Chrome Citizen 15L Messenger

The Chrome Citizen 15L Messenger has a tough construction designed to take on the rigours of daily use dished out by bike messengers working in all weathers and conditions. It's a well-made bag with features that make it comfortable and practical for use on the road, but this sort of quality doesn't come cheap.

> Buy now: Chrome Citizen 15L Messenger for £170 from Chrome Industries

The Citizen 15L Messenger is an almost bombproof bag designed to carry your cargo whatever the elements throw at it. This is the bag that started it all for the brand and has evolved into what it is today with feedback from messengers and other daily users.

Like any good messenger bag it has different compartments to help with organisation and also features a built-in laptop sleeve. The straps are all fully adjustable to suit different body types, and it features a carry handle for off-the-bike use. It also has a reflective panel on the outer flap to help keep you seen.

As the name suggests it has a 15-litre capacity, which is ample for the daily commute and small shopping trips. In terms of dimensions, it's 19.75in wide, 12in tall and 6.5in deep (50 x 30.5 x 16.5cm). Chrome refers to this model as its mini messenger bag. Its bigger brother, the £170 Citizen 24L, is probably a more practical option to take on messenger duties where its greater capacity would be an advantage.

Quality build

The bag is constructed using heavy-duty 1050D recycled nylon in the main outer body, with a tough tarp inner lining. Together they help to keep things dry and protected from the elements, with the tarp reducing any issues with loads causing internal damage.

The outer material has proved hardwearing for the month or so I've been using it, which is just as well as I'm not exactly known for being delicate with my bags. Chrome believes in its materials and build quality, backing them up with a lifetime warranty against material or workmanship defects.

You do pay a premium for this, though; if you're not likely to use the bag that frequently it might be overkill when you could buy a cheaper bag that will do the job perfectly well. It also adds to the heft: at 1,097g on our scales (0.91kg claimed), it ain't light.

Water resistance

Chrome refers to the Citizen 15L as being water-resistant rather than waterproof. This might raise alarm bells but it's mainly down to it being a messenger bag with a flapped design that in theory could let water in. In practice, the fabric and tarp lining do an incredible job of keeping dampness at bay.

The main top flap is kept in place with Velcro and two large Fastex clips that are easy to use with gloved hands. The Velcro helps with sealing too, but on one occasion when carrying a full load the strip on the inside of the main flap didn't connect to the two Velcro strips on the pockets underneath. While the fastening straps and clips held things in place, extending the Velcro strips up onto the pocket flaps might help make things more secure.

This only happened once, and fortunately it was a dry day so I had no problems with damp cargo. I am being pernickety here, especially with the straps holding the flap in place, but I have had this issue with other messenger bags, and in this case it could be a simple fix.

Despite this, sealing in wet weather was good when I wasn't at maximum capacity. I never had any issues in a heavy storm and the stuff I was hauling, including my laptop, remained dry.

If being waterproof is your biggest need then a messenger bag probably isn't the best option by design. A waterproof roll-top backpack would be a better choice. Chrome offer its Barrage 18L (£165) and Barrage 22L (£175) for these situations – or check out our guide to the best cycling backpacks.

Comfortable straps

The main shoulder strap, which is 50mm wide, uses the same material found on car seat belts, so is built to last. It features a large padded section for shoulder comfort and even under heavy loads it does a good job.

One neat touch is the quick-release buckle on the main shoulder strap. It saves lifting the whole bag over your shoulder to remove it. This buckle is based on those found in old cars. It's a good idea that looks good too.

Chrome has added an additional cross strap to help keep the bag stable and in place when under load. It's a small addition but makes life so much better. A lot of messenger bags don't have this, and I'm forever having to flick the bag back into the ideal position.

On the inside

I like that there is just one large main compartment – making life easy for carrying bigger loads and just more practical generally. I am not a fan of bags with too many compartments that ultimately restrict load capacity. There is a bottle net within this main section, which is useful and doesn't get in the way when not in use.

Chrome has added a laptop sleeve to the front of the main compartment, which is accessible from the outside. This is soft-lined with light padding, but it is quite modest, so I always put my 13-inch laptop in its padded sleeve as an extra precaution (it will hold laptops up to 15 inches).

It has a reversed zip, so that helps with additional sealing, but isn't completely waterproof, and while I didn't have any issues even when riding in a storm, for a bag that costs £170 I'd like to have seen a waterproof zip.

The two smaller pockets on the outside of this front section have ample room for a phone, keys and all your little bits. These feature simple-to-use magnetic sealing flaps that are quick and easy to use. Once again, being flapped, they are not 100 per cent waterproof, but I had no issues with them in a storm.

Value

At £170 this is an expensive messenger bag. But if you need a well-built almost bombproof bag for daily use then it's a good investment that will last a long time. Plus, it's backed up with a lifetime warranty – you get what you pay for here.

It isn't the most expensive messenger bag we've reviewed on road.cc either – Matt was very impressed with the Trakke Wee Lug back in 2019, and that was £220. It's no longer available, though Trakke does offer a couple of other designs, for £215 and £279...

If you only occasionally need to transport cargo on a bike, though, the Citizen 15L could be overkill. In this case, there are much cheaper and potentially very good options, such as the £70 Heritage Cycling Messenger Bag from Altura, a successor to the £59.99 Grid Messenger that Lara liked when she reviewed it in 2021.

And if a smaller bag will suit, the Apidura City Messenger impressed Josh last year; it's well sized for a 13-inch laptop and costs £91 (or go even smaller and the 11in is £80).

For other luggage options, check out our feature, 15 easy ways to carry stuff on your bike.

Conclusion

In day-to-day use, the Citizen 15L Messenger does what it's supposed to. It carries and protects your cargo from the elements in comfort and its construction suggests it'll carry on doing so for years. The quick-release strap is one of those features I didn't realise I would use as much as I do.

There are a couple of small quirks that don't make it the perfect messenger bag for my needs, but the addition of a waterproof laptop compartment zip and Velcro on the smaller front pockets would help get it close.

Overall, though, it remains one of the best-built and most practical messenger bags I have used. Plus, it's a cool-looking bag, and being shallow, that means a lot to me when splashing out. Fashion does meet function here.

> Buy now: Chrome Citizen 15L Messenger for £170 from Chrome Industries

Verdict

Comfortable and robust messenger bag with smart details but they come at a price