Timbuk2 is awesome. All the quality you could ever want (the bag will outlast you) without the smug hipster asshattery of owning a Chrome bag.

I cannot say enough good things about my Timbuk2 bag.

Reading more and more stories like is nice. Before I throw anything out, I'll have to remember to call the manufacturer first. Most people tend to forget about lifetime warranties on well used items.

Timbuk2 bags are fantastic - I had one of their messenger bags for years, and would still have it now if I hadn't given it away to the guy I sold my bike to when I moved to the US. I never needed to contact them for any customer service reason, though, as the bag seemed pretty much indestructible.

High-end, though? I guess they are pretty awesome, but I'd never thought of them like that!

@MsAnthropy: For their role, I would consider them on the level of a Tom Bihn bag or equivalent.

How long's the warranty? My 5 year old Timbuk2 bag is fraying. Wonder if I can get them to replace it. ;)

Although honestly, I got a new Timbuk2 bag on sale that I like more. But it's nice to have both.

I will officially be buying a bag from Timbuk2 now. I've been playing with their custom bag maker for a while, and now that I see this is the level of customer service I can expect should things go wrong, even years later, I'm sold that the cost of the bag is worth it.

Way to go, Timbuk2.

huh, now I have competition for my brenthaven if I ever get rid of it. had a brenthaven laptop backpack now for the last 5 years and they are just incredibly rock solid.

thanks for the tip... travelling a lot, I'm always looking for really good bags.

Timbuk2 bags are great...i bought one in 1997 and it is still going strong. I wish i could buy another one but my present one is still in too good of a condition to justify buying a new one...hahaaa

I will sing the praises of Timbuk2 as well. I recently visited Vietnam for a month long trip to adopt our son. On the first flight out of Chicago my shoulder strap clip broke (I had the thing loaded to the gills), the bag was also three years old. While waiting for our next flight I sent them an email asking if I could purchase a replacement clip and have it mailed to me in Hanoi. They sent me a replacement bag (it was at the hotel the next day), and told me to just send my bag to them when I got back to the States. I will never buy any other bag, they earned my loyalty and I spread the gospel when ever I can.

I've purchased three Timbuk2 bags - one for myself, one for my husband, and one for my little brother as a HS graduation gift. I filled it with things he could take to college with him - iTunes gift card, noise-blocking ear plugs, shower shoes, etc. It made a great gift and I was glad to be able to give him something that would stand up to heavy textbooks and could also be used as a cooler. (The waterproofing works both ways - fill with ice and beer and presto! Insta-cooler!)

been using their products for over 4 years and never had problem 1 out of them. I even ordered a limited edition bag that turns out that they were sold out of. They gave me a 20 percent off credit from another purchase and upgraded my shipping for free.

I've had my bag for 9 years. I used it every day as a missionary in South Korea, and I still use it everyday to carry books and such to work. This is the best money I ever spent on a bag. 9 years of heavy use and its still performs like the day I bought it.

@raleel: +1 on brenthaven. I've had a laptop backpack from them for 6 years and it still looks brand new.

I also have a Timbuk 2 messenger laptop bag, and it's pretty much exactly the same, too.

I just want to add I love my Timbuk2 bag...just like everyone else.

@ModernTenshi04:

yea, I need a new bag as well. My 5 year old targus bag is starting to show some wear. I'm a long time targus-user but, if i can save up some cash, i'll be buying timbuk2.

Timbuk2 is fabulous about repairs. Mr. o-matic sent his (10+ year old) bag in for a stitching repair, and it just came back the other day with the whole interior redone, looks like new. All free, minus the cost to ship it out there.

I heart mine so very very much. Perfect for bike commuters like us, but I use it for just about every activity outside biking too. So glad I bought it.. not so glad about the now mostly useless Crumpler I got a few years ago.

@KMan13 still wants a Pontiac G8:

I have a Targus bag that's only about a year old, but now I'll have to check out Timbuk2 as well.

I'm new to the world of laptop bags. My laptop has only been allowed out of the house in the past couple of months. Bad laptop! Down, boy!

