrying around maps and tickets and stuff like that when travelling by air and tramping around Paris in the summer, so I'm hanging onto it just for that purpose. It has shoulder straps like a rucksack so was very convenient when on foot.

I also have been using a canvas webbing haversack from the British 1937 web set for short walks in the woods. It's the officer's haversack and is just about the same size as the 1908 web haversack, if that means anything, or a little smaller than an Indiana Jone's gas mask pouch. It will hold a water bottle, first aid outfit and snacks but usually I use a regular rucksack so I can carry other things, too.

 

[Sonero]

I recently purchased a Carhartt Tote Bag for roughly $66. The shopping bag style design has proved to be extremely useful for me when shuffling between my house in San Diego and my apartment in Tijuana. I love the fact that it fits jackets water bottles books and so many other items that I can "throw" in there. Now that I own one I can't imagine life without it. Oh it also doubles as a supermarket bag.

Marketed to women yet just as useful to a man IMO.

 

[Cocker]

Can you please hand over your Man Card? Thank you!

 

[Sheepdog149]

Sure - it's a modern day "possibles bag." =) How one rocks (wears) it may be more important. A distressed leather or canvas bag might look more rugged. But, it's just one dude's opinion.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

 

[BlueTrain]

The fact that it is a Carhartt overrules any objections on grounds of lack of sufficient masculinity, although being new costs points.

 

[LuvMyMan]

What's a "string bag"?

You forced me to post this...a string bag is where you put yer string!

 

[Sonero]

Looks like a camera bag.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Looks like a camera bag.

Yep, the real working-horse of a handbag.

 

[Skyhawk]

No Murses please! With 2 to 4 pockets in my jackets and 4 pockets in my pants, I don't need a purse. Remember when men had an air (aire) of respect and wouldn't be caught dead carrying a purse? What about a nice backpack if you have too much to carry? If you are carrying a laptop bag without a laptop in it, I'm sorry but you got a purse. Make sure you have something heavy in it so you can swing it at purse snatchers to ward them off Nancy
A cool bag used for it's purpose is one thing, but a carry all shoulder bag for your stuff is just a purse. No matter what you call it.

 

[Sonero]

No Murses please! With 2 to 4 pockets in my jackets and 4 pockets in my pants, I don't need a purse. Remember when men had an air (aire) of respect and wouldn't be caught dead carrying a purse? What about a nice backpack if you have too much to carry? If you are carrying a laptop bag without a laptop in it, I'm sorry but you got a purse. Make sure you have something heavy in it so you can swing it at purse snatchers to ward them off Nancy
A cool bag used for it's purpose is one thing, but a carry all shoulder bag for your stuff is just a purse. No matter what you call it.

That's not very PC of you but I respect your opinion.

Just to be clear I let my back hair grow out like a jungle. Ain't no one going to tell me to shave it !