The 16 Best Leather Backpacks for Your Everyday Adventures
Lugging around your gear never looked so good.
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We’ve all got places to be — and things that need to come along for the ride. Laptops, notebooks, pens, a spare mask or two, the odd bottle of allergy meds (you know, just in case). And to put it quite simply, you won’t find a better, more convenient way to carry these necessary supplies than a backpack (even if you're not a college student). The best backpacks are all about function: They free up your hands while you travel for all manner of activities, from swiping your Metrocard to holding hiking poles, while redistributing the weight of your gear so it doesn’t feel like you’re carrying a ton of bricks on your back. But if you want to add uncompromising style into the mix, a leather backpack might just be in your future.
Built with all the same functionality as your go-to canvas and polyester bags, leather backpacks turn the style dial up to an eleven by using materials that lean that much more luxurious. (I'm talking genuine leather, calfskin, suede, cordovan—basically anything that comes from a hide.) Which should you choose, though? I've weeded through all your options to help narrow down the search and find the perfect leather backpack to suit your needs.
Why Buy a Leather Backpack?
Before I go any further, let’s get one thing out of the way right from the jump: Leather backpacks will be, by and large, more expensive than your average daypack. Most of that’s to do with the materials. Leather’s just more pricey to produce than cotton or synthetic fabrics. But try not to get too off-put by the price tag because there are real benefits to biting the bullet and buying a leather backpack.
Most importantly, aside from looking cool as hell, leather’s also way more durable than other fabrics. Think about your favorite pair of leather boots — they can take one hell of a beating without compromising anything in terms of integrity. The same goes for a leather backpack. Get yourself a good one, and you can rest easy knowing that you don’t have to worry about an errant tear leaving your valuables accidentally strewn in the street. On top of the durability component, you’ve also got the fact that leather tends to get even better the more you use it, developing a fine, one-of-a-kind patina over time.
The Best Leather Backpacks
All this is to say, think of a leather backpack like an investment in the future of your personal style. And one you definitely won’t regret.
