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Smoking Lily Morani
July 21, 2009
Last week I told you all about how much Smoking Lily loves you. Reviewing their Morani bag, I am afraid I am less certain of Smoking Lily’s feelings for you, because based on color, print, and suitability to Cruiser bikes and bookish cargo, it feels like this bag was designed for me alone!
The Morani bag is made of red cotton twill fabric that is both very soft and flexible yet heavy duty. The weave of the fabric actually makes the bag appear more pink than red – fine by me, as pink is my favorite! The lining is black cotton with the Smoking Lily print on the underside of the flap, a sort of bonus bit of prettiness when you open it up. The bag has a lovely vintage cruiser bike print on the outside of the flap, so all the world can see that you like bikes.
In terms of functionality, the Smoking Lily Morani bag has an adjustable shoulder strap made of the webbing used to make seat belts, so it is pretty strong stuff. It is easily adjusted using a metal slide clasp. The bag has one main compartment, the dimensions of which are 12x3x15 – perfect bookbag size for things like binders and notebooks. I also fit in lunch and a sweater, with room to spare for a lock and an extra tube. Empty of everything else, the main compartment holds my bike helmet. There are two pockets on the outside of the bag, underneath the flap. I put my wallet and keys in these, but they could also hold larger, flattish things like a book, or perhaps bike lights in case your cruising keeps you out after dark. I found myself wishing that those pockets had a snap or Velcro or something to hold them closed, as I worry about losing things, but nothing actually fell out.
There is a bike on the bag, but how is the bag on a bike? It is not a super hardcore messenger bag, nor is it a performance bag for trail riding. But, for commuting to work or school or especially for just cruising around, the bag is very nice. The adjustable shoulder strap means that you can have it sit where you find it most comfortable, and because it is not a huge bag it is easy to find a position where it is out of the way. It does not have a chest stability strap, but it doesn’t seem to need one as I found it didn’t slide around at all.
Price: $75 CDN
Details: Smoking Lily Morani Bag
Pros: beautiful, heavy duty fabric and strap, very cool print, nice shape and size
Cons: could use a snap or otherwise securely closable pocket for things like keys.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Smoking Lily
Reviewed by: Emily