Bags that look good and hold your stuff without letting the rain in, developing a hole or getting covered in muck during the daily grind are like golddust. We’ve sought out the five trendiest and hardest-wearing holdalls, from manufacturers that know style and function are not mutually exclusive.
For over a century, Seattle-made Filson has served the hardiest of American outdoorsmen with jackets, shirts and bags so tough they could survive a bear attack. So confident is Filson in the quality of its products that you can find a lifetime guarantee on each piece. Good luck trying to beat up this duffle, then, which comes in thick canvas with a paraffin treatment for extra waterproofing.
The last place you want your backpack to fail on you is while you’re hanging off the side of a cliff. That’s what Montana mountaineering kit company Epperson reckon, anyway. Aside from being perhaps the prettiest pack we’ve ever drooled over, this mountain-man’s sack is constructed from heavyweight Cordura Nylon, features monster zips and buckles and has a failsafe carabina on the front to close everything up.
Über-cool Danish brand Rains cares about two things: keeping it simple, and keeping it forever. That’s the thinking behind this no-fuss, non-breakable holdall. Made from the same hard-wearing, water-defying material that goes into Rains’s awesome rain jackets – and with the decent price – this has gone straight to the top of our Xmas wish list.
From woodland-trampling deerstalkers to pavement-treading city hipsters, everyone knows the famous resilience of Barbour’s wax cotton jacket material. Now, you can get it in bag form, with brass studs on its undercarriage for extra poshness. What we like best about this, though, is that the more you try to beat it up, the better it’ll look.
Bringing the cool of action sports together with the rugged outdoors and making one awesome fashion baby, Poler Stuff dances on the hard-to-find line between durable and damn good-looking. This rolltop is adventure-ready thanks to its super-strong nylon with high tensile strength – and it looks good enough to throw on for your next big city break, too.
