Customer Reviews

Rothco Vintage Paratrooper Messenger Bag - Khaki

5 star:		(134)
4 star:		(52)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

SHIPPING

This bag arrived on a Friday afternoon in Seattle Washington after being ordered on Monday night and being shipped from Van Nuys California. It was sent via USPS Priority Mail in a bag and when unfolded had a couple wrinkles which disappeared on their own after a few hours.

FLAP

The flap looks like the flap in the main picture of this bag, with one minor exception. It has one long piece of olive green colored velcro on the other side of the flap from the two rectangular pieces of fabric pictured. The small red tag with white writing on it is not present on my flap, but is instead located on the end of the bag, where the strap is sewn on.

STRAP

The strap looks pretty comfortable and durable. It's made of the same fabric as the rest of the bag. On one side of the bag it's sewn directly to the bag, and on the other side of the bag it's looped through a wide, flat, rectangular brass ring which is inserted through a wide loop of fabric on the bag. Another brass ring is used to adjust the length of the strap which can be as short as approximately 28" and as long as approximately 48". The length adjustment ring stays in place really well but is still easy to adjust and moves smoothly along the strap.

SIDE POCKETS

Each side of the bag has a pocket which runs nearly the height of the bag and has a brass snap. The main picture of this bag shows a red sports drink, which I thought was kind of deceiving until I tried to put a 32 oz. gatorade drink in each side. To my surprise, it actually fit! The pocket doesn't look big enough to hold one of these bottles, but it just barely is. The snap won't fasten with a 32oz bottle in the pocket, but without a bottle the snaps work very well and have a solid feel to them. Just above one side pocket is a small black tag (1cm x 1cm) which says RD in white and shows curved white lines sort of resembling wings. Just above the other side pocket is a small red tag (1cm tall by 3cm wide) that says RAPDOM in white letters. Apparently this stands for Rapid Dominance, which wikipedia says is some sort of military tactic where you just overwhelm your opponent into giving up.

BACK OF BAG

The back of this bag (the side that rests against your body) has one large pocket that is approximately 7" tall (2/3 to 3/4 as tall as the bag's main compartment) and as wide as the bag (approximately 14"). It has one small piece of velcro just below the top edge of the pocket to close it.

UNDER THE FLAP

When you un-velcro the main flap and flip it out of the way, you find two large pouches. Each pouch has a zipper running along the top and a small square of velcro on the outside that the flap's velcro attaches to. The pouches are each approximately 7" tall and 6" wide. The zippers each have a logo like the one by the strap which says RD (same brass color as the rest of the zipper). The pockets both zip closed to the inside of the bag, so you wouldnt be able to reach under the flap and grab the zippers and open the pouches with the main flap closed. This seems more secure than the alternative. Above the right-hand pouch is an olive green tag (slightly lighter colored than the darker olive green of the bag) that says "RAPID DOMINANCE Standard Issue" and has the black RD logo and also a line for you to write your name: "Name_____________________".

MAIN COMPARTMENT

The main compartment of this bag has a long zipper that runs the length of the bag and when you unzip this zipper you find a shiny olive green vinyl lining inside. On one inner wall of the main compartment in the vinyl lining is an inner pocket approximately the size of one of the pouches on the outside. The vinyl is pretty solid, but not too thick, so I wouldn't put anything sharp or heavy in this inner pocket. The main compartment of the bag, however, seems very durable.

I found the confusion over the different versions of this bag very annoying, so this is my attempt to shed some light on the black ones, at least. I bought two bags, from two different companies, in the hope that I'd get two different versions and be able to compare them. It worked.

I added a bunch of pictures comparing both bags to the customer pics section.

For what it's worth these results are for the black one, in July of 2009. I had intended to compare them and then return one, but I think I'll keep them both. They are both great bags at an awesome price and what the heck. You can never have too many gear bags.

I noticed that the Gravity bag's strap tends to bunch up on the adjustable side's square ring a bit, which might get annoying (the fixed side on this bad is sewn, no ring). The Ace Mart strap seemed a bit stiffer and didn't bunch on the adjustable side. The fixed side has a ring but is sewn too tight to bunch anyway.

