I’m hooked on Peak Design’s new City bags | The Verge
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Integrated Bag Lev hooks make my old bags feel dirty and dumb.
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Integrated Bag Lev hooks keep Peak Design’s City Line crossbody bag and backpack off the dirty ground.
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It’s just a hook, sewn into a bag, but I really, really like it. Peak Design is so proud of its clever integration that the San Francisco-based maker of camera gear gave it a name: Bag Lev, for its ability to keep its new City Line of bags levitated above the dirty ground.
How many of us are guilty of coming home and tossing a bag onto the kitchen table or counter to unload it? We pretend it’s not a thing, despite the carryall having come into contact with unknown filth picked up from the floors of subways and dive bars, sidewalks, and parks. Bag Lev lets you hang your bag off a chair, ledge, tabletop, or counter as you go about your day, keeping it mostly free of urban gunge.
I’ve been testing Peak Design’s innovative little nonslip hook in a pair of bags while vanlifing through France. After a few weeks, it’s the 12-liter City Crescent (
As silly as it might sound, Peak Design’s Bag Lev hook that comes with every new City Line bag is so useful that it’s changed my expectation of an everyday carry, making my other, hookless bags suddenly feel dirty and less capable.
Bag Lev hook is very useful Lots of thoughtful design touches Quick access pocket with magnetic closure Looks great for a lightweight crossbody
Bag Lev hook is useful, only less so Good 14-inch laptop and tablet protection Padded shoulder straps for heavier loads Looks great for a lightweight backpack
Bag Lev hook doesn’t rotate, which limits hanging options
Bag Lev hook doesn’t rotate, which limits hanging options
While Peak Design might be best known for its camera bags, its new City Line targets the casual urbanite, not photogs. The backpack and crossbody bag both make compelling arguments to be your daily carry even if we ignore the inclusion of the Bag Lev hook. They offer clean, not-too-slouchy silhouettes constructed of a lightweight, rain-shedding Mono Shell 660D fabric that looks equally at home in trendy coffee joints or casual business settings. Each bag features thoughtful flourishes like zippers with large, easy-to-grab pulls, a key tether, and a place to hide a tracker like an Apple Air Tag or new Pixel Tag. But it’s the hook that’s the hook, and the reason you might want to buy these bags.
This end pocket on the City Crescent easily fits a water bottle.
That same pocket can also be accessed from the zippered main compartment.
This quick access pocket seals with magnets, making it useful for frequently needed items like glasses or a phone.
The shoulder strap is easy to adjust but lacks padding.
I like to carry the highly versatile City Crescent crossbody bag with the Bag Lev dangling behind me. I don’t bother putting it back into its zippered pocket anymore, because that’s where I store my keys. In this orientation, I have access to a zippered pocket on the front leading edge where I can pull out a 24 ounce (0.75 liter) water bottle or compact umbrella when cycling or walking. Unzipping the main compartment gives me access to that same water bottle pocket. I like putting my phone in the zippered side pocket pointing away from my body, and the opposing side pocket — with its self-closing magnetized opening — up against my hip where I can quickly access my glasses. This, folks, is intelligent design, and why Peak Design is a well-regarded brand.
Along the inside walls of the City Crescent bag is another zippered pocket where I can securely carry a wallet, and two stretchy pockets for devices, cables, and assorted doodads. I can carry my 14-inch Mac Book Pro in the cavernous main pocket, but I’m not comfortable doing that without putting it inside a protective sleeve first because the City Crescent doesn’t offer any padding — not that you should expect much protection from a bag that weighs just 530g (1.16 pounds). Even with a water bottle, umbrella, laptop, and assorted accessories, I find the wide, unpadded, and adjustable shoulder strap to be reasonably comfortable to wear. Still, I’d opt for the City Backpack to regularly haul a heavy laptop load around town.
The City Backpack does a good job of protecting my 14-inch Mac Book Pro, but larger laptops will extend beyond the padding.
A zippered, top-access pocket has an integrated key lanyard. The pocket is useful for frequently needed items like earbuds, a power bank, and glasses.
A whip off the shoulder for quick access to essentials.
Peak Design’s 15L City Backpack is the better choice if you’re regularly commuting short distances with a computer. It’s lightweight at 750g (1.6 pounds), and the padded straps do a good job of supporting a fully loaded bag. The straps lack pockets or attachment loops for additional hauling options, or a sternum strap to help stabilize things. Nevertheless, the backpack was comfortable to wear under a variety of loads and didn’t sway too much when bicycling or walking around town.
Importantly, the City Backpack features a deep internal pocket that leaves your laptop suspended in the air, protected by padding on both the front and back. It easily fits my 14-inch Mac Book Pro with the padding coming right up to the top edge, potentially leaving larger laptops with less protection. There’s also a sleeve for a tablet, if that’s how you roll.
The City Backpack has two stretchy, zippered side pockets each suitable for a 24-ounce (0.75L) water bottle. I soon realized they were perfect for a bottle of wine and baguette, as well. Those pockets can be accessed quickly by sliding the bag off one shoulder and swinging the base of the bag forward — a move I’ve been practicing with Peak Design’s side-access backpacks for a decade already.
The City Crescent’s Bag Lev hook (left) with the extra fabric that gives it more hanging options than the City Backpack (right). The backpack fell off the wall immediately after taking this photo.
The Bag Lev is less handy on the City Backpack because the hook can’t rotate like it does on the City Crescent bag. Located inside a small pocket at the top of the bag, the hook lacks the extra bit of fabric attached to the Crescent’s Bag Lev that gives it more freedom of motion. It’s an odd oversight — especially for a company that rhymes with “peak design” — that causes problems when trying to hang the backpack off tabletops with short overhangs, for example. Fortunately, the backpack does have an integrated grab-handle that can slip through many chair designs to assist the hook in keeping the backpack off the ground.
Overall, the City Backpack did a better job of organizing my gadget essentials than the Crescent. There’s a zipped pocket accessed from the top where I store my wallet and glasses, and many more pockets in the main compartment offering a mix of zippers and stretchy, semi-transparent pouches for your phone, e-reader, power banks, cables, dongles, pens... you name it. There’s even a sleeve on the padded backside to feed the handle of your roller bag through when heading to the airport gate. Still, unless I need my laptop, the City Crescent has been my go-to bag.
Peak Design’s City Line fits nicely between its lightweight Outdoor lineup and more rugged collection of Travel and Everyday bags. The balance of features, weight, durability, and price puts them squarely in the everyday-carry sweet spot for many. I can enthusiastically recommend the
I’ve come across a few interesting tabletop bag hooks that are both portable and inexpensive. For example, there’s this
Whichever way you go, testing Peak Design’s City Line has made me a bag-hook convert. It beats setting a bag on the dirty ground or hanging it off the back of the chair where it will inevitably slide onto the floor, and it’s far better than holding a bag on your sweaty lap on a hot summer day. I’m hooked.
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