The North Face Returns to Its Outdoor Roots with a Heritage EDC Bag Collection

While it might seem like a relatively new brand, thanks largely to its expansion into the streetwear scene, The North Face is actually quite old. The outdoor brand was founded all the way back in 1966, if you can believe that.

That means The North Face was around long before most modern hiking and camping innovations came to be. In fact, the brand actually helped create some of them.

Its latest release, The North Face Glen Canyon outdoor and EDC bags, pays homage to this long, storied history. This four-pack collection combines heritage materials and styles with modern conveniences, offering the best of both worlds.

The North Face

Wax ecstatic

This collection is built on a couple of traditional components. First, there’s the overall styling of the bags. All four have some common elements pulled from the worlds of old-school hiking, camping and general outdoor living.

The most obvious is the closure type. All four bags have rucksack-style traditional flip tops on their main compartments (and the backpack also has them on the additional dual external pockets). Back in the day (read: before waterproof zippers), this was a simple yet elegant means of protecting your bag’s contents from inclement weather.

Here, it serves that same purpose, but is also an intentional throwback. However, it’s not without modernization: the closures have snap buttons instead of more traditional leather buckle straps.

The less obvious heritage detailing is the waxed coating on the bags. Again, this was a traditional method of adding weatherproofing to a hauler, as it caused water to bead off the material instead of soaking through.

Back in the day, this treatment was primarily applied to canvas material. While the rucksack has a waxed canvas exterior (another fun detail), the others have a wax coating applied to their more modern ripstop nylon exteriors. This also gives these more modern bags a more heritage-inspired appearance.

The North Face

Back to the future

While their styling and wax coatings are clearly drawn from classic outdoor packs, these bags are not exclusively throwbacks. Perhaps that’s apparent, at least in part, from the fact that three of them are variations of a crossbody bag, a more contemporary style.

However, take a look inside, and you’ll see more modern features and conveniences. For instance, the two larger packs, the rucksack and the sling, have internal pockets specifically for tech, like laptops and sleeves, giving them an edge in the modern commuter realm.

The quartet of bags also has other contemporary elements, like lightweight yet heavy-duty plastic hardware (clips, buckles and the like). There are also modern zippers, keychain tethers, mesh pouches, adjustable (and removable) straps and so on.

Altogether, the bags are an excellent blend of old and new, helping them stand out against the deluge of similarly styled modern bags while still offering much more utility than traditional packs.

The North Face

Available now

All four of The North Face’s Glen Canyon EDC and outdoor bags are now available on the brand’s site, ranging from $39 to $119.

The North Face

The North Face Glen Canyon Rucksack

• $119 at The North Face

The North Face

The North Face Glen Canyon Sling

• $55 at The North Face

The North Face

The North Face Glen Canyon Lumbar Pack

• $45 at The North Face

The North Face

The North Face Glen Canyon Pocket Crossbody

• $39 at The North Face

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