Cole hooked me up with this Minnehaha “Canvas Shoulder Bag” with a promise of review on my part. Minnehaha Bag Co. stationed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which explains the company name, was nice enough to ask Cole to send a one less car patch, so they could sew it on the bag before sending it out to Cole. How nice is that!?!

I’ve had a chance to use this bag a few times now, so I’m ready to let you know all the perks and downfalls of this bag.

The first thing I noticed and liked about this bag is the natural leather trim and closure. Not only is it nice looking, but it also adds to the sturdiness of the bag. Also making this bag very sturdy for a canvas bag is the padding on the back and on the bottom. The majority of the bag is black canvas. The inside is a natural, off-white canvas sporting 2 small flap pockets and a clip to put keys or whatever on. The bag also has a big front pocket under the main flap, an adjustable strap that is long enough to be able to wear it diagonally across your body, a natural leather tab made for attaching your own bike light to or any other creative thing you can think to put there, 2 detachable strips of reflective material on each side of the bottom of the bag along with 2 little metal rings to clip things onto, and another metal ring that you can clip things onto that is attached to the strap.

According to the website the dimensions of the bag are 14.5L x 12.5H x 5W. It holds way more stuff than I initially thought it would.

In my opinion, there are only a couple downfalls to this bag. The first is that it does collect dog/cat hair & lint quickly. A quick run over with a lint roller and the problem is fixed. The second downfall is that neither the canvas nor the leather are waterproof, but the website has a section called “How to Care for your bag” where you can find directions on waterproofing both materials that make up the bag. They even suggest what products work best.

This company might turn some off, because their bags are made in China. Check out their website, and click on “Where Are Your Bags Made?” for more details on this.

It’s a really nice bag that is perfect for a girl of my size. There are so many huge messenger bags out there that are just too big for me to carry and be comfortable. This bag is so comfortable and extremely soft, even the strap is unbelievably soft. I think the creators of the “canvas shoulder bag” were thinking comfort when they made this bag.

~Bronwen