I thought I wanted a zipper on the main compartment for security, but I found that the extra clutter got in my way a bit, especially for my large 12x11" binder/planner. But for smaller stuff or in cases where the bag may be upended, I can see that being very useful.

I was also surprised that the Gravity bag was about an inch shorter, which in conjunction with my large binder and other junk, mattered.


"9118 BLACK HW CLASSIC MESSENGER BAG"
Apparel; $[...]
Sold by: Ace Mart Stores
Rotchco Classic Packs & Sacks, made in India
Shell 100% Cotton, no lining
1 lbs 10.4 oz

"9118 BLACK HW CLASSIC MESSENGER BAG"
Apparel; $[...]
Sold by: Gravity Trading
Rapid Dominance. Style NO: R31, made in China
Shell 100% Cotton, Lining 100% polyester
1 lbs 14.0 oz (probably zippers & lining)


..........................Ace Mart............Gravity
----------------------------------------------------
Color...................Matt Black..........Greenish Black
Length................18"....................18.5"
Height.................12"...................11"
Depth..................5".....................5"
Cloth [1]..............Similar................Similar
Zippers [2]...........1.......................4
Liner (main)..........No.....................Yes, polyester
Strap ends...........2 Lght sqr ring.....1 Heavy sqr ring, sewn
Back comprtmnt....No.....................Yes
REI 25oz [3].........Yes....................Yes
Velcro.................Lighter................Heavier
Strap min.............29.5...................30.5
Strap max............56......................60

[1] At first I thought the Gravity version had heavier cloth than the Ace Mark. It turns out that the Gravity uses the same heavy outer cloth on both sides of the flap, while the Ace Mark uses a lighter cloth for the inside layer. Both are 100 Cotton but feel and look slightly different. The Ace Mart has a finer weave while the Gravity feels slightly slicker which you'd think would make it shed water better. But when I flicked some water it it, the Ace Mart bag beaded 50% or more, while the Gravity just drank it right in, zero beading (see my pics). OTOH, the Gravity bag has a nylon inner lining. I'll Scotchgard them anyway.

[2] Both bags have a small zippered inner pocket, but the Gravity version has zippers on both front outside and main inside compartments. NOTE: the zippers make the mouths of the front outer compartments significantly smaller than the non-zipper ones! My Mini9 fits perfectly in the Ace Mart outer compartment, but it's not even close in the Gravity one.

[3] REI CamelBak Classic Bottle - 25 oz. ([...] fits loosely, a larger bottle would still fit. The bottle holders at each end were a critical feature for me, and one reason I didn't just go with a generic military surplus bag.

(second purchase!)
Could not be more pleased!

SUPPLIER:
Purchased a Black Heavyweight Classic Messenger bag through Shoprockcandy, as they were the supplier the lowest price available. It arrived on time, with no defects to mention. I live in Canada and the shipping fees were reasonable at around 11 bucks.

DESCRIPTION:
I had spent a great deal of time researching the other messenger bags on amazon. I read hundreds of reviews before deciding to go with this product. I was looking for one made with durable material and a wide strap. It needed to be manly enough, so that I didn't look like I was carrying a purse around and professional enough to take to work. I received exactly what I had wanted.

There are two front pockets, roughly able to accomodate 4 dvds each. These pockets have no locking mechanisms, but are covered by the front flap, which is velcroed to the front of the bag. There are also two pockets on either end capable of holding a water bottle/coffee mug easily. They are complete with a snap, which is only useful if you carry something can sized, or something other than a drinking container. The main compartment is extremly large, you could easily pack a change of clothes, or 2 large dictionaries. Again, no locking mechanism...it is covered by the flap. There is also a small zippered flap pocket within the main compartment. This pocket can easily store a mans wallet or mp3/cell phone.

