When I go to work, I travel by foot and by bus, so I usually bring a bag of stuff with me (usually way too much stuff). I've tried messenger bags, backpacks and tote bags. Well, I need to get a new bag soon, and I was wondering what the rest of you use/prefer?

If you are carrying a lot of stuff I would say a back pack. I have found out of all the options I tried it worked best for me. When I tried tote bags and computer bags, my shoulders got very tired unless I was carrying an extremely light load. So I would often fidget with it and move it from one shoulder, to the other, to crossing my body and flipping it to cross the other way.

I did the same thing with "breif case" objects. I would get tired of holding it in on hand or my hand would get grossly sweaty and I would constantly be changing hands. Besides in the colder months you really don't want your hands to be anywhere but in your pocket or the sleeve.

The back pack will be annoying when it comes to the bus. You have to take it off your shoulders or constantly be bumped into my other people standing/ sitting around you. Even though that may be the case, they work more for me even if I had that little issue. Ultimately it is up to you, but I hope my insight helped.

I would choose a backpack as well. I only use a light tote bag when I am getting the mail or carrying extra shoes or other light objects. Backpacks have always been my old stand-by.

I go around with a large messenger bag simply because that is what I have and use. I usually just sling it over my shoulder like one would normally do with a purse but if I have to walk a good distance or have a heavy load, I'll have the strap lay diagonally across my chest.

I'm quite partial to cross-body and messenger bags. I like totes too. Sometimes I carry my necessities in a smaller cross body purse and carry all my other crap in a tote. Depends what I'm doing/wearing that day. LOL

I stay away from backpacks, because they just aren't my style and look awful with my outfits.

You might like bag. This is typical of the bags I use regularly.

Hearing from all of you has been helpful -- thanks. DCGG and WIR make good points about a backpack being a good choice for ergonomic reasons. Still, I sometimes find I'm hunching to counterbalance the weight of it, so if I want to correct that I probably just need to carry less stuff, lol.

I much prefer a messenger bag -- I have a *beautiful* Mythwear bag I've literally worn out; used it as my work bag for 6 years, alternating between shoulder-only and cross-body like Ginger does. I think it made me stand straighter and taller too, to keep the bag from jostling around. The only trouble: 6 years of that slight imbalance in my walk made a disc in my lower back start to move out of alignment and press on some nerves; I only realized it when part of my leg started to go numb. I saw a phys. therapist who worked with me to get things back in place, but he told me to use a backpack from now on too.

Drawback with backpacks: my options are usually a hiker-style bag at around $35, or a Dora the Explorer bag. lol

Thanks again. Your feedback has convinced me I need to get 2 bags and just switch around.

And hey Diva -- that's a really good-looking bag! Thanks for the link.

^^Ouch, that sounds painful! Maybe you should take stock of what you carry in your bag? Do you really need to lug around ALL of it?

You can also find some interesting and cheap things on ebay. Just for fun I put in "goth back packs" and it came up with a lot of really cool things. Yes there were tiney coffin purses and such, but there were also really cool looking back packs for under $20.

Nsane: Some of those are really nice, and affordable. Thanks!

DCGG: Thanks for the ideas!

Depending on how heavy of a load you'll be carrying, I'd recommend LL Bean backpacks. They're not very attractive, but they can take a lot of abuse, and if you need to carry heavy loads, they will hold up. I used the same LL Bean backpack from middle school through part of college, and only had to get rid of it because a vial of highly toxic chemical matter I was carrying broke open, rendering the bag unsafe to keep food in (and as someone who spends much of her time away from home, it's essential to have a bag that I can keep plenty of snacks in.)

^^ This is good to know -- thanks, DarkDreamer!