I’ve been on a search for the perfect bag for quite some time.

I carry a lot of stuff, and I hate having my pants pockets loaded down. There’s the wallet and phone and pens and ipod, for starters. But there’s also the keys and knife and … Am I becoming Ken Coar?

I want something that’s small – I already carry a backpack most places – but big enough for the stuff listed above. And it needs to be neither effeminate and purse-like, nor have the uber-geek-ness of a fanny pack.

I finally found The Ultimate Bag. It’s awesome. It’s got everything. It really has only one drawback – the price tag.

Now, with a 100 year warranty, and such an aura of awesomeness, perhaps $115 is in fact pretty reasonable. But I don’t actually have it at this moment. But what I do have is an awesome brother who lives in the place where they have amazing leather artisans on every street corner. I showed him the picture, and he arrived last week with The Perfect Bag.

At first, I thought it was a little small, because my Moleskine didn’t fit in it, but the more I use it, the more I love it. I think it might actually be the perfect size. It’s really well made. The stitches are small. The stress points are riveted. The inside has a nice lining. And the whole thing is that wonderful honey-brown color that will, I’m sure, darken with time and use. It doesn’t have any zippers or snaps to break or wear out, so I think it’s going to last a long time.

Whether they’ll fight over it when I’m dead, I’m not sure, but that’s a concession I’m willing to make.