This Legendary Japanese Brand’s Latest EDC Bags Are Made to Be as Versatile as Possible

Porter’s new collection encompasses five silhouettes. But each is designed to be the last pack you’ll ever need.

Published June 27, 2025

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Updated June 27, 2025

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Picking the perfect EDC bag is a tricky prospect. Go too minimalist and you could end up sacrificing a lot of capability. Pick a back that’s too fully-featured, and you might never take full advantage of it (or worse, it becomes too cumbersome).

And that’s to say nothing of the vastness of style options, including everything from the super-tactical to the ultra-refined.

The whole point of Porter’s Monochrome EDC bag lineup is to reconcile all of those issues. Each of the five bags in the Japanese brand’s new line is made to be as versatile as possible, both in styling and utility.

Porter Monochrome EDC Bags — The Daypack (left) and small Messenger (right) are just two of the five styles in this collection.

One bag to rule them all

Porter’s Monochrome lineup consists of five different bags: a Backpack, Daypack, 2Way Tote, and large and small Messenger. While they bear some similar styling and functional hallmarks, they’re actually not intended as a unified system.

Rather, Porter is hoping you’ll only ever have to pick one to serve as your go-to bag for pretty much everything, be that city commuting in your day-to-day, trekking into the mountains or even going on a multi-day adventure. Essentially, each bag is designed to do it all.

To that end, all the bags feature nylon taffeta exteriors that are durable and weather-resistant. The backpacks have Cubic Eye Piqué Light back panels that are breathable and quick-drying for added comfort. And all of them have padded shoulder straps with dense, sturdy webbing.

Furthermore, they all boast styling inspired by military bags — a common influence for Porter — but are also much more refined than what you might find in military surplus stores. They’re also all available in either black or olive colorways (admittedly, somewhat restrictive, but you can always bet on black).

Porter Monochrome EDC Backpack interior — The bags magnificently blend simplicity and utility, making for a surprisingly versatile end result.

As simple or complex as you want

Love or hate their styling, the big value proposition of these Porter bags is in their versatility. Each one is equipped with systems and storage to make them as minimalist or maximalist as you need.

One of the major systems making this possible is that each of the five bags is outfitted with a relatively subtle MOLLE modular attachment system. This means you can add additional packs, accessories and more to expand the capabilities of the bags’ exteriors.

Porter Monochrome EDC Bag on suited person's back — At their base, these bags are marvelously minimalist.

They also have additional tie-down straps on their bottoms, similar to hiking packs, so you can attach things like yoga mats, bed rolls, rolled-up jackets and so forth. Inside, they also have padded laptop pockets, giving a full range of activity-specific options.

Maybe it’s fair to say that, even with all these features, no bags can really do everything. Even so, Porter has given it a valiant effort, creating a lineup of bags that are far more flexible than most others in their class.

Porter Monochrome EDC Backpack on person's back loaded with stuff — You’d need a *lot* of gear to really stretch these bags to their limits.

Pricing and availability

Porter’s Monochrome EDC and travel bags are priced at ¥93,500 to ¥143,000 (which translates to roughly $645 to $987 USD). While available in select retail shops in Japan and Paris, they’re not yet live on the brand’s site, and there’s no clarity on when they’ll drop, so keep an eye out.