America’s Classic All-Purpose Utility Bag Just Got Better in Every Way

Form or function? This new riff on the L.L. Bean Boat and Tote delivers both.

Published December 9, 2024

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Before it became a fixture at farmer’s markets and fashion meetups, the L.L. Bean Boat and Tote had one very specific purpose: to haul around a bunch of ice.

In fact, when the classic American outfitter first released the bag in 1944, it called it Bean’s Ice Carrier. Little beyond the name has changed. To this day, the carryall is still tested to hold upward of 500 pounds.

L.L. Bean tote bag — Formerly known as Bean’s Ice Carrier, the L.L. Bean Boat and Tote is an American classic with utilitarian roots.

A new kind of carryall

Now, the Japanese retailer Beams wants to write a new chapter in the history of the beloved Boat and Tote, namely by equipping the bag with a trio of elements from another design buried in the L.L. Bean archive: the L.L. Bean Zipper Duffle Bag.

tote bag — Leather handles replace canvas on the original design.

The Beams x L.L. Bean Boat and Tote, available in navy and tan (both with olive green accents), comes in heavyweight canvas and features the same deep-bottom silhouette of the original Boat and Tote from the 1940s.

However, it also adds a double-zipper enclosure, removable shoulder strap and full-grain leather handles — all borrowed from the Zipper Duffle Bag — to improve both form and function.

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To be clear, L.L. Bean has long offered a zip-top version of the Boat and Tote. But Beams’s contributions represent the first time the bag has featured a double-zipper enclosure for added versatility, let alone a removable shoulder strap.

Pricing and availability

Like many things good in this world, the Beams x L.L. Bean Boat and Tote is exclusive to Japan at launch. It comes in five sizes — from Mini to XL. Prices start at 26,400 Japanese yen (about $175).