bought one of these thinking it would be about the same as the old citizens despite having different pockets, but it's really not. probably gonna end up returning it and buying a used one. the magnetic pockets are a pain to get into and kinda useless for organization, and the laptop pocket takes up a huge amount of space and weight (and it's a mess bag, why does it need a laptop pocket?)

the liner isn't removable anymore, which is probably the worst part for me. not sure how they're justifying calling the new ones more functional when they've taken away so much functionality by doing this. or how the organization game is next level. they went from like 10 pockets to 4.

not a big fan of how the strap sits on my shoulder due to it being swappable, but that's minor.

still seems super well built, though. if you actually want all the things they've changed then i'm sure it's a great bag. swappable buckle's cool too; i'm a little sad i won't get to have that if i get a used bag.

Well…possibly, though there is an asterisk. The new Citizen had the promise of being one of Chrome’s best messengers ever, but it fell a hair short…initially. The bag itself is great - it’s a bit more lightweight than the original Citizen, the ambidextrous shoulder strap is a wonderful addition, and the addition of a zippered laptop sleeve was simply an inevitability that happened sooner rather than later.

On to the asterisk(s)…my main gripe is that the internal bottle pocket was on the opposite side of what is shown in the promotional materials, meaning it sits right between your neck and your shoulder if you wear the bag over your left shoulder, which is usually par for the course. Initially, this was a huge turnoff…until I swapped the shoulder strap around to wear over my right shoulder. For some reason, that small detail worked out extremely well for me, and I’m not entirely sure how I’ve been wearing bags over my left shoulder for 20 years.

My biggest issue was the total difference between the new Citizen and classic Citizen in terms of internal organization. On the classic, I LOVED the free-floating tarpaulin liner, and the side “pockets” were perfect for a water bottle and a u-lock. However, the pockets left a bit to be desired, as they weren’t very expandable and made storage kind of…interesting. With the new Citizen, the floating liner is gone (which I admit is kind of a bummer), but so are the slim pockets. In their place are two relatively large pockets, both…