Backpacks, Old and New
A shallow dive into both the coolest and dorkiest bag category.
Among certain crowds, backpacks have a reputation as being some of the dorkiest bags one can sport. Picture your average millennial Wall-Streeter strutting through the financial district with a skinny cobalt-blue suit, spread collar dress shirt, and a backpack slung over his shoulder. Call me a hater but I really think the backpack has little-to-no business being associated with business. BUT… there is another, more intriguing side to backpacks where I chose to focus my energy. In the world of hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, the backpack is one of the most fundamental pieces of kit one can have.
Unlike the vast majority of modern backpacks, the earliest backpack designs featured external frames on which gear would be mounted. Mountain porters across various cultures and geographies arrived at the conclusion that a back-mounted frame allows one to carry tremendous loads while freeing up your arms to climb and remain stable. Below are some interesting examples of different load structures used across the world’s mountain ranges.
These specialized external frame designs allow massive, bulky cargo to be carried up and down kilometres of mountain passes, but they’re hardly a practical choice for more “civilian” activities. I won’t go too far into the full historical evolution of backpacks as Heddles has already done a great job in that department; rather, I find it’s interesting to consider the extreme necessity from which the backpack was born. Below I’ve included a few more external frame pack designs that helped define “the backpack” into the 20th century.
Now that we’ve laid some groundwork, I want to first speak about some of the most interesting, and special bags I’ve come across before listing off some brands for you to check out. These bags range in origin from bespoke-made to military commissioned, yet all of them pique significantly more intrigue than your average Jansport. After the highlight reel, I’ll cover 18 different brands who make some pretty stellar packs incase that’s what you’re after.
Racing Atelier
Committing to an aesthetic isn’t too difficult - creating tension within an aesthetic without betraying it IS difficult. Racing Atelier is a bespoke bag label founded and operated by Leander Angerer, a CSM educated German leather maker making my favourite backpack of all time. Racing Atelier’s signature design elements include vegetable tanned cow leather, ultra-light Dyneema Composite Fabric, and custom German aluminum hardware. Not only does the natural leather provide a stark contrast to the high-tech nylon fabric, but it serves a technical purpose, moulding and to your body with wear. I highly recommend you peruse Leander’s site as there’s a number of other interesting design projects on display. If it’s not already obvious, these bags are far from cheap, but they’re on my short-list of things to save for.
Gucci Bamboo Backpack
Now as I mentioned, I tend to prefer backpacks in the technical, utilitarian sense, but of course there are always exceptions to rules. This is one of them. If I were to carry a backpack for strolling around the city, a summery weekend bag for my hat, sunglasses, portable charger, sunscreen, and a water bottle, this would be it. Gucci made this bag in a number of sizes, materials and configurations, and I think they all look pretty great. The bamboo hardware has grown on me over time, it feels exotic yet refined, and I’m hoping I can find one for a good deal soon.
Navy Seals Dry Diving Bag
Now look, this bag has almost no business being in your daily arsenal. This is a nearly 20lbs SI TECH dry diving bag used by the US Navy Seals, and it is as cool as it is impractical. This special operations waterproof bag was made in Sweden, and is essentially a dry suit made into a backpack. Meant to keep weapons and gear dry during under water operations, it’s been engineered for underwater use, not dry-land carry. But my hope in including it in this list is one of you interesting, creative folks will make a civilian interpretation, because this design is incredibly sick.
WWII M1928 Haversack
A more practical military surplus option, this is the US Army M1928 haversack used during WWII. It’s a semi-modular fold-up design which allows you to completely unfold the bag into a flat pattern. I love the shovel waistband attachment, I’d love to see that idea applied to more practical, modern use cases.
Visvim AW10 Conquest Pack
Finally, leave it to Visvim to make a gorgeous contemporary version of the external frame backpack. It features a lightweight metal frame, leather trims/handles, special hardware, and some really nice heritage colouring. Would I pay the $1k+ that sellers on Mercari are asking? No. Will I ever be able to justify Visvim pricing? Probably not. But it is cool.
Backpack Brands
Below is my list of 17 brands that make some robust, good looking backpacks for a variety of aesthetics and budgets. I decided not to list off individual products as there are just too many to choose from, so if you like the look of any of the images I list below, I’d recommend digging deeper and seeing if they have any models you like better. As always, be sure to search for these brands on second hand websites as you can often find gently used bags for a fraction of their MSRP.