ATTENTION MEN: Military Canvas Ammo Bag

ATTENTION MEN: If you need a manly bag to carry your clutter, you’ll not find a manlier one than this Rothco Military Canvas Ammo Bag (http://goo.gl/1qrNYc).

You know the dilemma. When we men travel, we carry manly stuff. And these days, it seems we have more stuff than ever. Some of this clutter is manly, but much of it is simply reflective of our modern digital age.

In the old days, all I needed was a thin wallet (stuffed with a few choice bills) and a car key. Alas, things have changed.

For example, I rarely go out these days without my smart phone. How could I possibly function as a human being without having the Internet available at all times? Heaven forbid we find ourselves unable to access Google in all places, including the toilet. It’s just a fact of life these days.

Being a photographer, I usually carry some sort of small camera in addition my phone. Heck, if I am feeling ambitious I might even bring along an extra lens. Since we often create video for Loloho.com and our YouTube channel, I might as well toss in a small microphone too. That’s a lot of digital clutter right there.

Then there’s my iPad. For many of us (you know who you are), the iPad serves as a camera too. It’s always nice to have one handy for Web browsing and the like. From time to time, we might actually get some work done with the thing. If only I could see it with my failing eyesight.

Did I mention my eyeglasses and/or sunglasses? I’m getting to the age when my eyes get weaker by the hour. In addition to prescription sunglasses, I have a pair of prescription distance eyeglasses. You know, so I can see objects far away.

But lately I can’t see short distances, either. This means that reading glasses are next on my shopping list. At the rate things are progressing, within five years I will look exactly like Ben Franklin.

Then there’s my wallet. Cash still comes in handy, and those plastic cards are quite useful too. So I still carry a slab of cowhide to house that financial clutter.

What about hand sanitizer? Call me a germaphobe, if you must. I carry hand sanitizer everywhere, and compulsively squirt it all over my hands. Go ahead, laugh at me! (Of course, I’ll have the last laugh when you’re sick in bed because you let nasty germs have an unchaperoned party on your bare skin.)

All of this personal clutter stacks up. You could try stuffing it into your pockets, right? Alas, there are only so many pockets to go around.

Frankly, stuffing all of this clutter into every available pocket ends up looking ridiculous. You look like you discovered an exotic form of lumpy obesity. “Is that a camera in your pants or are you happy to see me?”

And some items, like the camera and iPad, don’t fit well (or at all) in a pants or jacket pocket.

You know what? You need some sort of… bag.

So what’s a manly man to do? GET A MILITARY AMMO BAG.

I bought one of these Military Canvas Ammo Messenger Bags in the appropriate named color of “olive drab” (other colors are available, including brown, black, and extra manly camouflage). It is indeed drab, and I mean that as a high compliment.

I don’t want flashy. I want drab.

You see, although I need a bag, I really don’t want to carry a purse, or anything that looks too much like one.

And a male purse or “murse?” Well, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I’m still not sure what I think about that term.

But a military ammo bag? Now, that’s the ticket. This is something that John Rambo and John Wayne (and other manly Johns) wouldn’t mind carrying.

If the marketing is to be believed, these things were literally created so that our soldiers could haul ammunition from point A to point B in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yes, you can toss all sorts of ammo into this bag, along with your smartphone and wallet.

So I got one, and showed it to my wife.

“It looks like an adventurer’s bag,” she told me.

Indeed, it does.

It basically functions like a simple ammo bag. There’s not a lot of structure to it. What you see is what you get.

There’s a relatively spacious interior compartment. I got the 11.5″ x 9.5″ x 4.5″ and it’s the perfect size for my needs. There’s a slightly smaller size available, but it only shaves off a half inch in height and depth. (Please check the exact dimensions to see which size will work for you.) I went with the larger (dare I say more manly?) bag.

There are a couple of smaller exterior pockets, just barely big enough to hold a set of keys or an iPhone. (If you have one of the massive tablet phones or “phablets,” these small exterior pockets will probably not work for you). The small pockets have Velcro enclosures.

There’s a very simple looping canvas and metal enclosure mechanism, and a shoulder strap.

It’s all made of cotton canvas that seems reasonably rugged.

That’s it! The bag’s simplicity is its brilliance. There’s nothing pretentious about this bag.

“It is what it is,” as the saying goes.

It’s small enough to take anywhere, yet large enough to hold an iPad, camera, phone, and assorted manly clutter.

It’s cheap.

It’s tough.

It’s manly.

It’s a bag, one that you won’t mind carrying in public.

Men, if you want one, get it now – before your wife beats you to it!