Chrome Barrage

This bag looks great, feels great, and stays put in motion. It's a little slimmer than some packs, which is great for cycling so you don't get caught on mirrors riding in traffic. It's obviously very different from the messenger, and there are tradeoffs. You can carry more weight, add more cargo with the net on back too which is very handy, and all of the interior goods stay dry. Where it falls short though is functionality, materials, and styling. Functionality | The cargo net thing is a great idea, but should be larger to really utilize the extra carrying capacity. Loaded or unloaded, the bag is again not a messenger, and is far more cumbersome to take on and off. This is a bag I'd recommend more for long distance commuters than avid errand running cyclists or occasional cyclists making many stops. It is waterproof, however bear in mind it has one central cinch strap to close the bag. This does make it convenient to close, but it doesn't function like a typical dry bag in performing an airtight seal, and does have a retainer to help keep that bag closed. Still works, but you do have to use caution especially if really loading it up. Carrying capacity is great, but what happens when you arrive where you need to use your gear? You have to take it out of course, and the bag is long and deep, so it makes taking out a binder, six pack, what have you moderately difficult. Again, not recommended for stop and go, repeat. It doesn't hold small stuff well. It does have water carriers on the side, a bit narrow for some bottles, but what it really lacks is just an easy place to stash your phone, or a pencil case, snack, whatever. It has one zip pocket built into the bag, and one sleeve pocket inside the bag. The latter works well, but the former is created by compartmentalizing the bag. Basically creating one huge pocket, that actually wraps under the main compartment. The result is anything smaller than a large textbook inevitably falls under this fold and out of reach once you put gear in the main compartment. Materials | Chrome makes bags out of great materials and this bag is no exception. One area for improvement however is the padding. It is soft and comfy, and cushions loads well. However after four days of use, it's showing crimps and lines as I'd expect similar bags to exhibit around 8 months of solid use. This was the other half of what contributed to my return. Styling | I personally thought the tan bag was very nice looking. And you can customize these in the Chrome stores as well. However, you won't look quite so cool trying to take off your bag on your bike, or whip something out of your pack on an errand. It's a stop, put it on the ground, unpack all your stuff before being able to reach what you want kind of backpack. Does it keep everything safe and isolated? Yes. But it's like depositing your items in long term storage.. You didn't really need your calculator did you? Barrage will just hang onto it a little longer. Bottom line. If you're looking for a solid backpack that you can ride through torrents or occasional showers, this is it. If you need a commuter bag to take with you on rides and errands, or a school bag, look at the messengers.