shopping locally: blackstar bags

i went a little bike-wild with my tax return this year and dropped a significant chunk of change on a new bike and messenger bag. i consider both legitimate investments as portland is a city for cycling and it's my preferred method of transport (especially for those drunken weekends when i feel the need to cross the river four times in an evening in order to maximize my fun).

my bike was an amazing craigslist find that i'm increasingly happy with, especially now that i'm considering taking part in 2009's seattle-to-portland ride. more on that later.

my new bag is what i'm really here to write about: this thing is the shit. as loyal readers know, i made myself a messenger bag last summer. it turned out great and served me well for a couple of months, until many of the seams made by my simple little singer began to bust and i found myself leaving a trail of receipts and pens and sunglasses behind me as i rode. 'ol purple was swapped for an unwieldy backpack, which was then abandoned for the little timbuk2 bag i used in high school. wearing that thing with no chest strap became so frustrating, not to mention its measly carrying capacity, that a new bag became a necessary investment.

my first thought was to get a reload bag, but they were so entirely unhelpful via e-mail and almost entirely unwilling to do the simple custom work that i asked them about that i scrapped them. i'm also not going to link to them. what now. i wasn't really hyped to wait a month and a half for a bag anyways. see ya, reload.

i think it was fate that lead me past the small storefront on NE alberta of blackstar bags on the very same day i picked up my new bike. i walked right in, spoke directly to the owner, designer, and main constructor of the bags, dave, and was sold. he was way excited about accommodating my custom requests, talked me through my options, assured me everything was guaranteed for life, and promised a three-week turnaround. booyah. check it:








there are more pockets in this thing than i even know what to do with, the engineering and craftsmanship are mindlbowing, and i'm pretty sure i can fit an eighteen-pack of beer in there. or at least pack for a weekend to seattle. but for serious, if you want/ need a legit mesenger bag (he also does backpacks and panniers) i will house you for the weekend while you go and and place an order with dave.