SKRATCHWORX™ v2

3 days with the Magma Battlebag at MusikMesse 2005

Being fortunate enough to be bestowed with the very lovely battle bag from the equally nice people at Magma Bags and Tre from Noisy Stylus, I figured that MusikMesse 2005 in Frankfurt was as good a place as any to give it a road, train and plane test. Whilst not using it strictly for it's designed purpose, I figured that trailing a laptop, 2 cameras, a stack of slipmats plus assorted t-shirts and a seemingly endless supply of cables would be as good a test as any I could conceive - without dragging a mixer and a stack of vinyl for the ride. That said, I have tested as to just how much I can squeeze into the bag without fear of breakage or a hernia.

First impressions

The first thing to say - this bag is huge. Imagine a laptop bag on steroids and you get the picture. Clearly this has been designed to utilise the maximum space available but with comfort and security in mind. As you'd expect, it's made from what feels like bullet proof grade nylon so the chances of wearing this out are pretty slim.

Starting at the front:

Zip pocket: Designed for the smaller items in your battle arsenal such as headphones, cart cases or CD's. It's so large it'll even take a Denon DN-X100 mixer! An improvement would be to have a flat pocket in there or even some pen holders. Not really necessary but in my travels, I would have welcomed a slightly smaller inner pocket for those easy to lose items.

Outer Pocket: Only useful for flat things - ooooh maybe vinyl perhaps, but not too much. But useful nonetheless.

Inner Compartment: The main part of the bag is neatly divided into 2 parts - one a little bigger than the other - designed to take a mixer and a supply of vinyl. Also included is a separate padded bag for your mixer should you require it. I use it for my beloved Powerbook, as can other users who wish to transport their digital setup around.

Rear pocket: If you really find you don't have quite enough space inside the bag, there's also a pocket at the back. And for security, it's complete with a heft industrial sized popper on it.

Now having all this storage, it's likely that the bag will get pretty darn heavy. So to easy back ache and hernias, several carry options have been carefully incorporated. The usual options of shoulder strap and rucksack straps are included (both are which are removable or least able to be folded away. But also included are proper carrying handles so you also lug these around like proper luggage. These pop through the top cover which itself closes with incredibly strong industrial grade velcro.

As I mentioned previously, this bag is cavernous. But should you not wish to lug your mixer around as well and just use it for day to day traveling around, the bag is also width adjustable via 2 straps - so you don't need to have your contents slopping around inside. And to top (or bottom) it all off, the base has some rugged rubber feet to stop wear.

So how's my back?

Well after lugging my gear plus varying amounts of miscellaneous stuff around MusikMesse for 3 days, all I can say is thank you Magma. The last day in particular would have been a nightmare without it seeing as one kind soul loaded me up with a stack of unexpected vinyl. Being able to quickly grab the bag suitcase stylee, sling it on my shoulder or carry it around rucksack fashion gave me all the options I needed to save my aching back from further exhibition induced pain.

In summary

I'd say the chances of this old man using the bag for it's intended purpose are slim but as a general purpose "carry your gear everywhere" lugger, this will fit the bill perfectly. Whether you're off to a mate's house for a session, going on a digging expedition or off to war with your crew, this battle bag will do everything you want it to and more. I like it because I can use it for more than just carrying gear and wax - it's not limited to being a lugger for a load of vinyl. I use it now as my day to day "carry my life around' bag.

It's hard to give it a rating as I've got no benchmark - so I won't. All I will say is if you're in the market for a big bag for your gear that isn't limited to being a turntablist bag, buy one now.

At the time of writing, it's only available from certain online German stores and at Westend DJ in the UK. It comes in Black or Green, with or without Noisy Stylus logo. Price €89.90/£60

Huge thanks to Mike from Magma and Tre from Noisy Stylus for designing the bag and providing one for review.