It looks like a vintage knapsack but inside it’s got a padded, 31-liter, adjustable camera pod with 12 dividers for a custom DSLR or video camera set-up. There’s also a padded sleeve for an iPad or 11-inch MacBook Air, external pockets, and the design is backed with a lifetime guarantee. via
Made with real cowhide and lined with British wool, this little carry-on suitcase is big enough for a laptop or a change of clothes, maybe both if you’re headed somewhere tropical for the night. Comes with a removable, adjustable shoulder strap.
Topo Designs builds bags & packs right here in Colorado, U.S.A. Their Mountain Briefcase can be carried three ways: as a brief, a backpack, or sling. Simple styling and plenty of pockets make it versatile enough for workdays & weekends.
Made of tough 18 oz. vinyl and featuring welded seams, this all-weather gear bag is the perfect place to stuff your wetsuit after a surf unless of course, you prefer to infuse the carpet in your car with the smell of seaweed and dead fish.
The Monolith Daypack is a fine specimen, made of burly ballistic nylon and featuring titanium hardware & Molle system webbing loops. It also converts into a carry-on, duffel & messenger style bag by simply tucking the shoulder straps into a hidden pocket. If versatility is what you want in a bag, this could be the one.
For nearly 20 years, California-based Chrome has been producing some of the world’s best messenger bags and packs. The Sotnik duffle is a new one. As always, Chrome focuses on utility & mobility. It’s made of 1000-Denier Cordura and features a waterproof internal compartment to separate your beach stuff or beers from stuff you don’t want wet. If you don’t want to carry it as a duffle, no problem, it can be worn as a pack, too.
The San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado offer some of the best mountain biking in the lower 48; the ideal R & D lab for Durango-based Bedrock Bags. They make bombproof bags for biking and bikepacking. If you like to do it in the dirt, their growing line of handmade handlebar and frame bags will carry your cargo proper-like.
Even if you’re unsure about whether to classify your “urban carrying needs” as “extreme” or just kind of normal, these two stealth black packs from Modern Industry are worth a closer look. They’re constructed with tough 10-ounce waxed duck canvas and Horween leather & lined with organic cotton. The Conduit is a sling-style pack & the Magnitude is larger, featuring a removable padded laptop sleeve.
On the unending quest to find the best duffle bag ever made, there is certainly no shortage of choices. Here’s a fresh entry in the waxed cotton canvas and leather variety from a North Carolina-based purveyor of supplies for the “rugged gentleman” called Buffalo Jackson Trading Co.
This is a great example of how SLR & video camera bags are getting more functional and versatile. The weather-resistant Perspektiv pack will carry a full DSLR or video kit to the summit or when you just need a pack for the hike, pull out the padded SafeZone pod and stuff it with other stuff.
