Army UniverseARMYU Olive Green Original Heavyweight Cotton Canvas Classic Heavyweight Military Messenger Bag + Streamer

Y’all, my babes- I just wrote a twelve paragraph review and Amazon deleted it halfway through, and the bag is STILL WORTH rewriting it!First things first (hopefully this draft of the review will have a bit less rambling):This bag is big. Very big. Joke about being able to fit toddlers in it big. Which is great, bc I have a pathological need to bring everything with me, all the time. Water bottles, books, (once, possibly, two boxes of candy, two bottles of wine, and a large pizza, but I had to fold pizza in half- my greatest sneaking of food into the movies!).That’s what attracted me to this in the first place. I need to have my everything with me all the time. It’s served as a bag to haul my (8000 pound) college textbooks; it’s been a diaper bag; an over night bag and more. I’ve comfortably gone on three day trips with only this baby as my suitcase.It is also really, really well made. I’ve been meaning to write a review about it for absolute ages, and I mean it- I bought this bag in April of 2017. This is currently June of 2023- and it is still going strong! SIX YEARS, my babes!It’s been through the washing machine a couple different times, and no issues at all. Doesn’t rust the hardware or loosen anything, and the canvas is back to its usual level of flexibility within a day or two.Probably, me jam packing absolutely everything into it helps work out the stiffness from washing and drying. Thats right, boys and girls, you can also put it in the DRYER! Mind you, you will almost definitely grab it by the very hot hardware, so be careful.I’ve always wanted to use one of those delicate, expensive handbags that require a collapsible hook to keep it off the floor (if you haven’t seen em, look up ‘purse hook’, they’re actually pretty cool). My most recent attempt was with a pretty tote bag… but I left it in my closet for a while and now it’s stuck at a weird angle and looks like modern art.Alas, dainty purses and clutches are not to be. Instead, I always swing back to old faithful, my emotional support messenger bag. This is some high quality canvas. This bad boy has seen it all- breakups, picnics, ill-advised snacks on road trips- and just keeps on going.As a hectic mix of ADD fluff and duct tape, I need a bit of organization. I’m not quite adept at it, sadly. But this baby helps! I do love me some pockets.A decent sized one on each side, with a snap on a loop that keeps stuff from falling out, trust me! When you open the flap, there are also two pockets (bigger than some of my purses, tbh) that can hold a multitude of… stuff. Flotsam and jetsam and candy wrappers and twelve pens and all sorts of nonsense. The main compartment of the bag is BIG, like I said before. Very big. There’s a smallish (compared to the rest of the pockets) zippered pocket sewn into the back wall of the main pocket. It’ll easily fit two decks of cards (don’t ask, there was some sibling rivalry involved) and then some, or one of those wallets that can hold a kajillion cards.The single thing I didn’t like about the bag was the Velcro on the inside flap that held it shut. I like a spill-proof bag as much as the next girl, but the sound of Velcro makes my teeth itch. Two weeks in, I took a seam ripper to the Velcro and I’ve never looked back!The flap is generally heavy enough to hold its own, and I’m clumsy enough that I need it to keep everything inside, even if I plop it down unevenly on a random surface. Occasionally, once or twice a month, I’ll have to slam on my brakes and if I don’t have the bag level, it might spill. That is SO worth not having teeth/itching sounds every time I open it.The hardware (rivets, snaps, the things to adjust the length of the strap) are still looking new and shiny too. The strap adjuster is tight enough it doesn’t loosen on its own, but loose enough that you can adjust it with one hand if you’re desperate, like if you’re holding on to a squirming toddler at the time.Jeez, I think this review might actually be longer than the first one I wroteTL;DRThis bag will outlive humanity, and keep looking good while it does it! This bag is worth it if you need to carry a ton and like the olive drab look.

Solidly made with durable materials. Perfect bag for my particular bushcraft/foraging needs. The only area where it’s flawed is none of the external pockets/compartments are secure when in a tilted or upside down position. Stuff can fall out. I knew this when I purchased it so I can’t complain but, if you buy this bag you should buy some sort of snap instillation kit. I got one that was really inexpensive but functional. Installed 3 snaps for main compartment and 1 snap for the 2 external compartments. The other 2 external compartments have a snap on an internal loop that I don’t quite understand but it’s a snap that works well just the same. The strap is durable and easily adjustable and plenty long enough so to me this bag is kick ass. I’ve always had to alter certain aspects of any pack/bag I’ve used for my style of bushcraft so I’m not complaining one bit. High quality item. I don’t think I’ll ever have to replace it unless somehow gets lost.

I have had this now for over a year through moderate to heavy use and am quite happy with it. What I like most is that it is rugged, flexible, spacious, and the comfortable to wear. The strap is wide, and when carrying a reasonably heavy load, remains comfortable.I do NOT recommend putting it in a washer to break it in (as I did), as it leaves the telltale signs of canvas that's machine washed. It left white streaks, like those you see when buying canvas bags from army surplus stores. Great bag - would buy it again.

This is a fantastic bag and the sturdy canvas feels like it will last forever. The side pockets are nice and deep and almost swallow my 750ml water bottle. The interior is nice and spacious and I don't see myself ever filling this, even if I use it as a carry-on bag. The two front pockets are nice and big, and they're easy to reach without having to open the flap. The interior zipper pouch is nice and big too, and it's never been in my way when reaching inside. The shoulder strap is nice and wide and comfortable and the adjustment slide stays in place really well. Other reviews complain about the velcro fastener, but it holds fairly strongly for me. It probably wouldn't be so good for an outdoorsman or someone who regularly has this bursting with stuff, so I'd replace it with snaps in that case. The bag is really great at holding documents and folders, as well as legal-sized envelopes.My criticisms for this bag: there's no way to close the front pockets, so all your stuff is just loose. It would have been nice to have snaps on them like with the side pockets. They're nice and deep though, so I don't ever see myself losing anything accidentally, but I'd like the peace of mind. The interior could use more pockets and division. A couple of interior pockets to discreetly hide small things securely and help keep the bag more organized would be great. I'd also love a laptop/tablet fold, but that's a really minor issue for me. A couple of pen loops on the interior would have really improved this bag for me, but using the center seam on the front pockets has been working pretty well so far! My last concern is that the velcro hook strip seems to be roughing up the canvas and making it get a little fuzzy, and I'm worried it will wear holes into the front pockets after a few months or years. I think it would have been better if the hook and loop strips swapped places. Honestly, I may end up replacing the velcro with buckles, that would also help make it easier to carry over-sized mailing tubes or umbrellas.That seems like a lot of complaints, but they're all very minor things! This bag is the perfect look and construction I was going for, and the full-mouth side pockets allow me to actually carry bottles in them unlike my old bag. Even if you think you need something more organizable, I'd still recommend getting this bag and finding an organizer insert for sale somewhere!