Here’s the manifesto for you: Skip the backpack. In almost any day-to-day circumstance, you’re better off with some version of a briefcase.
First, I’ll offer a caveat. I’m generally pro-backpack. I’m a professional gear tester and amateur canoer. I’m a full-time dad of three. Plus, I do work for Topo Designs, a brand whose bread-and-butter is backpacks. My closet is overflowing with packs in every liter capacity and fabric variety you can think of. I’ll always standby options like this Arc’teryx Mantis 26L that Esquire wrote about not that long ago.
Arc’teryx Mantis 26
But I adhere to ecclesiastical seasons of backpacks and briefcases. It’s similar to rain gear. There’s a time for high-tech GORE-TEX rain shells, a time for waxed jackets. If you work as a Forest Ranger, if you’re a dad traveling with a diaper arsenal, or if you live in Denver, a backpack is fine. But for work, solo travel, or any event in a real city, a briefcase is the more elegant option.
Next time you’re on a city street, look around. You’ll likely spot some guy who spent good money on a nicely tailored suit, only to ruin its lines with a piece of nylon company swag. Take a look around the airport, too. You’re bound to see folks taking up twice the space of a normal person with overstuffed backpacks, water bottles stuffed into the elastic pockets. Unless you’re getting deployed or doing real dirtbag backpacker travel, there’s a better way, a much more elegant way.
Métier Closer Suede Briefcase
Lucchese Cosimo Briefcase
Tecovas Bartlett Slim Briefcase
Leatherology Knox Slim Laptop Bag
Not convinced? Observe the pros. My brother-in-law is a pilot and flies with a briefcase sourced from the pre-Wright brothers era. And he’s not the only pilot you’ll see with one. Next time you’re in an airport, keep an eye out for what’s hooked to the top of your pilot’s roller bag. It’s likely a briefcase, not a backpack.
A Proper Briefcase
Perhaps the humble briefcase’s reputation was sullied by the mid-aughts popularity of messenger bags. I’m not talking about something that you would sling across your back on a fixed gear. I’m also not talking about a tote bag, the Coachella of hand-carry options. We’re going to work here.
If you’re a travel for work fashion type, you could go all out with a Rimowa re-released travel case, but I’m talking about a proper, old-fashioned briefcase. Maybe it was your dad’s or grandfather’s, relegated to the back of a closet for years. You’ll find it and blow off the dust, Indiana Jones style (coincidentally, also a briefcase guy). There are probably antiquated pockets for manila envelopes and inkwells. The stranger, the better. And if you don’t have an heirloom to dust off, eBay is your friend. Esquire is Rimowa crazy, so I have to mention that a simple “vintage Rimowa briefcase” search turns up gold on eBay. But it’s choose your own adventure. Army attachés, Mad Men-era Samsonite, and pre-War Indiana Jones-esque leather cases are all easy to find and relatively affordable.
New is Good Too
If there’s not a handy heirloom to borrow, buying an old case might feel like cosplay. Or if you need a laptop sleeve, new is good too. Even as the briefcase has waned in popularity, heritage-focused brands have remained dedicated to the cause, churning out new versions with old-school materials and modern specs.
Dryden Briefcase
My pick: Filson’s Dryden Briefcase in the Whiskey colorway. The burly 1000D Cordura nylon is built to last. The internal pockets help organize your essentials for easy access, and the front-facing external pockets are perfect for stashing chargers, pens, headphones, and pocket knives on the go. Best of all, it looks equally good with an Italian suit or a Canadian tuxedo. My one complaint is that the laptop pocket is a little small, perfect for my ancient Macbook Air that can only keep three tabs open at once. But if you have a 16-inch computer, you might opt for Filson’s Tin Cloth Briefcase, which has more storage space. The swerve-y, blaze orange color is 60-percent off right now. Just because the briefcase is traditional doesn’t mean the color has to be.
Materials Matter
Of course, you can’t go wrong with leather. You could invest in a lifetime pick from Métier, which we heartily endorse, or choose up something with less of a price tag. Shinola’s Portfolio brief is a Detroit-made wonder. I’ve got it in navy blue and it looks like the lake on a cool summer evening. For the suit wearers among us, Bennett-Winch is on Saville Row and makes briefcases that match its address’s reputation.
Portfolio Brief
Lucchese and Tecovas make a great leather brief for the cowboy boot wearers. I’ve run Tecovas leather weekender as my go-to for years. It’s the same color as their Bartlett brief, and it wears beautifully. Luchesse even has a beefed-up canvas option literally called “the cowboy bag” with room for boots, rope, and a dopp kit.
For the outdoor-inclined, the aforementioned Topo Designs makes a great color-blocked Global Briefcase. (Full disclosure, I work with Topo Designs, but this is an objective pick. I was a customer before I was on payroll.) This handy Rains bag is waterproof, while this Herschel pick is full-recycled. And Carhartt’s budget-friendly twill lends a WIP look at a very reasonable price.
At the end of the day, a briefcase is an exercise in simplicity, efficiency, and style. Driven by function, they just happen to look pretty damn good with everything. And in a vast landscape of overpacking backpack wearers, a briefcase transfers a little old-world je ne sais quoi to the day-to-day rituals of work and life.
Read the full article here
