Metro Crossbody – Right Shoulder

I have been using my crossbody for several weeks now on my bike, around my house, and on car trips. Here's what you should know.

- The Crossbody does what it says on the tin. It's a one-shoulder backpack that sweeps under my arm for easy access to my glasses case, my journal, and my tablet. I have to switch between glasses constantly and it's a delight to not have to rummage through a sling with a floppy exterior.

- My glasses case, my tablet, and my journal are about all it holds in the main compartment. The Crossbody may technically hold 10 L, but the stiff tablet insert in the main body restricts the packing of other objects. A good bit of that space is taken up by being excellent protection for the tablet. The insert restricts addition of largish objects to 2-3. I expect that putting a smaller tablet in the insert (iPad Mini) instead of an 11-inch iPad would give you access to more cubic; the space provided is almost precisely the space of the 11-inch, so the cloth isn't given much of a chance to stretch.

- The pack itself feels great on your back. I recommend not cinching it tightly and letting it ride a little lower on the torso. I appreciate the fact that ALPAKA has provided a 'handed' version for folks who have a dominant hand.

- The key release system and outer pocket feels great. As with anything near a key fob, you can't put anything scratchable next to it.

- The pack's strap pocket is GREAT. It balloons nicely to hold my phone. You'll feel it as you flip the…

Lovely bag but seems like easy to slash the straps, and there's no convenient grab handle I can reach to secure it when it's in position on my back. Really disappointed I have to return it, but the risk isn't worth keeping it.

Oh, and by the way, they charge a $6.25 'handling fee' to refund my credit card, so I won't get a full refund. Funny this wasn't mentioned in returns policy. But I got a free returns shipping label, so maybe it's really a return shipping charge -- that I can tolerate.