Product Review: Battle Foam's Iron Kingdom's Messenger Bag

Look at all the cool stuff this bag can carry!

A question plagues green and veteran players alike, "What do I transport my miniatures in?" Over the years I've seen armies and art transported in: 

• Laptop battery boxes with foam
• Wrapped in napkins inside of deck boxes
• Carried gingerly between fingers
• Balanced inside of lids
• And professionally made cases

Okay, I may be guilty of all of the above.

This last category can in itself be a challenge. "What style do I get? How big? What kind of foam? Hard case or soft shell?" And for Battletech and Alpha Strike, "Where do I keep my rule books and record sheets?" The search seems endless.

I'm happy to report, however, that Battle Foam has stepped up to the challenge of providing quality, useful carrying equipment for miniatures, gaming supplies, and rules supplements with their diverse lines of products for nearly any system and scale you may collect and play, including cases and foam made for Battletech!

With high recommendation from the admins of Battletech Megaton Painting Challenge I opted for the Iron Kingdoms Messenger Bag for a first foray into Battle Foam. Retailing for $49.99 from their website, this bag is comparable to other storage and transport solutions. Coming in at 17" x 14" x 5" this bag can haul quite a bit of gear ranging from rule books, supplements, record sheets, notebooks, or a laptop or tablet device with all of your PDFs!

​Fancy outside velcro to show your faction pride or favorite ride!

Easily carried with a comfortable grip handle or shoulder strap, this unassuming bag blends in on the outside with any innocuous messenger bags. But that's where the similarities end. By day, its a mild mannered laptop bag. Once the clock clicks five and you hit the door, this covert "work laptop" secretly carries everything you need for a hard-fighting night at the game shop. ​The Battle Foam Iron Kingdoms Messenger Bag has so much storage you can carry your laptop and work assignments in one section and  your gaming aids in another. Never be far from your hobbies with this bag. 

Unclip and open the flap to find pouches and storage galore! So much storage that I couldn't figure out what all to put into it for example photos. So many pouches. In this bag you can carry everything you need for a game of Battletech or Alpha Strike. From miniatures and dice, to rules and supplements, even to a bit of Battletech faction gear, this bag can do it all!

The Battle Foam Iron Kingdoms Messenger Bag does away with the days of carrying your minis and rules into the game shop in two trips! The spacious main storage compartment is zipper closed to hold your copy of BattleMech Manual, Total Warfare, Alpha Strike, and easily still have room to fit at least one more supplement. If you're a PDF user instead, throw your laptop and charger or tablet in there and suit up to go. Need a place to stash your record sheets or keep your Total Warfare and Alpha Strike tables? The convenient pullout pocket has enough room to comfortably store a folder or two of these necessary game aids! Have that last minute campaign book, TRO, or other book to bring along? The second large zipper pouch has more room to carry around those dead trees! Though it won't carry every book you own, this bag will easily carry all the books you need for a night's gaming.

Minis! TROs! Dice! Patches! ALL THE GOODIES!

The first one I noticed held a medium sized foam tray for minis. This bag in its standard configuration comes with two​ trays: one with precut sections and another to pluck out foam for your custom fit. The precut tray fits lights and medium 'Mechs, vehicles, and infantry best. If you're wanting to transport larger pieces, pluck as large of a space as you need from the other foam tray. If you're looking to transport a binary or just shy of a company these trays will suit your needs. Needing a full company? You can add one more smaller tray (purchased separately) into the adjacent zipper pouch.

The Battle Foam trays will hold almost a company of 'Mechs!

Oh, Battletech CCG! So many hours, so much allowance!

Inside of the left zipper pouch is enough space that I fit the new faction dice (still in box), a box of ancient Battletech CCG cards, a small tape measure, and still had room! This is the perfect place to carry your game aids like dice, measuring tape, unit markers, and line-of-sight tools or your in-game miniature repair kit of superglue, pliers, pin vice, and X-Acto.

On the outside the zipper pouch has four card-sized slips for your favorite faction university ID or Alpha Strike cards.

The Iron Kingdoms Messenger Bag also has four elastic loops to hold all of your game marking tools. Never be without a pencil, pen, or dry erase marker again!
​

This bag far and away beat my expectations. The outside velcro for faction gear makes this bag a fun accessory to bring to the game and show your Kurita pride! For its slightly limited Battletech and Alpha Strike miniature storage, this messenger bag more than makes up for this with the ability to carry so much gear! Being able to comfortably carry all your movement dice, measuring tape, rules and supplements, map sheets, TROs, record sheets and unit cards makes this the perfect bag for most games of Battletech and Alpha Strike. 

HAVE YOU USED THE IRON KINGDOMS MESSENGER BAG OR ANOTHER BATTLE FOAM PRODUCT? DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN PREFERRED BAG? TELL US ABOUT IT IN THE COMMENTS!