OVERALL:
I use the bag daily to take my lunch, agendas, books, water bottle, mp3 player, etc to work. It holds all this and more.I've been using it for 3 months now, with no signs of wear & tear. Only complaint, is that the velcro doesnt always align correctly to make a strong connection...although I've not lost anything as of yet, I felt I should relay this information. Overall 5 out of 5 stars...highly recommended.

This bag lasted exactly 6 weeks before the shoulder strap snapped off. The "leather" part that the strap was attached to on the bag literally ripped in half as I walked through the train station this morning. I have not used it to carry more than 10 pounds at a time - if that - and the bag was not up to the task. Absolutely worthless.

Aside from that, the material around the zipper had already started to fray in two places, and the back of the bag had begun to become discolored, adopting a hint of blue. None of these problems have ever happened to a bag of mine before. I assume they never will again because I certainly won't be buying a bag from these people again.

This bag feels nice and looks great but don't be fooled by the straps with the brass fasteners. These straps are for decoration only. The strap sections on either side of the brass fasteners are affixed to the flap and not to the body of the bag, so they are not used to secure the flap in place. There is a somewhat small strip of Velcro for that. The loose nature of the bag itself will probably keep the flap from coming open but I bought this hoping the big straps would serve that purpose.

Unless of course there's a trick I've yet to figure out.

This is a great bag for school. I use it everyday to carry books and other things in it. Also, the three compartments on the inside makes it very easy to organize everything.
The only thing I have against the bag is that the strap is a bit too thin and it doesn't provide a lot of support if you are carrying a very heavy load.
However, other than that this is a very useful bag. Very much worth the price.

The bag is perfect... lightweight with lots of room for books, personal care items, lunch, whatever. I walk to work so it's perfect for me the strap is long enough, has plenty of pockets (for a man), I've used several leather bags in the past but I really like the casual almost floppy canvas feel of this. I've had several positive comments regarding the quality of the bag. If you need something to throw over yourself that will carry your stuff.... this will be perfect and it won't cost you your first born.

I wanted a bag that was simple, thick and sturdy, and with enough room to store a couple of things. This was my answer. If you're looking for a messenger bag that does what it's supposed to do without bells and whistles, this is it; not to mention the price - what a deal!

The bag looks pretty cool. It is pretty much as they describe.

Here are my thoughts:

Pros:
- Understated look, and the bio-hazard symbol gives it a touch of coolness. The metals parts have a vintage look as well.
- It is light and comfortable to carry around.
- Spacious enough to carry legal size paper or a 16" laptop. A 17" could fit but tight.
- It is cheap but materials seems good quality.

Cons:
- It is not padded in any way and will not protect anything you put inside.
- doesn't have any zippers or anything like that, so things may fall out.
- The clip that secures the front flap is not that easy to remove. It is not hard, but could have been easier.

Other thoughts:
- As someone mentioned, the strap is kinda short. Personally I don't find it short, in fact I have several inches to spare. But yes, it is shorter than average.
- The description doesn't say, but the size of the bag is pretty regular. I didn't find it neither small nor large.
- The lack of structure in the bag means that you can't just throw some paper inside, you would have to have some kind of hard cover to protect it. In the very back of the bag there is a slot where a hard cardboard or a plastic sheet could be inserted to give it more rigidity and structure. The problem is that it is not zippered or closed in any way, making it prone to move around.

Overall, I would say this is a good bag with some minor flaws. The bag is not for everyone. If you like the look and can live with the shortcomings, it would be a good buy at this price.

I use this bag for school to carry my books, or when I go to the shooting range, and any time I take the train into NYC. Its easy to use because unlike a backpack I dont need to take it off to go through it, I can get something from it while its on me. Its tough as nails, very sturdy construction, it also looks pretty cool as well. (especially if youre a 24 fan and always wished you could have Jack's "magic bag" from season 5, sorry no Glocks, endless ammo supply, lock picking kit, knife set, flashlights, PDAs, or lighters included.) Only downside is if you have to carry a heavy load with it, there is no padding on the strap, but I rarely do, so it works well.