A polycarbonate shell that zips closed keeps equipment safe inside this $125 case. Our writer rolls the Spinner model from eBags on a few trips to test it out.

Pelican is known for its watertight, crush-proof cases. This month, the company's Pelican ProGear division releases a series of backpacks that integrate hard-side cases into a pack frame.

A new venture this year by footwear giant Keen will see the company employing leftover automobile airbags to turn them into backpacks, totes, messenger bags, and wallets. We got a pre-release pack to sling on for a test.

Chrome's new beast of a messenger bag packs up to 26 liters' worth of goods inside. It's waterproof and 21 inches wide, guaranteeing substantial sweat spots while pedaling in the summertime.

Weighing in at just 3 ounces -- but touted to be able to carry more than 30 pounds -- the just-announced PackBack from Trek Light Gear is a featherweight of a day pack with hidden strength.

Hipster marketing run amok or beer drinkers' delight? Chrome teams up with the "Champagne of Beers" for a co-branded collection, including a Miller Highlife-emblazoned messenger bag.

Space-age design meets wilderness utility in an upcoming backpack line from Terra Nova Equipment. The U.K. company's to-be-released Quasar series packs employ a crinkly polyethylene material usually used in yacht sails.

Made of a sleek Dyneema fabric, the Minimal Backpack from New York City-based Outlier is marketed as an urban day-pack that is "backcountry tough."

Gear Junkie editor Stephen Regenold breaks down the equipment he used on a recent "fast and light" hike in New York's Catskill Mountains. Carbon trekking poles, arms warmers, and a "bottom-less" sleeping bag were among the items in his kit.

Lightweight yet rugged and large, the to-be-released Crown 60 is set for fully-geared weekend backpacking trips or minimalists who are loaded with the bulk of food to trek long and far.