Chrome  Citizen 15 L Messenger Bag

Um, this bag is soooo small that I’m not sure how anyone can even use it. The laptop sleeve is on the wrong side so it compresses the already tiny main compartment. The two pockets with magnetic closures can only fit flat items like a phone or slim wallet. Even the mesh water bottle pocket is so small it can only hold a traditional 12oz. plastic bike bottle. The materials are solid, as expected, but there’s just no room to fit anything meaningful inside the bag. See photos for a better sense of the size, because the website pictures are a trick to the eye. This bag makes me question if the 24L will be big enough to be useful. Super strange design.

I had a chrome bag years ago and it really seems like they have over engineered their products now... Unnecessary loops and fasteners and what the heck am I supposed to do with this extra three feet of strap??? Not to mention having to PAY 19 total to do a "exchange" for a smaller bag that's more expensive. I would return this bag for a refund but they charge you money to do a refund. Doesn't matter if you are unsatisfied with their product. Would not suggest. Will not buy again. Gyp.

I pre-ordered this and was excited to use it as my EDC, but sadly, it’s too small to be useful for carrying much of anything. I give it a star for the materials, but the design is terrible: The laptop sleeve is on the wrong side, compressing the main compartment and making it very difficult to stuff anything inside of it. The two other pockets are so flat and small I couldn’t fit much into them except for a smartphone and some pens. My wallet barely even squeezed inside one of them. Even the water bottle holder is so small that only a traditional 12oz. plastic bike bottle would fit into it. I love Chrome. I used their extra large volume messenger bag when working in NYC as a bike messenger for Urban Express around the turn of the century. And I still have that bag! I wanted something a bit smaller, but this thing is straight up tiny. It just doesn’t work. There’s no room for anything and everything is a super tight squeeze.

The Rio Rose is possibly the best looking bag Chrome has ever made!! It’s not too small, it’s not too big, it’s just right. Love the new features! I’ve had it for 2 days and have had soooo many compliments on it. Keep up the Collabs!

After a few weeks, I can already see where the waterproof lining will fail.

I have a messenger bag from another manufacturer, and I've been through a lot with it, and it's still in fine shape. But it's likely never to see the outside of the closet again now that I have this bag and the rainbow buckle. Also, it's huge and this 15L is a great size, objectively and in comparison to the old one. The padded pocket is not large enough to accept a 16" MacBook - as advertised. That's fine, I'm getting a14" next year, and the 16" MacBook does fit in the larger, unpadded pocket. I am crazy about the fact that the pocket flaps are held in place by magnets and not velcro - I'm so tired of the sound of velcro and these are a very welcome change of pace. I've used this bag a total of four times in a week - pretty light usage. But on every day it was raining pretty hard, and I don't know that I would have trusted my old bag with a MacBook, a work PC (in the padded pocket), an iPad (yes, I carry three devices) and mess of chargers and cables in that battering rain. On arrival, everything was as dry as a thing that is typically very dry indeed. I want to say desert. So yeah, as dry as a desert. 10/10 would buy again. And don't sleep on the contrast between bag and buckle - my barista said it was "quite something" when I asked her what she thought. Frankly, I was hoping for more from her for this review, but here we are.

i was super excited about the bag when it arrived- so comfortable and exactly the size and silhouette i was looking for! unfortunately, after a day or two the strap would loosen by itself and the buckle would slip as i would walk or move around even slightly- maybe because of the very slick seatbelt like strap material? i’m going to try and figure out a way to keep it in place because i do like the bag, just disappointed to already be having issues with a bag i hope to have for a long time

Cute bag, seems sturdy, but it’s awkward to use. No external pockets. Very hard to get things in/out of the bag without taking the whole bag off, otherwise you have a giant flap in your face while it’s on your body. The bottle holder inside is a joke if your bottle is more than 5 or 6 inches tall. Laptop sleeve should be against the body but it’s on the other side. 15L doesn’t fit much, but I can’t imagine getting the larger and bulkier version. Also the “sage” color is really just gray.

I tried a LOT of bags, but my favorite I kept going to was the 12L Mini Metro. But even that bad was frustratingly small as after I've packed my "minimalist" work essentials, it wouldn't fit my coffee bottle in. After trying (and returning) bags from Thule, Chrome, and Timbuk2, I made a list of what my ideal bag needed.- ~15L- Handle on top- Must be able to stand up by itself without tipping over- Padded compartment for a laptop- Some but not too many, pockets for organization- Must sit high and tight on the back- Focus on being lightweightThis bag is an iteration on the older Chrome Citizen and makes the bag check all the boxes for me. Some bonuses: The strap feels very comfortable and sturdy. The pockets have magnetic closures. The only downside, no exterior accessible pockets. You have to undo the buckles to be able to open the pockets. You could always just use the strong velcro, but the buckles are left dangling.

Definitely sturdy all around. Not a fan of the extra support strap for me. Magnetic closures on pockets easily surpass velcro. Mesh bottle holster is too small for my bottle. But it holds my umbrella? And the finish was great as I commuted in the pouring rain yesterday. No drivers told me that my bag made me more visible, but they also didn't hit me.