I picked up my modified Smoking Holsters Necessities bag today from my Mennonite shoe repairman.
I bought this bag from the classifieds at the SmokersForums for around $60. When the bag arrived, I thought it was the perfect size. It would fit four pipes easily and probably six in a pinch, with accessories. However in using the bag, it had one pretty big problem - the flap had no closure and it was always hanging open. The sides of the straps only secured about halfway down the bag. So, it always felt like the bag was pitching over, the flap hanging open and spilling my pipes the ground. It never did, but I worried about it so much, I stopped using it. These things rung around $250-$300, and I was always puzzled as to why it didn't have a closure of some sorts.
I contacted Smoking Holsters to see if they could put on a closure. Yep, $50 and I had to mail it to them. (he was a little indignant that I would request a clasp and he couldn't include those kind of details at that price point). I never got around to doing that, but with my upcoming trip to New Orleans, I wanted the bag to be secure. My local shoe-repairman (a wonderful Mennononite farmer) put a rare earth magnetic closure and neatly sewed the stap to the top of the bag. Now, it hangs straight and the flap is secure. That cost me a cool $20 and some interesting conversation with a hog-farmer, shoe repairman!
