Topo Designs · Colorado
Topo Designs Crossbody Bags and Bum Bags
Keys and phone at your waist, the laptop across your body, two bottles for the hike. Topo Designs crossbody bags, bum bags and bottle carriers, in recycled nylon, to keep your hands free.
Keys at your waist, the laptop across your body.
Bum bags and small crossbody bags
Round your waist or across your body: the essentials on you, your hands free.
The Mountain Waist Pack, one litre in two zipped pockets, goes round your waist or across your body; the Moonlight Crossbody Bag holds 4 litres for 160 g; the Block Bag has two front pockets. Flatter: the Mini Quick Pack, the Mini Shoulder Bag and the All Adventure Accessory Bag.
1.7 L · 5 cm deep
Flatter than the Waist Pack: an envelope pocket inside and two compression straps underneath.
The commute and the office
The morning commute, with the laptop kept separate.
The Mountain Cross Bag takes a 14-inch laptop across your body; the Global Briefcase goes from your hand to your back, with a 15-inch. Both slide over a suitcase handle.
Rain, fabric by fabric
A shower, yes or no: it all comes down to the fabric.
Each bag is sorted by what its fabric can handle. None is waterproof: for a day in the rain, your phone goes in a pouch.
Not made for rain
Recycled nylon fabric
In steady rain, water eventually gets through: anything that mustn't get wet goes in a pouch.
Water-repellent
PFC-free water-repellent finish
A PFC-free durable water repellent (DWR) finish makes water bead up on the fabric. It doesn't make the bag waterproof: in steady rain, water eventually gets through.
Water-repellent doesn't mean waterproof: water beads up on the fabric, but steady rain still gets through.
Day hiking
Water within reach, and the whole day on your back.
The Mountain Hydro Hip Pack carries two bottles round your waist, on an adjustable belt; the Mountain Hydro Sling, one water bottle across your body.
The brand, as Eiken sees it
A sewing machine in a Fort Collins basement, in 2008.
In 2008, Jedd Rose buys a sewing machine and sews the first bags in his basement in Fort Collins, Colorado; Mark Hansen asks around for people who can make them. The two founders wanted gear like the kit they grew up with: tough, practical, classic. The fabrics are recycled nylon, and our Topo Designs bags are made in Vietnam.
Topo Designs guarantees its bags against defects in materials and workmanship for a reasonable lifetime, excluding normal wear, accidents and lack of care, and would rather repair than replace. For a bag bought from Eiken, the claim goes through us. On top of that comes the 2-year legal guarantee of conformity.
Eiken's take
- Why we chose it
- In town, the Mountain Waist Pack. With a laptop, the Mountain Cross Bag. For hiking, the Mountain Hydro Hip Pack.
- Worth knowing
- The bum bags and small crossbody bags don't take a laptop; the Mountain Cross Bag takes a 14-inch, the Global Briefcase a 15-inch.
- Who it's for
- Anyone who'd rather carry a bag on the waist or shoulder than on their back, in town or on the trail.
Baptiste, Eiken
Questions
Before you choose a Topo Designs bum bag or crossbody bag.
Mountain Waist Pack or Mini Quick Pack?
The Mountain Waist Pack, 1 litre and 6.3 cm deep, has two zipped pockets and goes round your waist or across your body. The Mini Quick Pack, 1.7 litres and 5.1 cm deep, is flatter and wider, with an envelope pocket inside.
Which Topo Designs crossbody bag takes a laptop?
The Mountain Cross Bag takes a 14-inch, the Global Briefcase a 15-inch; both slide over a suitcase handle. The bum bags and small crossbody bags don't take one.
Are Topo Designs crossbody bags and bum bags waterproof?
No. The Moonlight Crossbody Bag is made of PFC-free water-repellent ripstop: water beads up on it, but eventually gets through in steady rain. For the others, slip your phone into a pouch.
Which Topo Designs bag for carrying water on a hike?
The Mountain Hydro Hip Pack carries two 650 ml bottles round your waist, with 4.4 litres for everything else; the Mountain Hydro Sling, one water bottle of up to 950 ml across your body.
What guarantee comes with a Topo Designs bag?
Topo Designs guarantees its bags against defects in materials and workmanship for a reasonable lifetime, excluding normal wear, and would rather repair than replace; for a bag bought from Eiken, you write to us and we pass it on. On top of that comes the 2-year legal guarantee of conformity, and you have 30 days to change your mind.
