Well, I just realized there isn't an accessories forum for stuff like this...
I've been eyeing the double leather bag at thelowend.net for a while. I've got some Incase Slim bags which I love, but manhandling two of them at a time is a biznitch. I had (have) an Undercover bag which is starting to fall apart a little, and I was never a fan of the single-divider style double bag. (See pics) I much prefer the double zipper design the LowEnd bag sports.
So, I took the plunge on the leather double. I've kind of been wanting a leather bag anyway. Of course, it also gives me a chance to take some pics...allowing me to play with my basses and camera at the same time.
Say hello to our testing team:
The LowEnd bag is beefy. That's the word that kept popping in my head when I pulled it out of the box. The leather is a very soft, supple nubuck, which I'm going to scotchgard to keep looking good. It is dark brown and doesn't have the orange tint of cheap nubuck...it really feels like the leather on my Birkenstock loafers. (No clogs for me!)
The whole thing has a very burly, thick feel to it. As you can see, it's all-around chubbier than the Undercover and Slim bags. That's a good thing when it holds about 5k worth of boutique lumber!
Open her up and you can see where the chub comes from. There's alot of padding in this thing. Of special note are the "box" sides which surround the bass when the zipper is closed, and I really like the big fat "lip" on the bottom, which protects the butt end of the instrument. The lip design allows you to fully unzip the bag, where as the Undercover wont zip along the bottom. I like the lip design, it just makes for less fighting around with the bag.
You can see the lip a little better in this pic:
Here's one with my R-Bass riding shotgun. Mr. R always rides shotgun. Notice the ballistic nylon around the bridge (it's also on both sides of the headstock):
Here is a close up of the "box sides":
Straps: Also thick. The LowEnd has padded black leather straps (to match the black leather trim, a nice touch) which are adjustable and quite comfortable. I think this pic shows the thickness of the straps and how bomber the construction looks on this bag.
Handle: This is where Brian gets mad points with me: He took a cue from the Incase handle, and made a thick leather "grip" style handle. It looks and feels great. Mad, mad props here. Here is the Slim and LDB handle to handle:
Storage: Brian told me he's offering two pouch styles: a big saddle bag style, and a smaller zip-up. I went with the zip up, because I usually bring a backpack holding my (AI) amp and laptop to the gig. The zip pouch isn't very big, but it will hold your cables, a tuner and your marijua...I mean, strings.
There's also a strap pouch, similar to the Undercover.
Zipper: Even the zipper on this thing is big and burly. The LDB has a huge beefy zipper (two pulls) on the bass pouches. The outer pockets have smaller zippers. I think you can see the contrast in this headstock shot:
For those of you who have never seen an Undercover, here in my Alembic (thanks Mom and Dad, it was my HS graduation prez and we shall never part). It feels pretty derned anemic after manhandling the LDB.
One more pic, all closed up:
I could go on and on about the bag being very well constructed and very well designed (which it is, on both counts) but I think the pics speak for themselves. It really feels like something I'm still going to be carrying around in 10 or 15 years. Highly recommended for anyone who likes to ride in style.
