Rickshaw Bags Penroll, Pen case, Facemask, and Bento Bag. (Oh, and a matching orange TUL pen :)

As one of the few custom bag manufacturers in the US, Rickshaw Bagworks is always building new and interesting products. One of their latest projects, the Bento Bag, is a highly useful shoulder bag. I used their custom bag designing tool and really like the bag ‘I’ designed. After using this bag for a couple of weeks, I wanted to share some of my thoughts and pictures of how I load it out.

When Timbuk2 came out with the custom bag designer years ago, I couldn’t help but come up with crazy color patterns for their three panel messenger. I admit that I only bought one, but I bet I designed a hundred diferent bags. I love these things!

Now I have the same obsession with Richshaw Bags’ custom bag designing tool.

Once I found out that the founder, Mark Dwight helped create Timbuk2, it all seemed to make sense. Mark sold Timbuk2 and started Rickshaw Bags in the Dogpatch district of San Francisco in 2007. Rickshaw Bags is set apart by their ability to make almost anything, very quickly. They have so many new and different products that tie into other products like the Retro 51 pens with their ever-changing colors. Check out their facility in this well made video from Zazzle:

THE BENTO BAG

The Bento Bag was designed to hold a variety of cases and they released a video about what all fits inside that they make at the shop.

Instead of the coozy cases, I opted for a few things that work with my sketching needs so I went with some of the below items and they all fit nicely. Keeping everything in one place means I can grab this bag and know that it has everything I need to practice any short time that I can get when I am waiting in the car.

DIMENSIONS

This bag is not meant to act as a messenger bag as it is only 10” wide inside (8” tall and 3” deep) With its small size however it does come with a lot of organization. There are 2x 5 inch wide pockets and 1x 10'in pocket internally. The middle is left open for books, spiral notebooks, magazines, and other cases. The exterior of the bag has one zippered pocket and one open pocket.

CARRY

The nice bit about this bag is the lightweight and adjustable strap that makes it very comfortable. Most small messenger bags will slide around with the more weight you add, making them very awkward and requiring a stabilizing strap. By limiting the number of things you can add to this bag, no extra strap is needed, and the adjustable shoulder strap has a quick-release clip to help keep it tight on your back. The side pocket also works as a strap pocket to clean up the look when using the handles which is a nice touch.

Not pictured is the small key carabiner that came with my bag and they matched my love of orange. On top of this, they also sent me a load of vinal stickers that they designed. Something about getting free stickers with my bags speaks to the type of people they are.

VALUE

At $89 this bag is well worth the price. For $10 more, you can customize the colors and materials which I highly recommend :) Compared to other small messenger bags that are of similar dimensions, this is a great price even with the extra customization. I added some other companies that offer custom made bags at the bottom of the review in case you want to check them out.

SUMMARY

The Bento Bag has lots of pockets for its size and is a great catch-all to keep pens, notebooks, and other small items with you. If you are looking for a smaller “briefcase” style bag, this is the one. I highly recommend you check out Rickshaw bags and help contribute to the small business success they have had so far.