I’ve had a gentle obsession with baggage since grade college. I actually wished a Jansport backpack. What I acquired 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 large.
I’ve obsessed over high quality baggage and backpacks ever since, and it has been value it. A great day bag or backpack is an funding. My Lowe Alpine backpack lasted over 20 years. My Belstaff shoulder bag was in its second decade after I offered it for extra money than I initially paid.
This rarefied class of costly baggage value proudly owning is at present, in my e book, held by GoRuck, Thriller 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 offered on the “tactical” styling and molle webbing? That is the place Evergoods comes from. Cofounded by the previous head of product at GoRuck and a former Patagonia R&D designer, Evergoods is strictly 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 process for its black cloth, and you’ve got a bag worthy of consideration.
Evergoods Civic Panel Loader 24L has a really clear, minimalist design on the surface. This belies the appreciable quantity of organizational choices out there, a few of that are so properly hidden that I did not uncover them till I went to write down this overview (by no means observed the pen loops within the entrance panel pocket). I moderately like this, I’m not fond of baggage with dozens of zippers jangling and limitless pockets festooned throughout them.
{Photograph}: Scott Gilbertson
Because the title implies, this can be a 24-liter bag. It weighs in at 3.1 kilos (1.4 kilograms), which is on the heavy facet for a bag of this dimension (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 facet. The one catch is, you may in all probability wish to carry some sort of rain cowl should you reside within the Pacific Northwest or one other moist area.
One of many 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 facet, so you possibly can carry it whichever means you want. The facet deal with was nice going by way of airports. What’s exceptional in regards to the design is that it actually does work properly irrespective of which means you carry it.
Organizational Genius
My favourite a part of the Civic Panel Loader 24—hereafter known as the CPL24—is the huge predominant 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 light-weight grey, 420d HT nylon, which makes it simpler to see the contents.
{Photograph}: Scott Gilbertson
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