Omg I just looked at their website and it's a PLETHORA of lovely bags.

Just want to add that I really like it when Consumerist posts things like this. If I need a recommendation on something, I'm bound to look here first. If not in the posts, I'll find something in the comments.

Thanks, everybody!

Don't have a Timbuk2 bag, but I did send Jansport a very, very used "commuter brief" messenger bag that was $150+ with a lifetime warranty and they fixed it just like new.

@raleel: I have to agree on Brenthaven. I haven't managed to kill mine yet, and I can destroy any bag in record order.

Timbuk2 have amazing build quality, and they totally stand behind their products. I bought one of their backpacks 3 years ago after going through 3 assorted $50 packs (Adidas, Jansport, Eastpak) in a year. This thing has been absolutely everywhere with me, from England to Japan to South Korea to on-campus every day for a year, and hasn't dropped so much as a stitch. I winced at the $100 price tag, but I figure it's saved me $450 in cheaper bags - so much worth it! I can't recommend them enough.

I like my Timbuk2 messenger bag too (special edition Belgium Brewing Fat Tire Ale), but one thing I don't understand...

If these bags are so great and they last 5-10 years, and then the company fixes them when they wear out from normal use... how do they stay in business? Some will say, word of mouth, but how often have you ever been asked by anyone what kind of bag they should buy? Staples, Best Buy, OfficeMax, and Office Depot sell laptop bags by the truckloads even though it's not their bread and butter...

Great to hear. I have a new Timbuk2 bag for my netbook. It's very high quality and wasn't expensive at all.

Adding to the love for Timbuk2, I've had my laptop bag from them for about 2 years now, and I drag it to and from work every day. I am ROUGH on my belongings, but it still looks brand new. Definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a new bag.

Because of this post I will be buying a Timbuk2 bag. Thanks!

Do you think it would work as a diaper bag?

@littlemisslondon: I was wondering the same thing. I'm probably a year or more away from needing one, but I really liked the look of the totes, and I'm thinking of getting one of those instead of a conventional diaper bag when the time comes.

@MsAnthropy: @ModernTenshi04:

Timbuk2 bags are great, I've read rave reviews about them, and this post really backs up all the positive things I've heard.

However, when I finally purchased a messenger bag, I found myself in need of greater space and volume. I regularly carry 11x14 or 14x18 pads of paper with me wheresoever I roam, so I went with a less hipster-oriented company and found Chrome bags. I've had mine for four years now, and its still primo.

Of course, my bag looks capable of corpse transport even though it was one of their smaller bags at the time... and looking at their new items, I see a bunch of bags similar to what I use for "light days" (days where a few sketchbooks, a butcher's tray for watercolors, an old medkit full of drawing supplies and a laptop are all I need).

@thisrancidrye: [www.chromebagsstore.com] for the website

This post inspired me to replace the tattered, pain-inducing bag my boyfriend currently uses to lug around his mobile office.

@ZukeZuke: i bought my first timbuk2 and later switched to chrome based on word of mouth and recommendations from others. strange as it seems, "what bag should i use" is far more common than one might think.

if that explanation isnt sufficient, they stay in business because of people like me who end up buying multiple bags for themselves and others.

@littlemisslondon: i haven't found anything the timbuk2 can't haul comfortably, so i'm sure it would make a suitable (and far more stylish) diaper tote.

I have been buying Brenthaven, Targus and Swissgear for as long as I've had laptops but I believe my next bag will have to be a Timbuk2, that is just phenominal!

Several years ago, I was riding my bike late one night and some hoodlums drove past and whipped a couple of eggs at me. My Timbuk 2 bag took the brunt of the assault. I emailed Timbuk 2 the next day to ask for advice on cleaning the bag, and never got so much as a response.

The next bag I purchased was made by a different company. Funny how that works.

Heck, i just found a Timbuk2 bag at my local thrift store and paid $6 for it! It has just a small stain on the back, but works great for hauling around my headset, binoculars, notepad, flashlight, maps, camera, extra lens and a small thermos o' coffee.

