Ask Dethroner: Where Can I Get a Cool Bag?

Mike S. asks:

Where can I find a good man bag? Every time I go shopping I get ran over with women’s bags but no good man bags for me.

Manhattan Portage is a go-to here in New York, although I’ve never actually owned one myself. Nonetheless, their gear ranges from understated to retina-squeezing, visually, so if you’re looking for something in a messenger bag, take a gander.

eBags is a surprisingly good place to purchase luggage online and they have the type of man purses I suspect you may be looking for, as well as more traditional laptop bags. Their prices are very fair.

Brooklyn Industries sells their bags online, too, including custom-made one-off bags, like the one on the left up there, for under a hundred dollars.

Why even good ol’ eBay has several nice options right now, including a vintage leather number that you will all not be buying because that bastard is mine! Vintage military stuff, especially from Eastern European nation-fragments, is always a winner, but high in demand. Bags designed to be used with professional camera gear are often quite fetching, as well, with plenty of loops and velcro and places to be written on with grease pencil.

Try to buy small as you think is necessary. If it can hold a camera, your phone, a deuce-deuce and a Helm’s Manual, then you’re probably doing just fine. You’re trying to keep your pockets free, not carrying around a mobile office.

One last thing; What’s the difference between a man bag and a woman’s purse? The strap. That’s not a punchline; Get a thick one.