Cafe Bag and Shoulder Strap Questions

[MtnMan]

I was looking over the various Cafe Bags, and I noticed that some are equipped with waist straps, and fewer can be equipped with QAM shoulder straps as an extra-cost option.

What is the difference between these offerings, and how do they work? What is a "waist strap", anyway?

[backpack]

The Large Cafe Bag can accomodate 3 different Shoulder Straps,
Standard Shoulder Strap, the Q-AM Shoulder Strap, or the Absolute Shoulder Strap.

I bought my first Large Cafe Bag with a Standard Shoulder Strap, I also had an Absolute Shoulder Strap on hand intended for other TB bags.
When I saw people reviews of the Absolute Shoulder Strap, I installed mine in the Cafe Bag.

The Large Cafe Bag can be full to the brim (every space in all 3 compartment occupied), the Absolute Shoulder Strap makes the load manageable if one takes public transportation or has to walk.

The Standard Shoulder Strap, offered free of charge with the Large Cafe Bag, works perfectly well if one doesn't fill the bag to capacity and/or does most traveling by car.

I have no experience with the Q-AM Shoulder Strap, I have the impression that it is the Strap of choice for bike commuters.


The Medium and Small Cafe bags have sewn on Standard Shoulder Straps.


The Waist Strap help keep the bag securely on one's back, messenger style, it also help distribute the weight from shoulder to hips and back. It is very useful while riding a bike, running through airports, train or bus stations, taking city walk or hikes in parks.

It fits at the waist as it's name imply, it is optional since it is not needed if one uses the Cafe Bags as purses/murses with minimal loads or when a more formal look is needed such as during interviews or presentations.

All of my Cafe Bags (Large and Small) have Waist Straps because I like the idea of having a bag stable on my back while running or a way to give my shoulder a break at the end of the day.