Cafe bag(s) review

[ncb4]

I have been carrying the Imago for a while now and it is a terrific bag. However it is sometimes larger than I want. So I thought I'd try out the Cafe bags....However for a daily carry bag to work, I like the Medium Cafe Bag very much. It's the perfect size, and it is easier for me to walk with it in crowded places without accidentally whacking people.

I'm in the same boat. I also have carried the Imago for a while, love it, and will continue to use it. But for some excursions it was just more bag than I needed: or maybe I should say that it was so much bag that I was too tempted to overstuff it. I needed a smaller bag that would force me to pack lighter for day trips. I absolutely agree about what a perfect "Goldilocks" size the Medium Cafe bag is: not too small, not too big. I just got a Crimson/Steel MCB this week, and am delighted that I can transfer all the things that I really need from my purse (and there are still some things I could probably do without), plus my iPad and wireless keyboard. And yet it's still smaller and lighter than my Imago when it's fully loaded.

Plus you made me laugh with the line about not whacking people. I also have a tendency to knock things off shelves in stores if I'm not careful when I'm carrying around a fully-loaded Imago.

[Just]

Olive/Wasabi is a great combo. I also have the MCB in Olive/Wasabi - the two "greens" really compliment each other.

I'm 5'4" and I also find myself using my SCB and MCB a lot more often than my LCB - perhaps, unconsciously, it's for the reason you noted above.

[bchaplin]

I have been carrying the Imago for a while now and it is a terrific bag. However it is sometimes larger than I want. So I thought I'd try out the Cafe bags.

As a short person (5'2"), I found the Large Cafe Bag to be awkward to wear comfortably. I had thought about using it for an upcoming conference because it would easily fit my laptop, peripherals, binders and any others things I needed to carry, but after trying it out I realized that I should just use the Imago I already have for that purpose. I think part of this is because I am so short, and have proportionally short arms, and the LCB is too deep for me. Another consideration is that the Imago stands up on its own, whereas the LCB seems to need propping up or to be slung over the back of a chair. Particularly at a conference, I prefer to have a bag that can be placed at my feet, but remains upright. So goodbye, LCB!

However for a daily carry bag to work, I like the Medium Cafe Bag very much. It's the perfect size, and it is easier for me to walk with it in crowded places without accidentally whacking people. I ordered it in Olive/Wasabi, which suits most of the outfits I wear, and also Black/Steel. They are both keepers. For me, these are also sized right to use on the weekend, or for hiking, without feeling like I'm dragging along a full-sized messenger bag. It can fit my Kindle, iPhone, money and wallet, point and shoot camera, basic toiletries, convertible shopping bag, a few papers, a tiny notebook, and keys in it.

Hope this helps someone, maybe another shorter-than-average person trying to make up their mind.

----------------
[Oops! Meant to put this in the Reviews section. If a moderator wants to move it feel free.]