Best Work Backpack Champion | Carry Awards X

With its great organization, convenient access, durable build, and sleek looks, our Best Work Backpack champion takes hard graft in its stride and performs excellently across a range of work environments…

1st Place

Aer City Pack Pro

The kings of minimalist urban design, Aer continues to create category-leading products, at excellent price points. Demonstrating, yet, again, how to balance quality design and aesthetics to stoke the largest wedge of the populous.

If you’re after an everyday pack that can do it all, the City Pack Pro has all that you could need for a day of work and adventure.

At 24L, the CPP sits in the sweet spot for a commuter bag, with all the space that you need, without making you look like a turtle. The array of pockets on the CPP aren’t there for the sake of it; they’re there to make your day more streamlined and keep your necessities organized. Featuring 1680D Ballistic Nylon from Cordura®, YKK® zippers, and Duraflex® hardware, you’re getting quality when you buy this bag.

While the exterior may be robust and hardy, ready for anything that you throw at it, the interior (accessed by a clamshell opening) lends itself to looking after your precious cargo. A woven bluesign® lining is partnered with a fleece-lined laptop compartment to keep your devices scratch-free. Externally, you’ll find a quick-access pocket on the top of the bag (with a fleece lining to keep any sunglasses safe), a quick-access side pocket, a larger front pocket, and a water bottle pocket. Aer have done it again with the City Pack Pro, and are worthy winners of this award! Congratulations, Aer!

Highly Commended

These are the pieces that just missed out, and in most cases, by the smallest of margins. To them, we award a High Commendation. The below were of outstanding quality, displaying fine craftsmanship and design flair. With honor, we bow our heads in the utmost respect and kudos. If this were a dais, they’d be biting their teeth into silver medals, while their flags were hoisted into the horizon – a feat not to be overlooked. And we’re sure they’ll be back, to take it one notch higher, next year.

Carl Friedrik City-hopper Backpack

Looking for refined luxury and adaptable functionality in your work backpack? Carl Friedrik delivers an elegant solution with the City-hopper Backpack. Crafted with nubuck leather and Vachetta leather detailing, the pack brings luxurious style to your work day, while the fold-top main compartment provides easy expandability for the days you need to carry extra. The zipper to the main compartment runs up the left side and across the top, opening wide for convenient access to your gear.

You also benefit from an external quick-access padded laptop compartment, front and side zippered pockets for storing a water bottle and smaller items, as well as additional interior pockets for EDC and work accessories. Plus there’s a rear luggage passthrough sleeve with a concealed pocket that’s handy for storing a passport or wallet. Classy, practical, and suitable for everyday and travel use alike, this is a premium carry companion for wherever work takes you. Bravo, Carl Friedrik!

Pacsafe x SLNT Anti-Theft Backpack

Pacsafe and SLNT are both security-focused brands. While Pacsafe focuses on deterring theft of your physical belongings, SLNT strives to protect your digital information and personal data with its Silent Pocket® Faraday technology. Combine the two together and you get the Pacsafe x SLNT Anti-Theft Backpack. Offering the ultimate blend of protection on both the physical and digital front, the pack combines a variety of practical yet understated anti-theft features to give you peace of mind that your gear and information is safe.

The signal-blocking and removable patented Silent Pocket® Faraday Sleeve accommodates a 16″ MacBook Pro, making your device undetectable, while Pacsafe’s PopNLock clip, lockable zippers, and eXomesh slashguard reinforcement in the exterior material help thwart thieves. A variety of pockets are on hand to organize smaller items, while the pack also nods to sustainability, using 32 recycled plastic bottles in its construction. Add in the clean, understated aesthetics that suit a variety of work and travel settings and you’re all set for secure commuting and travel. Great job, Pacsafe and SLNT!

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