Patagonia Brings Old-School Hiking Pack Style to the EDC Bag World

These gorpcore haulers prove that mountaineering-focused features can be useful for everyday carry, too.

Closeup of two Patagonia Fieldsmith Backpack on purple background

Published February 11, 2025

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It’s no secret that Patagonia is huge in the outdoor industry. Hikers, climbers, campers, kayakers, skiers, runners, mountaineers and others all use (and love) the brand’s apparel and equipment.

While the gorpcore movement has seen a lot of that gear make it into the world of streetwear and everyday carry, most of that has been unintentional. However, this latest release, Patagonia’s Fieldsmith packs, sees the brand intentionally take some of its best outdoor features and purposefully imbue them into the world of EDC.

Three Patagonia Fieldsmith Backpacks on purple background — While some significant differences exist, like their capacities and openings, the bags share a unified design language.

Rucksacks a plenty

The Fieldcraft collection includes four bags in total. Three of them are rucksack-inspired backpacks — 24L, 28L and 32L — and the fourth is a smaller, more discreet hip pack (or a crossbody bag if you prefer).

Technically, this isn’t the first time Patagonia has released a Fieldcraft collection. However, previous versions of these bags have all been discontinued. Furthermore, the style has changed a lot.

Whereas the older Fieldcraft bags look similar to those offered by other brands favored by the gorpcore crowd (like Fjallraven), these new ones are more unique and refined.

Their unified external design language is more minimalist, but the overall shapes — especially their semi-structured, flat bottoms — and stylistic flair very much harken to their outdoor inspiration. This especially includes their various closures.

Each of the bags features a different style of access. One has a roll-top, another features a cinch closure and the third boasts a flip top.

Patagonia Fieldsmith Backpack and hip pack on purple background — The Fieldsmith collection also includes a similarly-styled, more discreet and compact hip pack.

Classic looks, modern features

Despite their outdoor-inspired closures and rucksack-like bottoms, these are thoroughly modern EDC bags.

Their exteriors are crafted from water-resistant organic canvas. They have numerous internal and external compartments. And all three include separate, externally-accessible laptop pockets, which fit computers up to 15 inches.

The contoured, adjustable straps also speak to their modernity, as their formats are more inclusive and friendly to various body shapes and sizes, unlike more traditional outdoor bags.

Two men wearing Patagonia Fieldsmith Backpacks on purple background — The classic rucksack-inspired designs work surprisingly well in an EDC context.

Pricing and availability

All four of Patagonia’s Fieldsmith bags — the 5L Hip Pack, 24L Linked Pack, 28L Lid Pack and 32L Roll-Top Pack — are available on the brand’s site. Prices range from $59 to $149, which is more than reasonable for bags of this quality from a brand of this caliber.