New Dog Walking Bag

July 10, 2016 3:53 PM

I have a beloved bag that I carry with me when I walk my dogs - but it is showing its age - can you help me find a replacement?

Here are pictures of the current bag - the last one shows an iPhone next to it for scale - the pink thing on the side is a holder for dog waste bags, which may also give you ideas of scale.

It is a little over 7 inches high. The bottom of the bag measures about 5 inches across, 2 inches or so deep.

I carry very little in the bag itself - two backup rolls of waste bags in the back pocket, along with pepper spray. In the very front pocket, I usually have a small, light backup leash.

There is room in the main portion of the bag for picking up after all three of my dogs on a walk - this isn't always needed, but good to have the room!

While I am finding other small canvas bags, my real challenge has been that most have a lot of zippers. I like that this bag just has some velcro and a buckle - it is very easy to open, which is nice when wrangling dogs.

I would love to find the exact same bag - but I've had this for about 10 years, and Timbuk2 doesn't seem to still have them - I took a look on eBay too, and didn't see anything like this there.... I don't remember what the bag was called, which also hampers my searching.

I like that I can wash and air dry this bag when it gets funky, as you might imagine it would given its task - for that reason, I'd probably rule out leather. I don't have a budget, per se - I would like to stay under $150, but really, given we are talking about a bag that is used 365 days a year, if you know of something that will last forever, I'd spend more.

In case it helps with recommendations - here is a picture of the dogs, along with their honorary backup dog which is a cat.

posted by hilaryjade to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (11 answers total)

Best answer: Tom Bihn just released v. 2 of its Citizen Canine. One pocket is zipped, but the main compartment is closed with a drawstring and the other compartment has a flap. It has a built-in waste bag dispenser.

I gave v. 1 to some friends of mine with two dogs and they use it all the time. Tom Bihn products tend to be very sturdy and well-made (and made in the U.S., if that matters to you).
posted by praemunire at 4:59 PM on July 10, 2016 [4 favorites]

The Timbuk2 Minnie Rae would've been pretty close to your old bag - it's not quite as small but it closes just with velcro. Specs here - it was discontinued a few years ago but if you're okay with used, there are a few on ebay (black, blue).

The next smallest I can find is the Lucky, which is about 9 inches tall. It also closes only with velcro. That's still available on Amazon for $20 if you want to give it a try.
posted by escapepod at 5:36 PM on July 10, 2016

I adore our Doggone Good treat bag - very useful and it looks to be similar functionality to the Timbuk2 bag. (I just linked to CleanRun.com but I believe other vendors sell it as well.)
posted by apennington at 6:44 PM on July 10, 2016

In my view you want a Marks and Spencer "manbag" -- right size, lots of pockets and zippers -- the current version is not the exact same as the one I have, but it looks same-y enough that I think it would take the same brutal beating I've given mine and come out smiling.

And, for the decade I've been on Ask, I've been answering "L.L. Bean" to a lot of bag-related questions. If they have something in stock at the moment that fits the requirements, it will either be bombproof, or easy to return for a refund/replacement. I have never had a Bean bag give up on me despite multiple abuses.

Looking at Google image search: "man bag," "man purse," and "murse" are all apparently good search terms for a well-pocketed, well-zippered bag of the right size.
posted by kmennie at 6:59 PM on July 10, 2016

This looks very similar to a bag I got from Columbia Sportswear. Here's a link.

There are three distinct sections of the bag, with a large flap that is easy to open and close.
posted by hydra77 at 7:33 PM on July 10, 2016

What cute doggies! I'd say I'd look up mini messenger bags

This one is from Rickshaw bags
posted by oneear at 8:03 PM on July 10, 2016

That really strikes me as looking similar to chalk bags made for rock climbers. A lot of the messenger bag companies sometimes make those, and I know Prana usually has a good selection.
posted by pixiecrinkle at 8:16 PM on July 10, 2016

I'd avoid any sort of workaround and look specifically at the many bags about that size made specifically for dog-walking. Since they're purpose-built, they're easy to wrangle with dogs and avoid any sort of zippers. Here are a few examples on amazon: 1 2 3
posted by R a c h e l at 6:51 AM on July 11, 2016

Best answer: Came here to also suggest Tom Bihn, everything they make is great, well worth the money, nearly indestructible, and very well thought out.
posted by masters2010 at 12:32 PM on July 11, 2016

Response by poster: Thanks, all. I had no idea there was such a thing as a dog walking bag. :) I've ordered the Tom Bihn and look forward to many years of service.
posted by hilaryjade at 7:16 PM on July 11, 2016

Response by poster: Got the Tom Bihn bag today - it seems very well made as everyone has mentioned. A couple of notes for anyone who comes across this in the future:
The built in holder for dog waste bags requires bags that have a core in the roll - the metal rod is pretty thick. My current stock of bags do not have cores (or tubes, whatever the name is for the little inner structure that the bags wrap around?) and won't fit on the holder. However, they can sit down in a little pocket in the same area and pull through the same opening - so that will work till I get through my current back stock.

Compared to my old bag, that had a single small label, I find the branding on this to be pretty heavy - a big label on the front of the bag, a small label on the strap. I may end up removing the label on the front of the bag once I know I am planning on keeping it - I need to go for at least one walk first. :)

I'm not too excited about the way the top of the bag closes with a toggle and cord - however, since I mainly use the main compartment for full dog waste bags... yeah, I have a feeling this is just my normal "Oh no this is different from my old thing, why can't all things be the SAME" angst.

Sounds like I'm not in love with it, right? But really I think I will be - I don't love anything new at first. Just looking at it, I'm guessing within a month or two I'll be very happy with it.

Thanks again for the suggestions!
posted by hilaryjade at 6:09 PM on July 14, 2016 [1 favorite]