andre nickatina

If all goes good I'll be delivering packages for a living by the summer, because this bike addiction is getting out of control and all I want to do is push myself harder and harder and ride downtown in traffic constantly.

So I'm upgrading bags and have my heart set on baileyworks. I tried on a size XL and it was pretty big, definitely enough for anything I would need to haul but also curving around my side a little while empty. The shop also didn't have any other sizes for comparison, by the way. Does any messenger on BF do work with a size L and get around fine or what? Am I just sweating unnecessary specifics?

koyman

I have a BaileyWorks size L.
I have Mess'd.

I would say go with the XL. I didn't mess with the Baileyworks; I used a Kremlin that was the proper color/had proper screenprint, etc. I like my BW much more than the Chrome, but I'd say that the L is not big enough. You never know what or how much you're going to carry, and I've definitely had loads that barely fit in the Kremlin (no big feat; I dislike that "envelope" style), and definitely would NOT have been workable in the L BaileyWorks.

This is just my opinion, but I wouldn't be offering it if I didn't consider it a well-informed (if not well-stated) one.

In short: no.

andre nickatina

Fair enough, I'll spring for the XL unless 20 people suddenly come in here saying messenger work with an L is fine and they've done it themselves...

Baileyworks XL fit around my back a bit tighter than a Kremlin did, too.

stuckinatx

Email or call Baileyworks ( I hear they're super friendly) and ask them if their large bag can hold a file box. I can't remember if it does. If it can't, I'd get the XL. Don't worry about the bag wrapping around you. Being able to tighten the strap to where you want it is the important thing.

koyman

+1 on the call them
+1 on the super-friendly

somtimes one must carry a file box +. so keep that in mind.

stuckinatx

What does this mean?

threy

i have the medium which is BARELY smaller than the large and I think it would be pretty difficult doing any real mess work with it

SamHouston

File boxes generally are best strapped on outside of your bag if you don't have a rack. It is often illegal to carry them on the bars but that is your call, I prefer it on the bars & modify my riding to suit.

The file box is a poor example of actual messenger work. Usually if you must pick up a file box your next stop is to get rid of the file box. If you are busy there are already packages in your bag in addition to the tools & other items that are always there and adding a file box means repacking all of it if there is room. If you are not busy your next stop is definitely to drop the box and there is no advantage to putting it inside the bag if you can strap it to the outside and have the bag as a cushion or put it on a rack or ride it on the bars. Avoiding a box actually inside the bag is a always a time saver even if keeping it for multiple stops.

Anytime you must make multiple stops with a box on board make a note of it. We have a descriptive that fits that situation perfectly; Bad dispatching, not to be tolerated or at least not for long.

There are many stories of ridiculous calls, I've done many myself, but your equipment should be based around what you'll do most often and in NA this generally means letter/legal sized packages of paper. In Europe it means A2-A5. When the boss designed the bags we sell at UTW she was living in Amsterdam, the "Messential" model is based around the A3/A4 with A4 as the most common size in use, the "Heavy Gear" model around A2-A3 with the ability to strap on a low profile A1 portfolio & naturally has no problem with smaller sizes, the hip pouch was sized for the most common mapbook. They worked out just as well for NA paper (letter/legal/ledger)& Canadian mapbooks so she kept them as is. Of the ones sold to actual messengers, most prefer the Messential, only those who know they don't mind large loads, carry extraneous crap or are 5'10"+ choose the Heavy Gear, and if they never see their dispatchers they don't mention it.

thebristolkid

Are we talking about a garden variety BaileyWorks, or the SuperPro? I have a large SuperPro, and I don't think it's file box size. I'm also not a messenger, so what the hell do I know?

Offhoff

I mess and file boxes = car call 99% of the time, the money you get for carrying that file box is rarely worthwhile when compared to the amount of money you could be making my giving up that file box and doing 4-5 other drops/pickups.

I work with a PAC Ultimate and wouldn't want to have anything smaller.

youth

i have a large superpro, have done mess work, and honestly it's just about the right size, but i could probably go for the XL. still love that bag though. it's my second skin.

andre nickatina

superpro.

loaf

I use a L for messing and it works, but if I could do it over again, I'd get the XL only because the XXL would probably fall off my skinny azz. More packages = more $$.

DeafLamb

I have a XL SuperPro that I'm looking to get rid of now that I made my own bag. It's the blue color. Decent condition, definitly been used, but still waterproof.

PM me if your interested.

-ray

abe1x

for what it's worth I can and do will my XL to the brim pretty consistently without doing any messenger work at all..

1>2

SuperPro XXL. Why not? I don't mess yet love the bag with all me heart. Super big, super great.

koyman

orange/scram!




oh, and re:
I'm 6'5"... so..

print

check this out:

https://www.fixedgeargallery.com/reviews/messengerbags/

andre nickatina

thanks for the heads up, i've been aware of that article for awhile. i'm pretty much set on baileyworks, for the money it seems like it's the best option out there. chrome's are fine too but i'd like to try something new, and reload seems like it'd be okay if it was 60 dollars less, but not worth the current price at all.

p.s. does anyone know what size the bag is in that bag shot on this page https://www.baileyworks.com/catalog/product.cfm?id=2 for some reason they don't say.

666pack

+custom flaps.

i routinely fill my r.e.load deluxe to the brim with textbooks, hoodies and bongs.

trons

man