I had a theory. Call it the big bag theory, if you must.

I recently went searching for a new messenger bag. Friends made lots of great recommendations (although not all were as affordable as I’d like) and I read everything I could find online. My main problem turned out to be that I wanted more in the way of organization – a lot more – than bags typically have. You know, pockets, pouches, bottle holder, zippers, velcro, etc. Inside and outside.

My previous bag looked like my grandmother’s purse on the inside. It was all there. Somewhere. Good luck finding anything quickly.

I finally settled on this bitchin’ number from MobileEdge, which I like quite a lot.

I was reminded of a problem I always have shopping, though. I decide what I want, only to go hunting and discover it doesn’t exist. In this case, I knew exactly what I needed: Sheldon Cooper’s bag.

Look at that. Roomy. Comfortable. Unassumingly stylish. And if the inside has the kind of organizational philosophy as the outside there are zillions of securable pockets for everything.

Except it doesn’t exist. AT ALL. I discovered the Sheldon is sort of the holy grail of bags for a lot of people, and there are detailed threads online (here’s one, here’s another one) involving folks who have turned the world inside out looking for it. They’ve even contacted the studio trying to find out what kind of bag it is, and have been ignored for their trouble. Some theorize it’s an obscure diaper bag. Maybe it’s a vintage military model, others speculate. Is it a Domke reporter’s satchel? Some sort of camera bag? A hypothesis with a good bit of support says it’s something wardrobe created just for the character. That is, it really doesn’t exist, except for the one on the show. (This last one makes a lot of sense because it looks like his jacket is a figment of a designer’s imagination, too.)

If you own or work for a company that makes messenger bags, listen to me: make the Sheldon Cooper bag.

A fortune awaits someone. Even for people who never heard of the Big Bang Theory (there’s bound to be a couple somewhere) this product addresses a market need.

Specifically, I’m looking for the following features.

Roomy – see the picture of the bag

Organization

• at least two or three large external pockets for things you need quick access to
• the Sheldon bag doesn’t have a sling for a water bottle, but that would be useful
• laptop pouch with that handy airport security zipout – duh
• plenty of interior pockets and pouches for routine things like:
  • pens and pencils
  • notepads
  • phones
  • tablets
  • wallets
  • business cards
  • folios
  • eyeglasses
  • some sort of compact velcro strappage might be helpful for taming the rat’s nest of mobile power cords, earbuds, USB cords, etc. many people carry
  • USB drives
  • I’ve also been known to carry other stuff; for instance:
  • I currently have three power banks of varying sizes in my bag
  • I carry a ref whistle so I can be extra annoying at soccer matches
  • med supplies – in my case everything from prescriptions to Pepcid to nail clippers and a file
  • Swiss Army knife, of course
  • Some bags have pockets but few are securable – ie, they’re open-topped, so whatever is in them gets strewn all over the main compartment every time your bag gets tipped upside down (which will happen); with my old bag if I wanted to hand someone a biz card I had to fish around in the mess at the bottom of the bag for the right one – always; and yes, I have multiple business cards, so maybe multiple business card pouches? Anyhow, zippers, velcro and snaps
• Sheldon does it the Spartan way, but a padded shoulder strap would be popular.
• Also, my old bag had a pocket on the strap that was perfect for my iPhone plus-size.

Design – I won’t linger on this, because I shouldn’t need to, but people rock a lot of styles and a smart company accounts for that; and wouldn’t something like cool custom embroidery (which a couple of high-ticket bags I saw provide) be neat? You could get your initials, or maybe the logo of your favorite sports team? Man, I’d have ponied up a few extra dollars for a smart Chelsea FC patch on the outer flap.

And do it all for $75.

Make it happen and I’m in, and I guarantee I won’t be the only one.

In the end, I probably did the best job I could have done, and I kinda got Sheldon’s bag anyway.

During the Season 8 Premiere, Sheldon Cooper was robbed while living a life of a Hobo on a train and lost his bag that had an iPad, wallet, and all of his belongings. He was really desperate and called character Leonard Hofstadter (played by Johnny Galecki) for help and to come pick him up from a police station.

Now, Sheldon uses a stylish Olive colored Eco-Friendly Messenger Bag from Mobile Edge seen below (on desk). Dr. Cooper will use his new Messenger Bag throughout the new Fall Season.

I do love irony….