Patagonia · Ventura, California
Patagonia Backpacks
From the office bag that heads off at the weekend to the climbing pack, plus travel bags you carry on your back. Sorted by use, with what goes in the cabin and what goes in the hold.
From the office to the crag, sorted by use.
City and office
For the office during the week, and somewhere else on Saturday.
The Refugio for a full day out, from 26 to 32 litres, with a 15-inch laptop sleeve. The Black Hole Pack in laminated fabric, the Atom Daypack and Atom Tote for a shorter torso, the Fieldsmith in organic cotton.
Travel
To travel with a single bag, or take everything.
The MLCs open flat like a suitcase: the Micro 22L for one night, the Mini 30L and the 45L for the cabin, depending on the airline. The Duffels carry on your back: the 40L in the cabin, the 55L and 70L in the hold.
22 L · 870 g · 46 × 30 × 19 cm
One night away, the laptop in its own compartment. In Europe, it counts as a cabin bag.
40 L · 1045 g · 50 × 31.7 × 21.6 cm
The long weekend, on your back or in your hand. The only cabin-size duffel.
In the rain
Three ways to handle rain, none of them waterproof.
Each bag is sorted by its fabric. None has taped seams: in a thunderstorm, get it under cover.
Light rain
Coated fabric
PU coating, and usually a water-repellent finish: water beads up, then eventually gets through at the seams and zips.
Shower
Laminated fabric
Fabric covered with a TPU film (a flexible plastic): the whole Black Hole family, and the SnowDrifter.
Proper rain
Cover included
A removable cover, stowed under the base, goes over the whole bag. Without it, the coated fabric eventually lets water through.
The Terravia: the only ones with a cover included.
All four Terravia, from 14 to 36 litres, have their rain cover stowed under the base. For a full day outdoors, this is the family to choose.
Patagonia doesn't publish a hydrostatic head for its bags. The ranking follows the fabric and what comes with the bag.
Hiking
For a day on foot, or two nights in mountain huts.
The Terravia, from 14 to 36 litres, with their rain cover included and stowed under the base. The 36L adds a frame and a roll-top lid.
Tote bags
For the market, the beach and the car boot.
The 25-litre Tote and the 61-litre Gear Tote, in laminated Black Hole fabric, and the Terravia Tote Pack, which folds into its own pocket and carries on your back.
The brand, as Eiken sees it
A brand that guarantees what it makes, and repairs it.
Patagonia was founded in 1973 in Ventura, California. A certified B Corp and founding member of 1% for the Planet; since 2022, Earth has been its only shareholder. Its bags are made from recycled materials or organic cotton, most of them sewn in Fair Trade factories, and designed to be repaired: the Worn Wear programme, and more than 100 repair guides written with iFixit.
“We guarantee everything we make”: repair, replacement or refund if a product doesn't satisfy you (Ironclad Guarantee). Your claim goes through Eiken, and we pass it on to Patagonia. On top of that comes the 2-year legal guarantee of conformity.
Eiken's take
- Why we chose it
- Each family has a clear use: Black Hole for travel and baggage carousels, Refugio for the office week, Terravia for the mountains. And Patagonia repairs what it sells.
- Worth knowing
- None of them is waterproof: even the Black Hole bags, in laminated fabric, have untaped seams. For a full day in the rain, take a Terravia and its cover.
- Who it's for
- People who keep a bag for ten years, have it repaired rather than buy another, and want to know where it was sewn.
Baptiste, Eiken
Questions
Before you choose a Patagonia bag.
Which Patagonia backpack for a 15-inch laptop?
The Refugio 26L, 30L and 32L, the Black Hole Pack 25L and 32L, the Fieldsmith 28L, and the MLC travel bags. The Atom Daypack and Atom Tote take a 13-inch. The Terravia, Cragsmith and SnowDrifter have no laptop sleeve.
Which Patagonia bag fits in the cabin?
The Mini MLC 30L (51 × 30.5 × 18 cm) and the Duffel 40L (50 × 31.7 × 21.6 cm) fit 55 cm cabin bag limits. The MLC 45L (56 × 37 × 19 cm) is 1 cm over those limits; it fits easyJet's (56 × 45 × 25 cm). The Micro MLC 22L (46 × 30 × 19 cm) counts as a cabin bag in Europe: it exceeds the 40 cm free personal-item limit. Check your airline.
Are Patagonia bags waterproof?
None of them is waterproof. The Black Hole bags, in TPU-laminated fabric, handle a shower; the Terravia handle proper rain with their included cover; the others, in coated fabric, shrug off light rain. None has taped seams.
What back length for the Terravia?
Eiken sells size M, for a back length of 41 to 48 cm, measured from the base of your neck to the top of your hips. Patagonia also makes an S and an L, which we don't sell.
Which Patagonia backpack for a child?
The Refugito, cut for children: the 12L (33 × 25.4 × 14 cm, 340 g) for school and days out, the 18L (40 × 30 × 15 cm, 515 g) with a padded sleeve for a laptop or a hydration bladder.
How does the Patagonia guarantee work?
Patagonia repairs, replaces or refunds a product that doesn't satisfy you (Ironclad Guarantee). If you bought it from Eiken, write to us: we pass your claim on to Patagonia. The 2-year legal guarantee of conformity comes on top.
