Anyone who has seen me recently with my messenger bag would notice that there is some damage to it, mainly rips caused by weight. Given the damage, and some frays on the strap supports, I figure it should be time to start looking for a new bag.

However, I don’t know where to look, so I’ll refer to you. Here are some requirements for this bag that I’m looking for, in order of importance:

1. Durable – Most things I own, I use a lot. And when things get used a lot, they tend to wear down. I would like to get a bag that can withstand that.
2. Has a laptop storage area – I have a Thinkpad X61, which isn’t terribly big. It’s approximately 10.5″ wide, 9.5″ long, and 1.5″ thick at its thickest point.
3. Has outer pockets for water bottles/mugs – At this point in time, I have been carrying both a coffee mug (for coffee) and a Nalgene bottle (for water) to school. This gets quite cumbersome with my current bag, which does not have said pockets. I make do with an Outdoor Research water bottle tote that I got from MEC.
4. Has small pockets for stationary – My current messenger bag has two pockets: one big area for the main content and a large back pocket area. I put the little things in there and they just end up getting destroyed over time. I want to prevent that.

Anyone have recommendations?