"Mess" bags is my little private term for messenger bags. I LOVE THEM! I have a couple of them, different sizes and uses for all my travel stuff. I have a "handheld" kind of mess bag, for my hefty DSLR camera and lens and accessories. I have a neoprene one for my 7" netbook. I have a few 17" messenger bags (well, I gave them to my daughters when they got their laptops), and I got a very nice Mobile Edge 15" for my laptop and for general puttering around. The Mobile Edge is my favorite messenger bag right now. :D It even has reflective strips on the side- how cool is that?!

OK OK I know messenger bags are supposed to be for toting laptops and netbooks. And I do, but rarely. I used them like a mini-backpack. I dislike backpacks because they put such strain on the shoulders and back-- messenger bags can be slung on the shoulder, and I like that. They are too large for a purse, though-- so I only use my mess bags when I travel and for carting my Bible and other stuff to church. It's very handy.

Do you have a favorite travel accessory, something you just couldn't be without?