By David Skinner

STM Annex Collection Sequel Messenger Bag $80

www.stmbags.com

The Good: Understated style, with nice details and a slim profile. Plenty of well-placed pockets to keep it all organized and easy to grab.

The Bad: The bag holds the essentials, but don’t expect to take it all with you. The slim pockets easily bulge when overloaded.

The Awesome: Losing at least half the bulk when switching from the big backpack to this svelte messenger bag.

STM’s new Annex collection is smooth, well designed and packed with many details that make it a new impressive offering worth a look.  The pieces range from small tablet packs to large laptop bags for the dedicated urban adventurer. We had the opportunity to take out the Sequel Medium Messenger Bag to the office, and on a few trips out of town. It was filled with work, play, and everything in between, keeping it all organized and securely in place.  The bag is made from durable water resistant brushed poly 320D material, with extra reinforced 640D material on the base. For essential electronics, the bag features a 15″ padded laptop pocket, dedicated tablet pocket, and discreet but accessible cell phone pocket. Sunglasses have a dedicated fleece-lined pocket that can be opened without digging around in the main pocket, and a magazine can be kept at the ready in a back hip pocket. Every other small item can find a home in the many inner pockets.

The thin profile of the bag kept items from building up as only essentials could fit without the bag becoming bulky, but always had room for everything needed for the day. The quality materials and stylish details like the brushed aluminum front buckle stood out while the muted colors looked good in the office but could still tag along to the coffee shop.

The Annex collection has plenty of great pieces, and we’ve been impressed by the Sequel Bag as a durable and useful essential carry piece that can come along wherever daily life may take you.