Large Messenger Bag - Platinum

After perusing probably hundreds of bags to carry for my final year of undergraduate work, I finally came to the conclusion that this was the bag for me. I am extremely particular about what bags and gadgets I use, and the demo video for this bag in particular is what won me over. It seemed perfect. Since the reviews are quite numerous for this bag, I'm going to just stick with my first impressions and the bag's capacity for my review. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: When I received my Amazon box, my first thought was that the bag must be folded up inside the box or otherwise just mushed in very tightly. When I opened the box, the bag was indeed flattened, but not at all folded or crammed in. The bag is admittedly smaller than I expected, but only by a fraction. If I had to guess, I thought it to be about 15-20% larger judging by the product photos. I'm above average in size (5'11" and 220lbs.) so maybe it was just my perspective playing tricks on me. Regardless, its size did not turn out to be an issue at all. In fact, it's a strength of the bag. CAPACITY: I have a lot of crap. Seriously, when I'm older I might wind up being diagnosed as a gadget hoarder. I prefer to think of myself as a sentimental early adopter...or an electro-connoisseur, if you will. Everyday I carry all of these items to school in this TENBA bag (and this bag alone): ~ 10" Netbook (ASUS Eee PC 1015PN-PU17-WT 10.1-Inch Netbook (White)) ~ 10" Tablet (ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101-A1 10.1-Inch Tablet Computer (Tablet Only)) -~- with leather case (VIPERTEK Multi-Angle Leather Folio Case Cover for Asus Eee Pad Transformer 10.1-Inch TF101 Android Tablet Wi-Fi (Black)) ~ DSLR Camera with TWO lenses(Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18 MP CMOS APS-C Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens) ~ Point-and-Shoot Camera (the large faux-SLR style Casio Exilim EX-FH20 9.1 MP Digital Camera with 20x Optical Zoom and 3-Inch LCD (Black)) ~ iPod Touch (Apple iPod touch 32 GB (3rd Generation) OLD MODEL) ~ Nintendo 3DS (NEW Nintendo 3DS Aqua Blue (Videogame Hardware)) ~ Nintendo DSi (Nintendo DSi Matte - Blue) ~ Flip-style video camera (B-Stock Creative Vado HD Pocket Video Camera 8GB + Accessories Pack (Red)) ~ Smartphone (Motorola Atrix 4G Android Phone (AT&T)) ~ Headphones in carrying case (Bose® IE2 audio headphones) ~ Large 3DS case w/23 games cartridges plus accessories inside (Nintendo 3DS Pull and Go Folio - Blue) ~ A leather billfold-style wallet ~ A small case with spare SD cards ~ 2 laser pens ~ A few ink pens ~ And one very fat over-sized glasses case for when I switch between my nerd glasses and aviator sunglasses ALL of this fits in the case simultaneously, and without issue. I should warn you that if you plan to pack any more than what I've listed into the bag, you'll start having issues. As it stands, I am using none of the three large flat pockets on/in the bag. I have the front straps completely loosened and the bag is *just* accommodating all of my technojunk as it is. I might be able to fit in a spiral notebook or two, or maybe something small like some more laser pens, but anything big enough to fill one of the large pockets would be seriously compromised by the bag's bulge unless it were flexible (like a spiral notebook.) All in all, it feels like the end user is given options when it comes to the pockets. I doubt all of them can be used effectively at the same time (unless nothing too large were put in the bag), but I don't thin they were necessarily meant to be. I can definitely see re-purposing this bag in many different ways for trips, new classes at school, taking to work, and so on. I've found the arrangement that works best for me, and it just doesn't happen to take advantage of all of the bag's pockets. Other users might end up using a completely different set of pockets than I have. Who knows? OVERALL: This is the best cargo bag I have ever owned. I was tentative at first because of its size, but that wasn't a problem. I considered buying Tenba's backpack instead, as a messenger bag weight down with ll of this junk would put quite a strain on just one shoulder. It turned out that the bag itself was so light, the material so breathable, the frame so rigid (yet flexible), and the padding SO incredibly plush that it isn't at all uncomfortable to lug across campus for me. I am somewhat of a big guy and I am by no means a weakling (quite the opposite, in fact) so my strength is working in my favor, but that's not the point. Pound-for-pound, everything I put in this bag FEELS much lighter than it does in another bag of equivalent capacity. I'd say that this bag, between all of its features, FEELS 1/3rd as heavy as my Canon camera bag filled with the same amount of electronics and goodies, which is very significant considering that the weight of all my gadgets plus the bag is around 20 pounds on a scale. If you're unsure about this bag, but are as much a gadget-fiend as I am, get this bag. It really won't do you wrong. Just take caution and DON'T OVERFILL IT....as much as you (and I) may want to. ;) UPDATE 6 WEEKS LATER: I have added a video to really show off the holding capacity of the bag. There have been some substitutions over the last 2 months, as well. The tablet now has the keyboard dock rather than the leather case (just as thick either way), there is an extra lens on my DSLR (the large lens), there are some extra little bits, and the Point & Shoot camera I listed above was used to shoot the video. Also, the video shows off how well the bag has held up for 6 weeks of heavy use. It has zero flaws other than a few stains so far.