Njs?
Hey Rangdog
Have you thought of using some recycled materials, might give your bags a green/eco feel.
Also check these guys out…http://web.mac.com/chicagowig/www.chicagowig.com/messenger_bags.html
ya got the wrong bag then sunny. PAC.
Tsunoda: Yeah I have thought about using recycled materials. In fact that is what the majority of the range will have. Only thing is it is hard to get larger amounts of reclaimed material (like old canvas, etc). Recycled material is relatively easy to get, just exorbitantly expensive (especially from china due to minimum purchases… grr!). But in my mind green is definitely the way to go.
I like the look of chicagowig’s products. Classy.
Also if anyone is interested I have just launched my website. Nothing amazing there at the moment but give it time - especially to perfect the prototypes! Be sure to bookmark it - it will soon have everything available online. Visit it at: bogear.com.au
To all those who prefer backpacks, I will be calling on you for likes/dislikes in the future. It is just taking a heck of a lot longer than I first thought to perfect these messenger bags!
Hey Rangdog
See if you can get a hold of second hand bill board material, that stuff’s made out of vinyl and might be tough enough to make bags out of and is available localy.
I’ve seen laptop cases and been bags made out of the stuff, looks kinda cool.
I love how ‘recycled’ is reflected in their pricing.
australian made, 3y warranty on the rubber one, fair trade yada yada … if only they used more robust clips/buckles …
you could get two of these for the money you’ll spend on one chrome bag, right? shrug
god bless our worthless pacific peso 
Haul - We’re Capitalising on YOUR desire to save the planet and make yourself feel better WHILE maintaining exorbitant profit margins.
Seatbelt: Free from old cars
Rubber: From old bike tubes
Truck Tarp: From old bill boards
Sewing Machine: 10 bucks from a garage sale
Yep got it in one
Green has now become main stream, no longer the domain of tree huggers their aiming at corporate executives/cashed up professionals.
I’m whipping up a lil’ summin’ summin’ tomorrow. I’ll post pics soon.
But so far, this project has cost me nothing.
It is also about 2500 cubic inches.
haul? I meant www.freitag.ch sorry oh look ‘back to the roots’ ‘hi function’ ‘hi volume’ ‘messenger pro’ … (the Rex) … yours for 395 swiss francs, a few dollars shy of AUD500
Holy shit your right! I just did a pretend order $549.05 AUD for some truck tarp? Pre-loved truck tarp :?
I’m pretty stoked with how my bag turned out. It’s HUGE, pretty comfy and it cost my 7 bucks. I’ll post photos soon. I think I’ll make another one soon, but with more pockets and better material.
I’ve seen some amazing looking homemade messenger bags on bikeforums.net , very keen to see yours Pip.
I just odered a Medium Black Bag (2700cu) from Seagull bags out of Ohio. Very good price including shipping, and from what I’ve read the quality of the bags in on par with other more expensive brands. Seagull seems like a nice cheaper alternative to Chrome.
Sam and I were going to order some Black Bags as well. I think I’ll grab one in the new year.
I’ve seen a couple of seagulls in person. They are very good for the price, but that buckle is waaaaaay overengineered for its purpose IMHO.
It wont fail, but its pretty heavy and I’d hate to crash onto it. PAC and reload dont seem to need such a big buckle and i havent heard any failure stories with them. I know it was one of main features that seagull was proud of when they started making bags.
The big black bag has some issues with flap coverage when its empty… small gaps open up at the top edges of the bag and can let rain in…
For a lot of custom/homemade bags (and some good knowledge sharing) check this thread
I can neither confirm nor deny that I may or may not know the whereabouts of two (2) Australia Post mailbags, of varying quality. I think I’m supposed to put them in the nearest post box but I put them in a shopping trolley behind the train station by mistake 
They would make grouse bags I reckon but I lack the skillz to fab them up. Was thinking of swapping with someone in seppo land to avoid The Law™. Hi lurking poleece. Any ideas
I’ve finished a better design to replace the old design. The old one had a bunch of flaws, this one will hopefully fix it all. It will also be better quality, and have a bunch of new things, (pockets, back padding, better constructed strap) Can’t wait to get it finished! I’m just trying to hunt down some sturdy, but cheap fabric for the outer layer.