Blog — backpack

Packing is the science of balance. A balance between what to include and what to omit – tough existential questions that confound even the most experienced travelers. In the words of YouTuber Matt D’Avella, “packing can be a mini-experiment in minimalism.”   Carry-on backpacks are a great way to force yourself to get into the good habit of practicing packing balance, as they provide you with enough latitude to include your essentials and then some while forcing you to think long and hard about extraneous and often unnecessary items that you might be tempted to bring along.   It’s pretty...

If you’ve ever researched into which backpack is right for you, you’ll probably have been steered towards volume sizes ranging from 50 liters to 70. This is what all the long term backpackers seem to be carrying. Anything smaller is just for short trips, right? This is the assumption made by many beginner travelers. If you are traveling full-time, then it may seem that you basically need to bring everything that you own. If you need it at home, you’ll probably need it while on the road. Well, it’s time to break out of that thought pattern. The truth is...

  With the likes of Airbnb, Couchsurfing, Uber, and Skyscanner, traveling the world is easier than ever. In an instant, you can see the cheapest hotels and flights, and with Google Maps you immediately know exactly how to get to pretty much anywhere. Then there is the rise of remote work and reliable WiFi, which means that you can earn while you travel and stay on the road for extended periods of time. However, travel can still be hard work. Jet lag, exhaustion from carrying all your stuff around, adjusting to new climates and cultures, and sleeping in unfamiliar places...

It’s a question we get asked a lot - why don’t you make your backpacks in the UK, given that you’re a British company? The answer is not as straight-forward as you might think. There are a lot of reasons we aren’t manufacturing in the UK, but there are three big ones that I’ll try to explain: The best backpack manufacturers in Vietnam. If you examine the label of almost any consumer item, you’ll see the same thing again and again - “Made in China”. And it’s true that most backpacks are made in China. There’s a lot of backpack...

It’s been a few thousand miles of travel since my last update - Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Vietnam - and now I find myself on the sleeper train from Hanoi to Danang. I’m sharing a cabin with two very charming insurance lawyers living in Cologne. They’re travelling down to Hoi An to visit one of Vietnam’s historic cities. In the morning we fall into conversation about their travels and, inevitably, their luggage. They’re carrying two enormous backpacks, a handbag and another carry-on bag. In total, that’s four bags, which they plan to lug around from north to South Vietnam, on trains,...