Charlie Backpack | 9L

The buckle on the Charlie confuses people — “I don’t want to fiddle with a buckle every time.” Good news: it’s a magnet. The bag closes with a zipper; the flap just clicks itself shut on top. One hand, no fiddling.

That zipper opens almost all the way around, so the Charlie loads like a small duffel: 14″ MacBook Pro in the padded compartment, inside pockets for the small stuff, a net pocket up front, a hidden zip in the flap and another against your back — for the things you want closest.

At 9 litres it’s the compact one: laptop, a book or two, lunch. There’s no separate bottle compartment — the front pouch under the flap takes your bottle and the flap closes over it. One honest sizing note from our reviews: the Charlie sits best on small-to-medium frames — if you’re tall, have a look at the Alex or Toby.

The fabric looks and feels like cotton but is woven from recycled PET bottles, and it’s waterproof — close the zippers properly and bike straight through the Dutch rain. One reviewer put it better than we could: “In the snow everything kept dry.” Vegetable-tanned leather details, lifetime warranty, and your name on the ID tag with our worldwide Lost&Found service behind it.