REI Chock Shoulder Bag - Women's

Comments about REI Chock Shoulder Bag - Women's:

I like that this is roomy enough to be useful, but small enough that it remains compact and as is a bit more low-key to carry around than a large messenger. If you are looking for something to hold documents, books, or a laptop, this bag will be far too small. Here's a run down of the features:

- Three exterior pockets, one small zippered front stash pocket (pretty much only good for tiny phones, lip balm, or cash.) The other two pockets are on the side, where the straps meet and are identical. The contrasting material is stretchy so the pockets have some give. They can accommodate a small water bottle, phone, or camera. (There is no rear stash pocket which would have been nice.)

-The inside of the bag is made up of two compartments - a large one that makes up the bulk of the bag, and a smaller, organizational one. The smaller compartment has sewn-in pockets and enough room to carry a few small items. The pocket sizes are approximately 4", 2", 1/2", and 2'5" respectively. The smallest one is for pens, but it was too small to fit any of my pens. The largest pocket will hold a PDA. There is also a keychain tether. The front flap has a velco closure and the main compartment has a zip closure. The main compartment also has a small zippered stash pocket.

-The strap is of a lightweight seatbelt-like material, only thinner and more flexible. I am not sure how it will hold up to heavier loads, but the construction seems solid. It's very easy to adjust the strap from long enough to carry across your body, to short enough to carry on one shoulder.


Overall impressions: Great size for women, it is probably a bit too feminine for men to carry because of its small size. It's not a messenger bag, so if you are looking for that kind of utility, move on. I'm sick of carrying around my tiny purses that have no room for anything besides a lipgloss and my wallet. To give you an idea of what this one holds, I loaded it tonight with the following: PDA, pens (in the sewn-in pockets), camera and cell (exterior side pockets), wallet & card case in front section, and make-up, a large moleskine, iPod, and hairbrush in the main compartment. There's room to spare, but not much.

Material quality seems great, and I've only had it one day, but I think it will stand up to everyday wear-and-tear. I wish the velco was a little bigger, or better yet that the closure was magnetic, but overall, I am very pleased with this bag.

Comments about REI Chock Shoulder Bag - Women's:

This bag is really nice...it seems like it's put together really well (I just got it yesterday. Very quick delivery, by the way). The color is very cute, I got the chianti, and it's comfortable to wear. My only qualm is that it's a lot bigger than it says on the specs. REI claims it's 9" wide x 7.5" tall, when in fact its more like 13" X 9". Since I was looking for something smaller than my current 11" x 9", I was a little bummed to find it so big. If you're looking for something a little bigger, I would recommend the bag, but I think in my case I might send it back.

Comments about REI Chock Shoulder Bag - Women's:

I own a couple of Pacsafe bags. Great security features, but the bags are just a bit bigger than I want. When I saw this bag in my local REI, I realized it would be ideal with an easy modification. I bought it in gray with rust trim and subsequently went back for a black one with gray trim.

The Pacsafe bags have a clip that secures the zipper to the bag strap, which prevents someone (or seriously impedes them) from upzipping the purse. I bought a couple of lanyards with a lobster claw catch (also at REI--about $1 each). I cut the ribbon to a length that I could sew to the side of the purse in the water bottle pocket where it tucks away and is unseen but can easily be pulled out to secure the zipper tags. In fact, it doesn't even have to hook through both tags; hook it through the top one of the two and the bottom one isn't going anywhere. I allowed just enough slack ribbon that it's easy to lock and unlock the zipper tag but not enough that someone could pull the tag and get a hand inside. I don't use this safety feature routinely, but it's nice to know it's available when needed.

The bag is big enough when I travel I can carry what I need for the day, including my travel camera, which is not as big as my dSLR, but is significantly larger that the little point and shoots that the majority of tourists carry.

Comments about REI Chock Shoulder Bag - Women's:

This is the perfect travel purse! I've always hated toting around a backpack while traveling, especially in the city. So this purse is absolutely perfect! It's zip/Velcro design makes you not have to worry about pickpockets, as well. The small front zip pocket is perfect for change, and the side pockets are great for a water bottle.

