Does anyone know how good those tote or messenger bags are? Or can link to a review showing size/sturdiness?
I have the messenger bag. It's not bad.
The print is nice enough: my wife thought it looked geek-chic and wanted to steal it. There are no dividers or separate pockets inside, so it's just a single pocket. Closes with a small (maybe 2-inch) piece of velcro at the top of the bag, and the cover just folds over. Material is thick enough to feel sturdy, but not like something that will withstand excessive use. The carrying strap is just big enough, but might've benefited from been a bit longer. (I'm tall but skinny; larger gamers might feel it's too short.) My biggest complaint is that the whole thing is a bit smaller than expected: you won't fit much inside - my box set of pins that Club Nintendo gave away as the recent platinum reward is a good fit with just a few extra inches on each side - but given how light the fabric is you probably wouldn't want a heavy load anyway.
In my opinion, it was a good use of the 550 coins and a nice piece of Nintendo schwag for occasional use. I don't carry it on a regular basis though.
My tough decision at the moment is whether to save my coins for digital games in the future, or drop everything to get one of those sweet DS/3DS card cases. Honestly, I can't see why I'd need to carry 18 games with me in a single case, and have decent 3- and 6-card cases already for small trips. But the photos make it look so cool...