Aspen Times Weekly: North St. Bags

With no-frills designs and basic functionality, the line of backpacks, duffels, and bike panniers from North St. Bags appear to be from another era. But despite my association with a “little kid backpack” look circa the 1980s, this year I found myself reaching often for the simplistic totes.

Made in Portland, Ore., North St. Bags advertises its products as hand-sewn and stitched with fabric and materials procured almost exclusively from within the USA. The line commands a bit of a margin, but buyers get quality packs and bags that appear to have been found at an art fair or maybe in Grandma’s attic.

Take the Alberta Daypack as example. The Cordura nylon daypack costs $85. It is so simple it looks like a child’s drawing of a backpack.

But it fits a laptop and the wide, seatbelt-like straps are comfortable. The company adds a weather-resistant zipper to help keep goods safe in light rain.

For more on this product, visit https://gearjunkie.com/. Stephen Regenold is the founder and writes about outdoors gear for Gear Junkie.