I’ve had a delicate obsession with baggage since grade college. I actually needed a Jansport backpack. What I obtained was a generic copy on sale on the native sporting good retailer—virtually a Jansport, however not fairly. It wasn’t the label, I did not care who made the bag. It was construct high quality. The zipper snagged on the generic model. The rear pocket wasn’t as huge.
I’ve obsessed over high quality baggage and backpacks ever since, and it has been value it. A very good day bag or backpack is an funding. My Lowe Alpine backpack lasted over 20 years. My Belstaff shoulder bag was in its second decade once I bought it for extra money than I initially paid.
This rarefied class of pricy baggage value proudly owning is at present, in my e-book, held by GoRuck, Mystery Ranch, Mountainsmith, and the most recent entrant: Evergoods. The Evergoods Civic Panel Loader 24L backpack has been my solely bag by way of a collection of journeys this spring.
GoRuck Heritage
Suppose you like the strong manufacturing, heavy-duty development, and waist-belt-free design of a GoRuck GR1 (7/10, WIRED Review), however you are much less bought on the “tactical” styling and molle webbing? This is the place Evergoods comes from. Cofounded by the previous head of product at GoRuck and a former Patagonia R&D designer, Evergoods is precisely what these two pedigrees suggest: military-inspired, heavy-duty development and sturdiness, paired with a extra outdoorsy-meets-commuter design aesthetic. Throw in the truth that it is made within the US (Bozeman, Montana) and makes use of an eco-friendly, solution-dyeing course of for its black material, and you’ve got a bag worthy of consideration.
Evergoods Civic Panel Loader 24L has a very clear, minimalist design on the skin. This belies the appreciable quantity of organizational choices accessible, a few of that are so properly hidden that I did not uncover them till I went to put in writing this overview (by no means observed the pen loops within the entrance panel pocket). I moderately like this, I’m not fond of luggage with dozens of zippers jangling and limitless pockets festooned throughout them.
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
As the title implies, that is a 24-liter bag. It weighs in at 3.1 kilos (1.4 kilograms), which is on the heavy aspect for a bag of this measurement (18 x 7 x 11.5 inches). That weight comes from Evergood’s customized heavy-duty 840d ballistic nylon, which is water repellent (although it is value noting, not absolutely waterproof), and the aluminum stays. All of which is technical bag-speak for: it is properly made, however on the heavy aspect. The solely catch is, you will most likely wish to carry some sort of rain cowl when you reside within the Pacific Northwest or one other moist area.
One of the extra fascinating elements of the CPL24 is that it is constructed to perform as each a backpack (what I might name upright) and sideways, or as I consider it, briefcase mode. There are handles on the highest and the aspect, so you possibly can carry it whichever manner you want. The aspect deal with was nice going by way of airports. What’s exceptional concerning the design is that it actually does work properly irrespective of which manner you carry it.
Organizational Genius
My favourite a part of the Civic Panel Loader 24—hereafter known as the CPL24—is the huge major compartment that absolutely unzips on three sides (with zipper counter-pull tabs at every finish). The design means that you can load and unload the CPL24 prefer it’s a suitcase. The inside is lined with a mild grey, 420d HT nylon, which makes it simpler to see the contents.
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson