ISO backpack for groceries

October 15, 2021 12:48 PM

I'm looking for a durable backpack for hauling groceries home. I'd much prefer a single, large compartment than a bunch of pockets.

At a minimum, the pack would hold a standard 1/6 grocery bag (12"W x 7"D x 17"H), preferably more. It does not need to be packable (fold up into a small pouch for transport) and it does not need to be convertible to a courier bag, bike panniers, or anything. Just a backpack. Does not need to be insulated, as the walk is only 2 miles, but I live in the PNW, so waterproof or water-resistant would be a plus.

There are a ton of options out there; really I'm looking for feedback from others who walk to get their groceries, and what has worked well for them in first-hand use.

posted by xedrik to Shopping (11 answers total)

Osprey Porter.
posted by praemunire at 1:08 PM on October 15, 2021 [2 favorites]

Eastpack Tecum Top CNNCT Coat

It is shaped so you can probably slide the paper grocery bag into it.
posted by indianbadger1 at 1:30 PM on October 15, 2021

I have a Chrome backpack (a model not currently available on their website) and am very happy with it for groceries. It can hold an entire grocery bag or multiple six-packs of soda. It's also very waterproof – while washing it once I filled it up with water like a bucket then had to go answer the door. Five minutes later when I came back, it was still full of water.
posted by Lexica at 1:39 PM on October 15, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: IME a roll top backpack is really nice for this purpose - they are more likely to be of the “one big sack” design rather than lots of pockets, and they tend to be made to stand up on their own without tipping for easy loading. Also slightly more size adjustable in case you need it. I used a RELoad flight pack (small size fits 1.5-2 full paper grocery bags worth of stuff) for about a year walking, and then 6 months cycling and was very happy with it. Probably a bit spendy to use just for groceries (I also use mine for travel, general stuff-hauling, and memorably, once as a wash bucket) but the principle should still stand for similar designs, I think.
posted by btfreek at 1:46 PM on October 15, 2021

I've been using my Freitag Skipper for groceries recently, and it's worked great. I usually just pack things straight into it without a bag, and the really big opening makes that easy. It's definitely pricy if that's all you need it for, but I've found it to be a great all-around backpack and an excellent weekend suitcase. There's also the Voyager which is the same bag but bigger.

It's made out of reused truck tarp, so fairly waterproof. It doesn't have a weather-proof zipper, but with the zipper hiding under the strap, it seems like it could stand up to a reasonable amount of rain. I haven't tested it in anything more than a drizzle so far, so can't speak directly to its rain-stopping power.
posted by duien at 2:16 PM on October 15, 2021

Best answer: I took this to Iceland and it's the perfect black hole for groceries and it's waterproof. Found here
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 2:17 PM on October 15, 2021

Response by poster: Thanks for the input. A lot of these bags have too many compartments that trade too much space for organization.

duien, that Voyager is almost perfect, save for the way it opens. If it were a top-loader, that'd almost be an insta-buy. Still, going to have a long think on that one; I feel like I would 100% love or 100% hate that opening system.

btfreek, the Medium Flight Pack looks amazing. If the pack tipsyBumblebee suggested doesn't work out, this will definitely be my second call.

tipsyBumblebee, that's pretty much exactly what I had in mind! Free returns from Amazon, so I think I'm going to order the larger 40L version and see what I think. From the measurements, the 40L should barely fit one full bag of groceries; I'd like something maybe 50L or 60L in size (really eyeballing the 46L Medium Flight Pack that btfreek suggested), but we'll see how this one works. Thank you!
posted by xedrik at 2:44 PM on October 15, 2021 [1 favorite]

Ms Vegetable likes her REI rucksack for this … toploads and many of the pouches are actually just access points to the main compartment. I used an army surplus rucksack that I got for $15 for this application for several years. Fairly similar to this if you want it to not look army surplus. An issue with this strategy was that it did take some consideration while loading to ensure things didn’t crush. A normal duffel bag that carries sideways tended to not crush much easier.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 7:20 AM on October 16, 2021

I use an Icemule Pro pack for this and it works great. Waterproof, one big compartment, stands up politely with a big wide opening as you fill it, has an option to inflate the sides a bit for extra padding or insulation when you need it (and not, when you don't), comfortable straps, + chest strap as well.

Some measurement calculations may be off somewhere in what you're looking at; I'm short and narrow so I have a merely "large" 23L Icemule, and it holds more than a full grocery bag, no problem.
posted by redfoxtail at 9:03 AM on October 16, 2021

https://liteway.equipment/urban-pack-dcf

https://www.hyperlitemountaingear.com/collections/packs/products/stuff-pack

https://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/backpacks/typhoon-25-black-0

Or maybe some of the other Exped packs.
posted by turkeyphant at 11:12 PM on October 18, 2021

I have a Tom Bihn backpack that I got 14 or so years ago. The specific model, Smart Alec, has been discontinued, but I can tell you that in hauling a full bag of library books weekly and groceries some weeks, my bag is still going great. I'm talking packed full, mind you, this is books for a reading family. And when grocery shopping via bus worked, I always put the heavy groceries in the backpack too, saved things like chips for a tote bag. So I'd highly recommend any of their other bags if you think they have the right shape -- they'll hold up to heavy groceries. I think the closest right now is Shadow Guide 33 which looks like it's got the same big pocket.
posted by blueberry monster at 8:53 PM on October 27, 2021