Bellroy Laneway Totepack Review
A newer release tote from Bellroy meant to level up your EDC experience with a hidden trick. Utility or gimmick?
Bellroy Laneway Totepack Review Introduction
Bellroy - they’ve really been expanding their totebag offerings. Last year, we took a look at a really strong offering in the EDC tote space with the 12L Tokyo Wonder Tote review. I teamed up with my wife on that one to get her point of view because it made more sense for her daily carry needs to be the one testing it out. Bellroy certainly hasn’t stopped with that tote however!
They not only built out more options in the Bellroy Tokyo Collection (which is good to see) but they dropped a totally different line called the Laneway Totepack. This one has a bit of a trick up its sleeve that we’ll cover later in our features section. It also is made out of recycled ocean waste - a specific kind of initiative that is near and dear to many people’s hearts these days. All that said, is it any good?
This is my review of the Bellroy Laneway Totepack. For this review, I’ll be receiving assistance from my wife on the daily carry inputs once again - and she’s been using it almost daily for the past nearly 3 months in NYC. She’s taken it on a couple of car trips out of state as well.
As always for full transparency, I did reach out to Bellroy to see if they had a unit for review and they were nice enough to send one my way. That said, I had no interaction with them for the review itself and this is not sponsored. I do use affiliate links which help to support the site if you decide to use them to make a purchase, but you’re under no obligation to do so and there’s no additional cost to you. Thanks for stopping by!
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Bellroy Laneway Totepack Overview
Remember these straps pack away.
The Laneway totepack was released with flexibility in mind. It offers multiple ways to carry, so you can decide which way makes the best sense for you.
The bag brings a ton of flexibility based on the organizational options, and further it ups its game (I think) in terms of look and feel with the material choices here. For that material, it’s nylon and as mentioned above it’s made from recycled waste plastic from the oceans. Here’s more info on Bellroy’s material choices (This tote is made from “Seaweave).
Because of all that organizational niceness - this bag is meant to be a full-on EDC player. It’s not meant to be your standard canvas tote for afterwork groceries but dressed up in fancy fabric. It’s meant to be functional to help you on your commute to and from the office, to meetings, etc. This is a BUSINESS totepack, my friends. Here’s the nitty gritty deets from Bellroy:
Capacity
18L
Weight
500g
External Dimensions
400 × 400 × 170 mm
Materials
We use fabrics from recycled sources such as plastic PET bottles, industrial nylon offcuts and fishing nets
Composition
55% Recycled Nylon, 30% Recycled Fishing Nets, 5% Other Materials, 5% Nylon, 5% Metal
The Laneway sells for $159.00 USD and comes in three colorways for you: ink, sea kelp, and fawn. Or, black, light-olive, and gray for those without a marketing color wheel at home. We’ve got the sea kelp version, and I’ll be up front now - it’s a looker.
Bellroy Laneway Totepack Features
One of the biggest selling points on this bag in terms of features is the organizational options it offers. It’s got both external and internal pockets, most with some form of divider so you aren’t forced to use a blackhole of a pit. These divided pockets are however big enough to not lose their utility. Both external pockets have zipper closure.
Inside, you’ve got two “pop” pockets as they call them on each end. These are meant for anything taller and cylindrical. So, water bottles, umbrellas, shoes, a six inch sub (ok it would probably fit a 12in you hungry fool), you name it. These also fold back against the side when you aren’t using them, so as not to needlessly take up space. Nice.
There’s a real spot for a laptop here, too. It fits up to a 14in. Though, it’s not like a beefy padded laptop sleeve with a false bottom that you’d see on a backpack. But, it is meant for a laptop so that’s more than many totes are offering.
I don’t mean to bury the lede here but the big feature to mention is that there are two convertible/clippable BACKPACK straps on this thing. So let’s say you’ve got it packed fairly heavy and you’re tired at the end of the day (can you tell I’m not making that scenario up?), you’re able to pull the backpack straps out and convert this entire thing to a backpack. Clever.
Couple of small bits to mention: the Laneway totepack also has a key clip, and they have a concealed Apple Airtag holder (this thing is hidden quite cleverly in the inside label). I’m starting to believe in the utility more on those now, so I like the flexibility to use one.
The Good
Like my previous combo review, this is going to be blended from my thoughts and my wife’s - and I’ll call out some of her specific quotes, too.
I tend to always really like Bellroy’s materials, I admit that freely. This time is no different. The matte finish on the Laneway totepack is awesome. While the Tokyo Wonder tote had a cool, utility focused fabric that looked made for durability and wouldn’t be out of place on a commute in Japan, I’d say the material here on the Laneway has stepped it up a bit. It’s sleeker, less “durability focused” LOOKING (it’s not made any less durably, to note), and I think will fit better with those that want to look a little more fashion friendly vs the Tokyo. Because this lacks that rip-stop fabric I think it accomplishes that better. This one to me, looks more suitable for a designer and being slightly nicer for meetings. That’s always in the eye of the beholder - but my wife (who consequently, is in fact a fashion designer) - felt the same.
