I’ve used a lot of different bags on my travels over the last year trying to figure out which suited me and my style of travel best and these are my top three. If you follow along with my travels on social media you will learn that I tend to gravitate towards one more than the others (it’s 80% down to the fact it’s my favourite colour).
Solo bumbag – £25
The solo bumbag is really well structured and sits perfectly as either a crossbody of bumbag as it’s more of a traditional shape. I like how it sits well below a rucksack if I wear it as a bumbag and it has lots of zipped pockets which I love. Zipped pockets always seem more user friendly in my experience, and are super useful to organise. The ‘secret pocket’ on the back is perfect for masks, passport and boarding pass and it’s surprising how big it is. Rather than cutting off at the length of the zip, the pocket is the entire length of the bag which is ideal for long items like a boarding card. The front pocket is perfect for medications which is what I use it for but also perfect for keeping any cables you want easy access to on a flight or a purse or even period products. However I tend to use the tiny side pocket to store an emergency tampon as well as hair ties and lip balm. The main pocket is surprisingly spacious and can fit a lot, but only if you haven’t over filled the other pockets. I tend to keep my sunglasses (or blue light glasses depending on what I’m needing most), a portable charger, AirPods and my phone. Normally I’d try to cram as much as humanly possible into my bumbags but the downside with the solo bag is that because it’s structured it can limit what you can pack because it’s not malleable and the space is eaten up by other pockets.
Uniqlo crossbody bag – £15
I LOVE this bag, I’ve taken it on probably 90% of my trips as cabin crew because it’s like the Hermione Granger bag, it fits literally everything. I would very happily use this for everyday activities as well as for travel. There are two internal pockets which are super handy for little things that you want easy access to, I just wish they were zipped pockets as I personally find those more user friendly. The bag is super malleable so you can pack a lot in it and it’ll adjust the shape to fit, I’ve managed to pack a whole raincoat plus my wallet, phone and a few miscellaneous personal items like a mini deodorant and pain killers. Truly the only downsides for me are that the pockets are not zipped and that there isn’t an easy access outside pocket for things like passports. I feel for me personally it’s not perfect for the airport but when actually in a country it’s so handy, as I want every thing super organised and easily accessible at an airport and I don’t like digging around for items like my passport.
I recently gifted one to me ‘bag-hating’ sister and she uses it 24/7. She used it on holiday and at a festival as said it was the perfect size. AND it perfectly fits a water bottle inside. Her only downside (which I also find a bit odd) is that people randomly come up to you saying “OMG thats the UNIQLO bag!” It’s just a bit strange to be honest.
Lululemon 1L everyday bag – £40
This is the newest bag purchase for me but I love it! At first wished I’d got the 2L as it is slightly on the smaller side (compared to my other bags) but I fell in love with the colour and it wasn’t available in the bigger size. I tend to make most purchase decisions based on the colour, oops! The little internal pockets are so handy and I love that they’re not all the same small size, the back mesh pocket is the perfect size for my kindle or a portable charger. The ‘hidden’ back pocket is perfect for a passport and boarding card (I also keep an emergency pad in there)., and in the little mesh pockets I keep miscellaneous items like lip balm and painkillers. What I like most about this bag is how well it sits as both a bumbag and a crossbody bag, I never used to like a bumbag/fanny pack fit but this is super sleek and comfortable to wear both ways. Since purchasing the bag, it’s become my everyday go to bag because it encourages me to pack smart and not whack in 100 items that will not get used, which is a bad habit I’ve fallen into with the UNIQLO bag.