Elliker Bags: Backpacks & Sling Bags

Elliker is named after a woodland near East Keswick, north of Leeds, and the brand gives 1% of its profits to the wildlife trust that looks after it. Its bags are deliberately plain, made from recycled polyester with a water-resistant coating, and the idea is to leave out anything the everyday walker doesn't need. We've got the Buckden roll top and Cautley flap-over backpacks, the Lammer tote and the Keasden bike bottle bag. There's more in bags.

Where Elliker Comes From

Elliker Fields is a patch of woodland and meadow at East Keswick, a village north of Leeds, looked after by a local wildlife trust. The brand took its name from it, says it was the place that prompted the whole idea, and gives 1% of its profits back to the trust. That tells you most of what you need to know about the bags. The brand talks about life in the slow lane and about stripping out the features an everyday explorer doesn't need, and its stated influences run to forest bathing, birdwatching and foraging rather than summit pushes. The model names follow the same thread: Buckden, Cautley and Keasden are all places in the Yorkshire Dales.

Which Elliker Backpack: Buckden or Cautley

Both carry about the same, and the difference is how you get into them. The Buckden is a roll top, so the opening folds over and clips down. You can under-pack it on a light day or roll it out when you're carrying more, and rain has nowhere obvious to get in. The Cautley has a flap and a fastening underneath, which is quicker one-handed and easier if you're in and out of the bag all day. We'd take the Buckden for a wet commute and the Cautley for most other things. Both carry external cords for whatever won't go inside.

The Lammer Tote, the Keasden and the Fabric

The Lammer is an 18-litre tote in the same fabric as the backpacks, so it'll take a wet swimming kit without giving up. The Keasden is a small pouch that straps to a bike, a bag strap or a belt loop. Elliker says the fabric is 100% recycled polyester made from plastic bottles, GRS certified, with a polyurethane coating: showers are fine, an hour of steady rain probably isn't, so a laptop still wants its own sleeve.

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