Besides the materials, the design overall is fantastic on this. It looks really cool. Because it’s not too big, it transforms really well onto your back and I always think my wife looks super modern when she wears it in that mode. Further, the color choice for the nylon handles, and the interior lining, is amazing with the sea kelp green. It’s this kind of brownish-burgundy color and it just looks awesome. Again my wife is very picky on this stuff, and she thinks it looks great. She wouldn’t take the Tokyo Wonder tote into her meetings in the city because she likes to look like the designer she is. For more casual meetings, she has no issue with this one. That’s saying something.
I personally love the flexibility that the organization provides. It’s well laid out and thoughtful. It’s also great that the back pocket is still quite usable once the backpack straps are stowed. I also think that for someone looking to transition from a backpack to a tote for whatever reason (my wife for example thinks these are more professional looking than a backpack) - this can make it easier because it has just as many org options as you’re used to.
Similar to the Tokyo Wonder Tote, I do like that the pockets are all zippered. Being in big cities or in tourist locations, there’s always a risk (however small) that someone could see an opportunity when you maybe too casually pop your phone or wallet into an external pocket. Zipping that up makes this a near non-issue.
Some quotes from my wife:
“I really like the tote bag style, and like the look of this right away. I liked the idea of having the option for the backpack if needed. It’s also very lightweight for it’s size and feels nice.”
“The straps make it much easier to carry heavier stuff, and the wider base also helps with balance when you put the bag down, but also helps bigger things fit down there. You can fit a surprising amount of stuff in this bag. The shoulder straps are also good with heavier stuff.”
“The separation is great with the pockets, and really like having a pocket on the outside that was easy to reach.”
“The style is good. It oes with most of my outfits outside of the really dressy stuff. The color is good for style, but also doesn’t show dirt at all from floors or after rain.”
“This bag has grown on me more and more as I’ve used it. The design is very Japanese, in fact, based on the color and material.”
Tote mode.
Backpack mode. It's 23C outside here, ha.
The Bad
We clearly love the bag but there are definitely a couple of things to mention because everyone sees flaws differently and these might be important to you. For one, and I realize there is a balance here, don’t expect the backpack straps to be that robust. They are perfectly functional, and certainly are padded, but they are not full on straps like you might be used to in a backpack. I think this is more about expectations than really calling anything out for being “bad”. Because again, in practice, my wife loved them. Because of this, don’t go carrying any cinder blocks in the totepack, leave those to Luca Brasi’s feet. Heyyyyyyyyy.
Second, and I could not find a reason for this, but perhaps if anyone from Bellroy reads this, shoot me a note and help us to learn why - the shoulder straps are sort of ‘off-set’. One is higher than the other. To me, this seems like it would interfere with how it sits on your shoulder, but my wife said it actually works well when she wants to swing the bag around to the front and grab something from the bag since one is longer than the other, and the shorter one grips the shoulder tighter when she uses it in carry. I’ve not been able to figure out if this is a manufacturing goof, or a design intention. Bellroy typically thinks of little special things to add from a design and usability standpoint, so I lean towards “intentional”. But, I could find no information on that choice. Noting it here in case it annoys some people that love symmetry. This did NOT interfere with the bag function and again, my wife found it fairly useful in her own way. UPDATE From Future AW Self: Upon notifying Bellroy of this discovery, they confirmed for me that it was in fact a manufacturing mistake, and true to their warranty (which specifically calls these out) they offered to replace the bag. Really great to see them stand behind their product.
No aquaguard zippers on this one. Totes are tough with this, because it might be overkill. But at the same time, their zippers point straight up and meet the rain head-on. So, for a daily commuting bag, I think it’s an update worth thinking about in future iterations.
Final Thoughts On My Bellroy Laneway Totapack Review
So what do you do when you have a hit on your hand with a daily carry style tote bag? Why, you find a way to make another! And hopefully, a different and “better in some ways” version. Or, a separate use case.
With the Laneway Totepack, I think they’ve done just that. They kept the same things that worked with the Tokyo Wonder Tote (great organization and utility, solid looks) and I think actually improved upon that concept.
They made it a BIT sleeker and design focused. They of course added the backpack straps which I think are just a fantastic idea (Specifically: At the end of a long day, when my wife might needs to bring a few samples home, or her laptop, she uses the straps as the bag can be quite a bit heavier and it takes the load off her single shoulder; it makes commuting easier for her). They also updated the material to have a very targeted source in ocean plastic.
I did have a few nits to pick above, which is normal for a bag. But, I don’t think those are real reasons why you shouldn’t consider it for your daily needs. I think you’d need some pretty specific and targeted hatred for those things to do that, lol.
One additional note is that I think the black and the gray versions are a shinier finish, vs the sea kelp which is a matte finish. My recommendation would be to go for the sea kelp all day. It’s brilliant looking.
As always with the indie brands, I’d suggest buying directly through their website for best service.
Wander more - and wander smarter everyone.
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