My Man Sack
I’d like to tell you about one of my favorite possessions: my man sack.1 I’ve had this bag as long as I can remember. If I had to guess, I’d say I was about six years old when it came into my possession.
This bag is old and has been through a lot. It was made in 1941 and it was issued to my grandfather during World War II. He had a mess kit with him during the war, he scratched into the metal all the names of the places he was stationed in, so I know he was in Germany, Africa, Italy, France and many other places. I’m pretty sure he had this bag with him too.
I’ve used it on a daily basis for the past fifteen years or so. I’ve taken breaks from it here and there to try other bags, but I always came back to it. I took it with me when I drove across the country to Washington and it was with me on the train back a few months later. I’ve taken it with me to San Francisco, New York City, Montreal, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, and many other places.
I take it with me whenever I leave my apartment. It carries the necessities: Moleskine journal, pens, pencils, camera(s), Leatherman, a small flashlight, plastic bags for the dirty things I glean, Moleskine datebook, work gloves for picking through dumpsters, and other items.
Sadly, I think its days are numbered. I’m in the market for a replacement, which is going to be very difficult. It’ll most likely be another army surplus bag because I have a thing for army surplus and that stuff is well-made. However, I’m open to other options like Freitag’s bags made from recycled billboards and even making my own. I’ve though about designing my ideal bag and making one of kind bags to sell. It would be called The Man Sack™ of course.
1 I coined the term “man sack” years ago (circa 1999) because messenger bag didn’t fit, it wasn’t a backpack, and bag is too vague. Plus, it sounds dirty and always gets a laugh — two of my favorite things.