BlueLounge Messenger Bag

• Pros

  Stylish design. Conveniently accessible front zippered pocket. Environmentally-friendly construction.

• Cons Brushed aluminum buckles are purely cosmetic. No dedicated laptop sleeve. Velcro straps attract lint.
• Bottom Line

  The BlueLounge Messenger Bag offers users a stylish way to carry their gear, but it loses some points in terms of functionality by relying on Velcro straps and not featuring a dedicated laptop compartment.

By Ahmer Kazi The best messenger bags strike the right balance between style and functionality, so users can carry their gear around without looking like they sit with the IT department at lunch. The BlueLounge Messenger Bag ($139 list) mostly hits the mark in the equation, serving up stylish bag with enough room to store any laptop up to 17-inches. Despite its cool look and soft fabric construction, though, it loses some points in the functionality department by relying on Velcro straps and not featuring a dedicated laptop compartment.

The BlueLounge Messenger Bag is available in black or rust (our review unit was the latter) and is constructed out of soft fabric. In addition to creating a stylishly subdued aesthetic, the BlueLounge Messenger Bag's fabric material also happens to be environmentally friendly. According to the folks at BlueLounge, it's woven entirely from recycled post-consumer bottles. Evidently, these bottles are crushed and shredded into small flakes, which are then melted to a hot liquid. This liquid is then filtered and extruded under high pressure into long strands, which are spun and spooled into fabric. Regardless of your ecological leanings, the BlueLounge Messenger Bag is pleasing to the touch and the eye.

A flat zippered pocket on the front of the BlueLounge Messenger Bag's fold-over flap delivers a convenient way for retrieving miscellany without having to open the bag. The BlueLounge Messenger Bag's main compartment, meanwhile, can be accessed by opening the fold-over flap, which is held shut by a pair of Velcro closures. While Velcro is easier to work with on the go than, say, buttons or buckles, it attracts all sorts of unsightly detritus like dust, lint, and stray hairs. Moreover, my clothes kept getting stuck to these straps each time I opened the BlueLounge Messenger Bag. If this is a concern to you, you're likely better off with the Booq Boa Courier's plastic buckles or the Ju-Ju-Be Be Hip (Messenger Bag)'s magnetic closure. I was surprised to find that the BlueLounge Messenger Bag relied on Velcro since it sports a pair of brushed aluminum buckles on its foldover flap. Alas, these buckles are purely cosmetic.

The BlueLounge Messenger Bag's main compartment was roomy enough to store my 13-inch MacBook Pro and the rest of my gear, like a hardcover book, umbrella, and bottle of water. Despite being lined with a plush padding, this section doesn't feature a dedicated laptop compartment like the Booq Boa Courier ($109.95 list). As a result, I often felt my laptop bouncing between the rest of my stuff whenever I ran to catch a train or zipped through crowded sidewalks. A pair of front-facing pockets?one of which is enclosed in a handsome mesh net?line the main compartment's exterior between the Velcro closure straps and offer additional storage space.

The BlueLounge Messenger Bag always felt comfortable to carry, thanks to its generously padded shoulder straps. Moreover, an aluminum quick release buckle on the strap utilizes an ingenious thumb lever that allows for quick and easy adjustment, even during movement. That, along with its easily accessible compartments, made for a versatile bag that naturally lends itself to organization and effortless interior navigation.

If style is your main priority, the BlueLounge Messenger Bag is hard to beat. Its woven fabric feels luxuriously soft and lends itself to an elegantly understated appearance. Those keen on functionality, though, should stick with the Book Boa Courier, which blends appearance with more pragmatic features like a key ring, buckles, and a dedicated laptop compartment. That said, the BlueLounge Messenger Bag is undeniably a cool bag to check out.

By Ahmer Kazi

Ahmer Kazi is a junior analyst for the PCMag Hardware team.

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