Years ago i had a similar experience with a Caribou backpack i'd purchased for college. AFter years of hauling-around books & stuff the stitching started to give out.
Fate smiled upon me and had sent me to Chico, Ca (where they were based). I dropped it off at the plant and asked if they could resew it.

When i got it back a couple weeks later, it had been completely gone through and resewn - complete with taping the seams to help reinforce the stitching...they didn't even charge me for it!

I've been a fan/customer for life since then.

@thisrancidrye: Are you kidding? Chrome are the epitome of scumbag hipster style. Everyone has them and Pabst-swilling frauds pay full price on Craigslist for them because frayed ones are in style because you want to say I HAD MINE FIRST.

I have one of the original waxed canvas metros.
It's over 10 years old.
All I do is rewax it once a year, iron it to melt the wax uniformly and it is water resistant for another year.

They look better with age.

I don't expect this kind of service, but it makes me feel better about buying one of their newer bags some time down the line.

Interesting point from Consumerist and some of the other readers. One person said they had theirs since 1997 and they won't buy a new one yet. This is, unfortunately, why shit quality is king these days. My wife and I have this conversation all the time.

Stores make lower quality crap they can sell much cheaper. People use it, it gets worn out after weeks/months, so they go back and buy another one. It's good that timbuk2 charges more but has such a positive word of mouth and loyal customer base that they have done well AND put out quality.

@William Brinkman: What's more "smug" than labeling everyone who own a certain brand of bag an asshat?

@William Brinkman: Apparently the bag didn't outlast the OP, and I second takes_so_little's comment.

Smug asshattery, indeed.

@ZukeZuke: Where did you get it? I'm a fat tire devotee living in VA. I'd love to have a litte reminder

@William Brinkman: Hmmm, We have one in the closet collecting dust after my husband got his Timbuk2. Are you saying I could be making money?

Five years of abuse and she wants them to fix it? Must be a great company for nervy customers.

@William Brinkman: Okay, I can understand thinking that the owners of Chrome bags might all be fixie courier asshats, but we're not. I'm just an engineering student who saw a kickass bag that would hold everything I could ever want it to, in a form factor that really worked for biking to school/work, which I do most days. My only regret about getting a chrome bag is having to deal with the idiots who judge my by my bag (c'mon people, how shallow can we get?)

Timbuk2's customer service is legendary. I had a problem with a clip on a shoulder strap. They shipped me a whole new strap and said keep the old one as an emergency spare.

The lesson here for other companies should be pretty clear. But because the MBA's of the world obviously haven't figured it out, and because Timbuk2 might be a little too Hippie for them, I'll point out the obvious.

1. Make a quality product. People are not stupid, they can easily determine the value of a $100 bag that lasts beyond five years as opposed to a $40 bag that isn't as functional and looks like garbage in a year and falls apart after 18 months.

2. While any press may be good press, the best press results in sales. Count how many people from Consumerist who are now browsing the Timbuk2 web site and thinking about a bag. View with caution any business leader who says doing the ethical thing may run contrary to profits.

3. Price sensitive customers may not always be the best customer. Ask Apple how well that has been working for them.

@HotDish:

That's a really good gift idea.

I love my Timbuk2 messenger bag. They worked with Whole Foods a while back to make this amazing messenger bag that uses old banners from the store as the lining. I've only had my bag about 2 years but I use it daily and abuse the hell out of it. I still get compliments on it, it's fantastic.

Ah right! Timbuk2 also recommended for left-handed persons!

You can specify your handedness when ordering. Crumpler did not allow this and, as much as I thought I could deal with it, it just doesn't work as well.

I may be shunned by the rest of society with their "regular" notebooks and scissors and desks and "how do you write like that?!?," but not my bag, dammit! It understands me.

@William Brinkman:
you know it's like totally hipster to hate on hipsters, right?

@takes_so_little: Riding a fixed gear bike with no brakes and PBR in your Chrome bag would make you more smug than my post.