Easy,
Do you find the maxpedition stuff comfortable for cycling? You have a fat boy too right?
I have been eyeing a proteus and/or fatboy for taking with me on the bike as a smaller and less sweaty alternative to the ol camelbak. Thought I would consult another cyclist before I splurge.
I do indeed have the fatboy, but the Neal Stephenson fan(?) beat me to the punch on that one. My sentiments exactly Wiredgargoyle.
As far as the Proteus, between the two the Proteus is the better pick due to it goin' around the waist AND you can strap to your handle bars! Something i forgot to mention earlier was that with all my stuff setup as in the picture, I wear it upside down which stabilizes it more. The only drawback to the Proteus for cycling is that you do not have the capacity to carry water with you. If you have WB cages on your bike, then you don't have to worry about it. I would like to see a lumbar pad available for the Proteus, or if anyone knows where to get one, lemme know. Anomad, what kinda riding are you gonna use it for?
I don't recommend Timbuk2 bags to anyone that wants a hard-use messenger bag. When I use a sling bag, I go with the Pac designs 'ultimate'. It has an X-strap feature which effectively makes it as comfortable as a backpack. After usin' a sling bag for work for years, my shoulder is pretty beat-down, so I sprang for the Pac; arguably the best messenger bag available. Chrome, my second pick makes a really nice bag for the money too, and they have backpacks as well. Lifetime warranty too.
If you really want somethin' made to your specs, Look up Reload bags. They're handmade by messengers for messengers, and they'll make it to your specs and whatever odd pockets, colors or design you want. Elle is a bit of a hottie too.
Nowadays, I'm usin' a Camelbak Motherlode due to the ability to haul more of my own personal gear with me and 3 liters of water. The organization of the pockets are really nice and it's made really well, although it isn't waterproof. It does have drain holes though. Don't let the online pictures of it fool you, the compression straps make it more compact and stabilizes your stuff. I absolutely love this bag! I can get away with this at work because I only do legal( court filings, etc.) courier work and no longer have to haul crap to ungodly parts of the city...
Oh yeah, the thing between the SF(now replaced with an L2!) and the STrider SMF is an Extrema Ratio MPC
You got a Kickass GF, dude! Y'all must be HARDCORE. 
I owned it for like three days, and have always regretted returning it. I didn't like the yellow rainfly, but I'm kinda anal about colors...
This will be my next aquisition! 
