ID Bag

[jjhodoro]

I just received my ID bag maybe a week or two ago and I'm loving it. Great construction and overall build quality. However, there is one feature that I think would help the useability of the bag. When I have the bag open and I am loading it up or maybe I just have it sitting by my desk open and i want to pick it up and move it to say my lap and look through it, there's no real handle to use to pick it up with on the inside. I could use the braincell handles but ususally they are tucked down inside the bag. I've also tried connecting the keychain holder across to the other side and using that as a makeshift handle, but using that as an adequate handle is a stretch. Would the addition of a handle inside the bag alleviate this problem without cluttering the design? Anyone else experience this problem and / or devised a solution?

John

[Darcy]

What about the handle on the outside top of theID? Is there a reason that doesn't work?

[Cobos]

Since I've got the bag myself I'll agree with jjhodoro that it is a common "problem" , you've got the bag open on the floor or on the table and then you need to either put the flap back or sweep up the bag from the sides.... Not exactly a major issue but there are times that I'd wish there was a simple handle like the one on the braincell on the inside there. As you usually only move the bag in it's open state from one end to the other in the same room, carrying comfort is irrelevant.

Cobos

[jjhodoro]

Cobos summed it up pretty well.

Moving the bag around while it open trying to load it up is where the handle issue comes into play. Sometimes I will use the straps on the brain cell in my bag, but when my bag is pretty heavy I'm afraid this puts too much strain on the brain cell clips inside the bag. People without the brain cell for this bag may find this even more of a problem.

John.

[Tom Bihn]

We will seriously consider putting a webbing loop in approximately the same position as the current handle but under the flap.

Would that work?

[jjhodoro]

That sounds like it would work. Maybe Cobos or other users that experience the same issue could comment as well.

I'm assuming a webbing loop would be considered similar to the brain cell handles. Only design issue I see is concerns about the handle getting caught in the zipper for the main compartment. Maybe have the handle on the front side of the bag (other side of the zipper) since the bag is usually top heavy anyways. Picking the back from the front zipper flap gives a "better" center of balance. But positioning the handle where you suggest (rear zipper) would be out of the way of the storage compartments when loading / unloading the bag. I'm just throwing ideas out here. I guess testing of either side would be a good idea.

John

[Cobos]

A quick look at my ID bag shows that, that position would be perfect for the moving it around the room part. The only point is that as jjhodoro mentioned it would be a pretty shallow/ tight handle to make sure it does not interfere with the zipper.
The only issues I as a layman can see with adding that handle is that is does "clutter" up the design visually a bit. And as that handle will carry the full weight it has to be sewn on properly (not that seam quality has been an issue with yet :)

Cobos

[eristick]

I have an ID also. I understand the impulse, but...I think that an inside handle would bug me to no end. Get caught in the zipper. Interfere with stuff I carry. Get stuff tangled around it.

I solve the problem detailed below by grabbing the outside handle *through* the flap. Just requires a slightly more robust grabbing motion. Grab so that your fingers can curl around the handle, or grab so that you can feel the handle with your thumb, depending on which way the bag is facing. (I find the former position easier.)

I find that I move the bag around like this frequently -- I didn't just test this technique to provide an answer!