Comments on: Ellington Leather Europa Field Bag

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:12:35 +0000

I live in toronto Canada, by the time I pay exchange, duty, PST GST shipping etc this thing will be over 250 Canadian, and I cannot even see it before I buy…so…after looking all over for over a year, I had a good local leather guy make me one. Cost even more, but at least it is what I want and I know the workmanship.

By: One of One

One of One — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 10:30:04 +0000

I guess my opinion will go against some of the flow here, but that bag absolutely looks like a woman’s purse.

I don’t have a problem with a bag, but I wouldn’t be caught in a dark cave with that thing.

By: isobutane

isobutane — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 10:20:34 +0000

jkendrick wrote:
For real men there's always the Man Bag.

The company does a good job trying to convince us that because their name is "Man In Bag", that it is the only acceptable choice. I spent quite a bit of time looking at the Axible, decided that its dimensions were all wrong for the gear I carry. The Europa is perfect, because I can now bring it to work with me with my little Fujitsu notebook and a mouse pad in the main compartment, my Treo, remote presenter and projector remote in the gadget compartment and other needed accessories in the other pockets. And what does "real man" mean, anyway, and how can which brand of bag (instead of style) determine the authenticity of your manliness? I can't see buying into that kind of mentality. Remember "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche"? Some men have become a wee bit overprotective of their perceived gender identity.

By: jkendrick

jkendrick — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 04:40:31 +0000

For real men there's always the Man Bag.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 14:52:36 +0000

I was very happy to see many, many, many guys in NYC this past week carrying all sorts of bags. Not just backpacks, but real gear bags. I saw so many cool ones, that I wanted to walk up and ask them where they bought them…

By: isobutane

isobutane — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 08:40:44 +0000

This bag is also available in black! Yeah, women do laugh at our fashion sense (or our perceived lack of it). My female colleagues appeared stunned that I could coordinate a shirt, tie and pants and everything worked together…and I am single! Men have to take back the right to carry a bag and lose this ridiculous notion that you can’t be manly if you carry an accessory that even remotely resembles something worn by a woman. Walk into any mall and you will see a minimum of a 5:1 ratio of women’s clothing stores to those for men. If you include accessories, you can increase that ratio to 8:1 or so. We are being marginalized by the industry, and we need to fight back!

By: thalweg

thalweg — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 03:57:21 +0000

Thanks Mark!

I enjoyed your review of the Ellington Bag. Although it is just what I need I have a teen-age daughter that already read me the riot act for carrying a Timbuk2 Black Euro-tote to her volleyball game (“Dad…it is so embarassing….must you carry a man-bag”).

The bag I was carrying is decribed by (and includes a picture…although mine is black not orange) another chap in his blog at:

http://matt.makalumedia.com/2005/08/22/timbuk2-euro-tote

The bag you described is much more elegant and has nicer internal compartments but I think I will need to wait until my daughter leaves home in another 5 years to save her the embarrassment. Until then I will just overload all my pockets. Thanks again for the review (and it is great to see real people as models that dress in the same fashionable types of clothes that I like to wear). All the best, Alan