Any given day finds me carrying at least 20 lbs in my bag. Bike tools, books, a couple beverages, food, dog leash, laptop and sometimes a digital slr camera. This large bag made by girl.bike.dog afforded me the opportunity to carry all these items and what ever gems the alley left for that day.

However, being a girl with a tiny frame I needed the main strap to cinch up smaller and hold the bag higher on my back. The wrap around strap helped to distribute the weight evenly, but having the bag hang down on my back hurt after a couple miles of riding.

Another problem I ran into with a lot of weight was the shoulder strap diging into my collar bone where it met the top of the bag. I saw a post on the girl.bike.dog.blog where the creator addressed this issue, installing a nicely padded shoulder strap on all their new bags, which is wonderful. There are also a couple sweet new features such as a double d-ring strap adjuster, the bag lays flatter to keep it extra water proof.

Check out pictures of the new design here: http://girlbikedog.blogspot.com/2008/09/sale.html 

Despite these two flaws, the design of the bag is smart and purposeful. The outside, front two pockets, and inside pocket fabric is made of Cordura and the inside of the bag is lined with vinyl coated nylon, keeping all my electronics and treasures dry. The outside pockets and flaps are also lined with the vinyl, and the strips of velcro keep the bag closed no matter how bulky the items in the bag.  

I was impressed with the pull ring tighting system the large strap boasts, and the smaller straps fits across my chest comfortably. If I am not carrying a ridiculous amount of stuff with me, this bag is super easy to ride all over chicago with or walk dogs for a couple of hours.

I know John was not impressed with the camo pattern, but I got to match all my camo loving basement friends, so I see that as a plus.  Regardless of the issues I had with the strap I fell in love with this company and the bag right away, as everything on this bag is made with high quality and care - right down to the sweet logo. I will be definitely placing an order. 

-stacee