Comments about REI Chock Shoulder Bag - Women's:

I purchased this bag to use on a trip to Vegas but have started using it for everyday too. It's a great size--big enough for a wallet, checkbook, sunglasses, camera, and more in the big compartment. The small front one has sewn-in pockets that hold a pen, cellphone, and keys. The side pockets are handy for a sunglass case or small bottle of water or sunscreen. The strap is made of seatbelt-like material and is easy to slide, so you can go from having it on your shoulder to cross-body very quickly. However, if the strap was an inch or two longer it would be nice, since I'm tall and would like the bag to hang a little lower on my hip. I ordered the chianti, which I think is more purplish than in the picture, but it's still an okay color. Other color options, like blue or green, would be nice, as would a back stash pocket for maps or other items that need to be kept handy. The velcro fastners are good because you don't have to worry about magnets messing up your credit cards, but they could be larger. The current ones come loose easily and then the top flaps around. Overall, though, it's a handy bag that is great for trips around town or to vacation destinations.

Comments about REI Chock Shoulder Bag - Women's:

I'm not a purse girl, but I love this bag. It's light weight, but roomy enough to hold a couple paper back books. I rarely use the zipper closure to the main compartment, but it's nice to have when traveling. Best feature is the dual cell-phone holsters behind the strap. I tried a bunch of purses on at REI and this was by far the most stylish AND comfortable. I've used it every day for about a year and found it to be very durable and stain resistant. It still looks like new. The only bad thing is that a friend got one just like it and we sometimes get them confused.

Comments about REI Chock Shoulder Bag - Women's:

I wanted a bag that was practical for travel but was stylish enough and didn't scream "tourist." I also wanted a bag that would be suitable for urban sightseeing as well as carrying provisions on a day hike. This bag is my dream bag!

It's not too big--this was important, because who wants to carry a huge messenger everywhere? But it's just big enough to hold everything I need for a day out. It holds my advanced compact camera (i.e., bigger than a compact, but smaller than an SLR), a guidebook, a moleskine, phone, iPod, sunglasses, wallet, and lots of smaller stuff. In fact, it'll fit all that and still have room to pack some snacks for a day hike or some small purchases made while sightseeing. It has just the right amount of organization, with a flat zipper pocket inside the main zip compartment and an organized area just under the flap so you can get to your cash/phone, pens, and keys (clipped to the attached leash) without unzipping the main compartment. And the little diagonal zip pocket on the flap itself will let you access loose cash and coins without opening the bag at all.

Whether you can get anything in the external side pockets depends on how full you stuff the bag itself. But I love that they're there and that the contrast fabric is functional (it stretches to accommodate your water bottle, umbrella, iPod, or whatever you decide to stick there).

I'm 5'8" and long-waisted and didn't find the strap too short for wearing cross-body. But I do wear it at its full length. Any shorter and it would be too short.

Comments about REI Chock Shoulder Bag - Women's:

This purse was totally worth a little chunk of my hard-earned volunteer stipend. I was looking for a bag that was neither super-huge messenger nor useless and frilly girl purse. The Chock was it for me. I use it daily and tend to carry a lot of basics with me: Wallet, checkbook, phone, sunglasses, canvas shopping bag, Moleskine-sized notebook, 2 sets of keys, tons of pens. Guess what? It all fits without seeming overstuffed or hard to reach. Oh, and I've worn it in light and heavy rain and the stuff inside doesn't get wet.

One thing I noticed when I bought it in the store was the inside seams on the back zip pocket are not taped or otherwise finished. Noticeable to me, but not to others, and it didn't stop me from taking it home.

I got the "Cinder" color. It is a lot nicer in person than the online pic suggests. Nice medium gray and the red is a more adobe/rust color. AND I would love to see this bag in other colors (hint, hint, Design Team) -- especially some greens and blues for spring.

Comments about REI Chock Shoulder Bag - Women's:

I bought this a few days ago and I know already I will LOVE it and use it for everyday use as well as for travel. It is the perfect size: not too small, not too big. And the flat shape is terrific...no bulky purse to stick out. It holds far more than one would think at first. Very easy to access to interior while wearing purse across the body. No need to take shoulder strap off. I am SO PLEASED with this purchase.

Comments about REI Chock Shoulder Bag - Women's:

I use this bag every day, it's not too small, not too large. I can put far more in it than I thought, and still it's not bulky.

It has the best little zipper pocket on the front flap, so I never have to dig for my keys. The side pockets are great for sunglasses, reading glasses, and small water bottles.

I purchased the chianti color, and I may just get the black one too!

So far I haven't found anything I would change - and I'm PICKY about bags. Thank you!