INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
You&re either a Chrome bag person or you&re not
And if you&re not a Chrome bag person, it might be time to give the newly Portland-based bag maker another look.
I&ve been a fan of Chrome
Industries bags for a long time, but over the years I&ve only owned two: the discontinued Mini Buran, a 15L, extra-small messenger by Chrome
standards, and the Niko camera pack
I still use the latter periodically but I traded the messenger away early on because, in spite of being Chrome smallest pack and the only
one that didn&t look cartoonishly big on my 5′ 4″ frame, I could never get the weight quite right
There are two reasons for that: 1) Chrome bags are huge and designed for huge hulking men and 2) I&m just not a messenger bag
person.
Taylor Hatmaker/TechCrunch
Chrome lineup of industrial-strength messenger bags has typically appealed to hardcore bike types and
dudes big enough to hoist its famously burly packs, but the company is branching out with a few new offerings that should excite anyone like
me who covets their designs and build quality but just can&t make most of their stuff work.
The Chrome Vega Transit Brief, part of Chrome
new work-centric Treadwell collection, is one of those new bags
The Vega is made to appeal to professional types who maybe need to keep their look away from the &I&m a bike messenger who lives in a punk
house& kind of vibe, but it still made of the pretty much indestructibleballistic nylon that gives Chrome bags their iconic look and
feel.
At first glance, the Vega looks like any generic laptop messenger, but unlike those (boring) you can carry the Vega three different
The first mode lets you carry the Vega briefcase-style, with a leather hand strap
The second mode converts the bag into a messenger with a detachable strap
The third mode (my favorite) happens when you pop out two hideaway straps from the back of the bag, turn it 90 degrees and carry the Vega
For my purposes, I switched between hand-carrying the bag and putting it on my back to carry a 13″ MacBook and other odds and ends.
Photo
via Chrome Industries
At just 15L, Vega is meant to carry small, rectangular stuff — you won&t be throwing groceries on the way home from
It got two main zippered compartments, one soft padded laptop sleeve that can fit a 15″ MacBook and one all-purpose-stuff pocket lined
with its own sleeve and two internal zip pockets that are actually big enough to be super useful for a phone or a wallet and keys
There a teeny external pocket that can also hold a phone or something small, but that one is tougher to get into so I mostly didn&t use
it.
Taylor Hatmaker/TechCrunch
Taylor Hatmaker/TechCrunch
I mentioned it already, but it worth repeating that the Vega is very, very
Its primary compartment would be best suited to hold stuff like an iPad, a book or paper documents, but if you have anything with much depth
it not going to be well-suited to this pack
Another thing worth noting is that the Vega looks like a big ol& rectangle when it carried like a backpack
You&ll either like that look and think it kinda distinct and cool like I did or you&ll hate it
One criticism: The leather strap that lets you carry the Vega by its handle doesn&t stow, so it just sort of hangs there when you wear it
It not super noticeable, but it bugged me a little because the snaps were tricky to open and close — a little flaw I imagine they might
modify if they ever update this design.
The Vega isn&t Chrome most inspired design ever, but it isn&t supposed to be
If you want to show up to a meeting looking pro but still cool, like yeah you looked over the slides from the call but you drink shitty beer
after work because you&re legit not because you can&t afford some triple-hopped bullshit, the Vega is probably for you.For anyone looking
for a well-made bag that not too loud to carry to and from work meetings that happens to turn into a damn backpack, Chrome Vega Transit
Brief is a great fit.
Taylor Hatmaker/TechCrunch
What it is: A bag that looks discreet and professional while keeping work basics close
(laptop, papers and the like)
Great as a no-frills carry-on bag for travel or a to-the-office-and-back kind of bag.
What it isn&t: A workhorse
With its 15L volume, you&re not going to be hauling big loads around or taking produce home from the co-op with this thing.
Read more
reviews from TechCrunch Bag Week 2018 here.
