Laptop bag made from cement bag

Etsy seller TheWren sells messenger bags made out of South African cement sacks (which, I imagine, are durable by definition). Very nice, old school art. I had to give up messenger bags to spare my back (the lopsided burden was killing me), but I still have a soft spot for them, and live vicariously through others on this score.

PPC Cement Laptop Bag - OPC (via Wired)

Previously:

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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bkdotcom

Actually.. I’d put cement bags high on the non-durable scale.. They’re essentially a double-ply grocery bag.. but the paper is thinner.
Their purpose is weighted more towards getting the cement out than keeping it in.
- kilroy4
  
  bkdotcom – you clearly have no idea of what a cement bag is… It is triple-ply heavy-duty paper and has to be both water-resistant and tough as the cement dust cannot get wet or spill. The main purpose is to store and transport the cement… not to get it out.
- Anonymous
  
  Hello,
  
  You are correct about the cement bag being three layers of thin brown paper. What makes the laptop bag strong is that bonded to each layer of paper is a normal weight fabric. This fabric makes the paper untearable and very durable. The bag is also double thick which means that on each side there are two layers of fabric (inside) with two layers of paper bonded on the outside.
  I hope I am making sense.
  
  Kind regards,
  Wendren
Anonymous

I need my laptop bag to be waterproof… Somehow one made of paper doesn’t seem like the right choice.
Rostam

I don’t know why, but I really like the look of this thing. If I weren’t hopelessly unemployed, I’d probably shell out the $80 even though I never use messenger bags.
Clemoh

“My grandmother was tougher than a South African Cement Sack”