I got in contact with the guys at Millican a few months ago as I loved the look of their products – tough sustainable bags which have just the right mix of technical features and classic looks. The more I looked into the business the more I liked it, a husband and wife team based out of the Lake District that live by the ethos of ‘use less, be more’.
We used their Smith Roll Pack for a photo shoot (you’ll see more of that soon) however they also sent down one of their brand new Nick messenger bags for us to review. My brother and I have used and abused this bag over the last few weeks and I’ve outlined our thoughts below.
The first thing to say is that straight out the box Millican products are very impressive. The subtle grey leather detailing, gunmetal u-lock loops and wax impregnated outer fabric give it the feeling of a very high quality product:
The mix of contemporary and classic styling work well on this bag:
I’m a sucker for kit and I love a bag which has lots of pockets, zips, loops and compartments to store all my stuff and this bag has plenty of them. It has an inner and outer padded laptop sleeve, an outer pocket for easy access items like phones and wallets and plenty of inner compartments including some nifty stretch pockets for water bottles and a cool gunmetal key clip:
They’ve made this bag with cyclists in mind with some cool features like a fold away reflective strip on the front and some D-Lock hoops under the flap.
As I said my brother and I really did use this bag a lot. Myself on my bike and my brother, as you can see from the pictures, on his Royal Enfield Bullet. It’s a tough bag that can easily withstand the elements and keep your belongings safe, whilst looking pretty good at the same time.
It’s not a huge bomb proof messenger bag like a Babgaboo or Chrome Metropolis and won’t carry as much as some of these old school messenger classics. However that’s what I like about it – it’s more refined product for when you don’t need to carry half your home on your back. And other than a couple of very big food shops it always handled what I threw at it!
I’d happily recommend this bag but more importantly I’d strongly recommend Millican as a company, a great example of a homegrown British brand going about things the right way.
Check out Nick the Messenger Bag and the rest of their products at www.homeofmillican.com