The Chrome Citizen Messenger bag is one of those products that’s been around for ages and barely changed.
It needn’t, either. The minimal design is sorted with the tarp-lined interior and small extra pockets being all the carrying space you need. These things are practically indestructible, too.
Nevertheless, Chrome recently tweaked the Citizen with several “upgraded features” including a revised strap and new interior.
Same silhouette
At first, little appears to have changed with the Chrome Citizen. The bag still has its distinctive silhouette, heavy-duty fabric and Chrome’s signature seatbelt buckle, which was originally sourced from an Oldsmobile car and doubles as a bottle opener.
Chrome sent me a version of the Citizen bag with a reflective logo. In Chrome fashion, the courier bag is available in different colour schemes with a tarp strip on the exterior in a contrasting colour. You can pick from Classic Black, Royale and Sage.
Elsewhere, you can see a daisy chain loop to attach a bike light and there is a stabilising strap.
One small change is Chrome has added a carry handle to the top of the bag and you can now easily adapt the EVA foam shoulder strap for left or right use.
The shoulder strap still has a line of Velcro so you can attach accessories. You could even add a walkie-talkie pouch to live out your courier fantasies, screaming “Cars, man. Why?!”
Different interior
The reality is the new Citizen bag is less of a bag for a Fred Armisen character and more for those who seek “enhanced levels of comfort, organisation and convenience for life in the city.”
This is apparent when you open the Citizen bag. Two exterior drop pockets with magnetic flaps can fit an A5 pad. There is an internal water bottle sleeve, too.
One of the most appealing upgrades is the zipped and padded laptop pocket. This can fit a 16in laptop on the 24-litre Citizen bag or a 15in laptop on the 15-litre edition.
Like all Chrome bags, the new Citizen carries a lifetime warranty. And if my Chrome bag is anything to go by, you’ll have no need to make a claim.
You might not need the next generation, either.
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