Review: Mission Attaché bag by Greenroom136

I’ve always had a thing for rugged looking messenger bags that can fit laptops and cameras from my days in college, lugging a laptop here and here. The only brand I was familiar with then was Crumpler but that of course was way above my meager means. As I grew older, while I liked how branded handbags looked (Anya Hindmarch is a favourite), I could never justify to myself paying a lot of money (above Rm500) for a bag that I will end up putting on the floor and would stand up to the daily elements. So I stuck with plain black handbags with no brand, at least I tak sakit hati to put it here and there and I could change it as I chose.

Soon however, I wanted to have a bag that I could bring travelling or to put more stuff in for the weekend. I also have a whole lot of stuff that I need want to lug around such as portable chargers and what not so I had to choose a bag that would fit all of it, but yet, not look too masculine (I already had backpacks, why would I want to buy another?).

Enter Greenroom136. I can’t remember how I found out about Greenroom136 but its by two guys (Patrick and Gordon) who handmade their products locally. They started off with messenger bags – the Junk Monkey Heretic (quite a mouthful. Is it related to their gorilla jumping logo? not sure) then they ventured out to other types of bags and pouches. Best part, shipping was free – I’m Malaysian, we like F-R-E-E anything.

Pic from Greenroom136 Facebook page

After debating for a couple of weeks the Mission Attaché, and trying to imagine how big the bag is via the measurements, I decided to take the plunge and ask if the shoulder straps were customizable. Now, if you have fat huge arms like me, the shoulder straps are always the part of the bag that doesn’t fit (again another reason why I hate buying handbags). After a few emails back and forth regarding measurements, I paid for my bag and, barring some minor challenges, I received the bag safely in my hands.

The description on the Mission Attache page says:

Made with a water repellant, super strong 1000 denier Cordura nylon outer shell and a 420 denier ripstop inner shell, Mission Attaché is built super tough, resilient and highly capable to withstand any challenge you bring it to.

Pic from my instagram

I ordered a medium (34 x 14 x 34 cm) in Red for RM300). It comes with many other colours (brown, black, etc) and in a larger size (37 x 16 x 37 cm). As you can see in the pic, it comes with 2 dividers in the main compartment, one that is split to 2 pockets and the other bigger pocket (that can fit most 13” laptops). The zip in front has smaller pockets inside to put pens and assorted stuff. The bag itself feels solid and the feel of the material is what a layman like me would describe as like canvas, but not cheap canvas. It looks well made with neat stiches that aren’t frayed.

Its actually been a month since I got it. And I’ve tried to fit many things into this bag. [In fact I took photos of how much things can fit into it but because tech has this way of being evil to me, I cant seem to find those photos anymore. Shiat ]

In a hostel in Osaka

I’ve carried it out for work. Managed to fit my slightly-bigger-than-13” laptop inside though not inside the pocket, paper notebook, power adaptor, assorted pens, phone charger, 2 cables, portable charger, and the usual such as wallet, 2 phones and a small makeup/toiletries pouch.

I used it travelling to Osaka and Melaka recently. It fits as a hand carry/cabin luggage and the outer pockets were useful to take passport/tickets in and out quickly. The fact that it zips up the whole compartment also made it feel much secure. Even while walking around, it was useful to bring around souvenirs, water bottle, maps, portable charger, etc. especially with the sling. I’m also glad I paid extra for the shoulder pad.

Nowadays I use it more for an overnighter bag (as above). It fits a set of sleeping clothes (bottom right – blue shorts and white tshirt), a dress (dark green & white pattern), a spare baju just in case and toiletries. I can also fit in chargers and I’ve also put in a 1liter bottle of alcohol for those drinking nights. Haha!

All in all, I’m pretty happy with my purchase. The people at Greenroom136 were also very helpful and nice, going the extra mile with their service. I would highly recommend purchasing from them. Check out their website at http://www.greenroom136.com or Facebook. They also have Discover Weekend events where you can go check out their place in Kajang for a chitchat or to check out the bags.