The best backpack you can buy in 2020-2
Smart Backpacks
A casual backpack is all well and good for just thrashing about town, but let's face it-pair one with a suit through the week and you're going to look like you borrowed it from your 12-year-old. Luckily, there are options out there to keep even the snappiest of dressers satisfied.
Mismo
If you needed proof that smart isn't a byword for stuffy, Danish brand Mismo provide it by the shed-load. The label prides itself on its straightforward, functional and durable designs and strives only to provide what is strictly necessary. The result is a collection of quintessentially Scandi bags, with minimalist styling and premium craftsmanship. Throw in a few leather bridle straps, brass hardware and practical additions such as padded laptop compartments, and you've got yourself the perfect pack for the working week.
A.P.C
When it comes to fuss-free, Parisian chic, few labels are doing it anywhere near as well as Jean Touitou's A.P.C. The French firm has a long-standing reputation for clean, contemporary classics, and its stripped-back approach to design and branding has become something of a calling card. Here you'll find tasteful, timeless styles, with classy contemporary twists. Look out for details such as solid metal hardware, premium canvas construction and that subtle trademark branding.
Sandqvist
Founded in 2004 by brothers Daniel and Anton Sandqvist, and their mate Sebastien, Swedish lifestyle brand Sandqvist draws its inspiration from the sprawling Nordic landscape, combined with urban living. As a result, its backpacks are stylish and practical in equal measures, and unmistakably Scandinavian. They may be sleek and minimal, but they're definitely not short on space (the same is true of its briefcases). Finished off with leather strap detailing and logo patch branding as standard, this is smart luggage done the right way.
BoohooMAN
Buying a suave, smart backpack doesn't have to mean remortgaging your house and selling a kidney, as boohooMAN's collection proves perfectly. The online retailer prides itself on being the ‘best-kept secret in menswear', but its low prices and a regularly updated selection of on-trend products means it won't stay under wraps for long. Expect a huge variety of designs with two things in common-up-to-the-minute styling and jaw-dropping value. Can't say fairer than that.
Reiss
Premium fashion retail chain Reiss sits proudly at the high end of the high street. This isn't your run of the mill fast-fashion outlet, as it uses a higher grade of material and sleeker than sleek styling. Reiss's designs take classic silhouettes and update them with contemporary touches. Expect to find traditional shapes and styles, finished in textured leathers and topped off with smart silver hardware.
Technical Backpacks
Looking for something a bit more high-spec? Something you can haul up a mountain with you, or load up with weights on your evening run (as if)? Well, this is where you'll find it.
Fjallraven
It's difficult, if not impossible, to think of backpacks and not immediately think of Fjallraven. The beloved Swedish brand has been doing its thing for decades, but thanks to the rucksack's recent surge in popularity, its Kanken bags have found a new, but equally doting audience. However, those colourful hipster packs are far from Fjallraven's only offering, and if you dig a little deeper you'll be rewarded with great-looking and highly-functional luggage, with heritage styling and that signature G-1000 waxed cotton.
The North Face
Outdoors brands don't come much bigger or better than The North Face. The California-based label has been leading the way since 1968, and one of the many things it does to exemplary standards is backpacks. Durable, weatherproof fabrics, and practical touches such interior dry pockets or ventilated patches mean these are genuinely made for outdoor living.
Patagonia
Looking to lug all of your gear up mountains, retain your street cred and save the planet, all at the same time? Quite a tall order, really, but luckily there's a brand that can provide you with all of the above and then some. Patagonia has been doing it all for well over 40 years. Renowned the world over for its brightly coloured, high-spec outdoor gear and its commitment to sustainability-if you want hard-wearing kit that is as environmentally sound as it is good-looking, Patagonia is the one.
Poler Stuff
Poler Stuff makes-as they put it-"gear for people that are travellers, couch surfers, regular surfers, skateboarders, snowboarders, bicyclists, parents and kids". So, in other words, everyone. This is luggage that will appeal to a broad spectrum of consumers, but at its core, it's colourful, contemporary, playful and high-performance. If you want to turn a few heads on your next hiking trip, look them up.
Master-Piece
That heritage look-with all the contrast leather bits and whatnot-is all the rage when it comes to backpacks. But a lot of the time, investing in aesthetics means compromising on performance. However, there are a few brands that are making it their mission to turn this on its head. One of them is Master-Piece. You only need to take one look at a Master-Piece bag to get a feel of what it's all about. Handsome, rugged, colourful and cool, with materials and stitching that can comfortably withstand a weekend in the wilderness. Are there any boxes left unticked?
