This is a 22 L retro backpack in waxed cotton canvas with leather trim and a leather base, measuring 43 x 32 x 16 cm (16.93 x 12.60 x 6.30 in). It takes a laptop up to 15 inches in a padded sleeve, and the top closes under a flap held by two leather straps and buckles. Waxed cotton is water-repellent, not waterproof. Side compression straps, a top grab handle, padded shoulder straps and a leather-reinforced base finish it.
Key facts
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43 x 32 x 16 cm (16.93 x 12.60 x 6.30 in), 22 L: those three dimensions multiply out to 22.0 L.
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Padded sleeve for a laptop up to 15 inches: the sleeve is inside the main compartment against the back panel, so the machine sits closest to your spine where it belongs.
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Waxed cotton canvas, water-repellent: rain beads and rolls off the cloth. The seams and the zips are not sealed, so this is weather protection, not submersion protection.
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Leather base and leather trim: the panel that meets the floor and the strap anchors that take the load are leather, because those are the two places a canvas bag fails first.
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Flap top over a drawstring: two leather straps and buckles hold the flap, and the cinch underneath closes the opening, so an overfilled bag still shuts.
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Side compression straps: pull them in and a half-empty bag stops slumping, which is what keeps a soft backpack looking like it was made rather than filled.
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Padded shoulder straps and a padded interior panel: the padding is on both the body side and the load side.
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Multiple internal pockets, side pockets and front pockets: the small things have somewhere to be that is not the bottom of the main compartment.
What 22 L actually carries
A 15 inch laptop in the sleeve, a change of clothes for two days, a paperback, a compact camera, a 500 ml bottle in a side pocket and the usual pocket contents will fill this bag comfortably. Add a pair of shoes and you are packing it hard.
The shape matters as much as the volume. At 16 cm deep this is a flat backpack rather than a round one, which is why it reads as a day bag on the back rather than as luggage, and why it slides under an airline seat instead of fighting it. A rounder 22 L bag holds the same air but carries it further from your spine, and you feel that difference on the second hour, not the first.
The figures above are exterior. The interior is smaller by the thickness of the padding and the sleeve, which is true of every padded bag.
Waxed cotton and water: what it does, and exactly where it stops
The wax fills the spaces between the woven fibers, so water sits on the surface as beads and runs off instead of soaking through, and the same wax is why a waxed bag does not hold the damp smell an untreated canvas one develops. Walk through a shower, get caught in rain between a car and a door, set the bag down on wet ground: the cloth handles all of that, and a wipe with a dry hand is the whole of the aftermath.
What it does not do is seal. The seams are sewn, not taped. The zips are not gasketed. The flap covers the opening but does not lock down against it. Under sustained heavy rain, water will find the stitch lines eventually, and if you put this bag in a river it will fill up like any other bag. If you need a laptop to survive an hour of downpour, put it in a dry bag inside this one.
The wax also wears. Where the canvas creases and rubs, the finish lightens and the repellency there thins first. That is the material aging honestly, and it is re-waxable.
Inside the bag
Open the flap, release the drawstring, and the main compartment is a single volume with a padded panel dividing the laptop sleeve from the rest. The sleeve sits against the back, which is the correct place for the heaviest flat object you carry: close to your spine, where its weight acts through your hips instead of pulling on your shoulders.
Around it are the smaller pockets, and their point is separation rather than capacity. A cable that lives in its own pocket is a cable you find in four seconds; a cable in the main compartment is a two-minute excavation with the bag on the floor. The exterior adds side pockets sized for a bottle and front pockets for the things you reach for while walking.
There is no dedicated organizer panel with elastic loops, and that is deliberate on a bag this size. An organizer panel eats depth, and at 16 cm deep this bag does not have depth to spare.
Waxed cotton canvas, and the leather that takes the wear
The body is cotton canvas treated with wax. Cotton canvas is a plain, tight, heavy weave, and the wax is worked into it rather than sprayed on top, which is why the finish has a slight sheen when the bag is new and why it develops lighter lines at the folds as it is used. Those lines are not damage. They are the record of how you carry it, and they are the reason a waxed bag looks better after a year than it did in the photograph.
Leather goes where canvas would lose. The base panel takes the abrasion of being set down on pavement and station floors. The strap anchors and the buckle tabs take the load, because a leather anchor stretches slowly and a canvas one tears suddenly. The hardware is solid, and the buckles are the kind you can operate with cold hands.
The two materials also age at different speeds, which is the look this bag is after. The canvas lightens and softens; the leather darkens and takes on a shine at the edges. A year in, they will look less like a matched set and more like they grew up together.
On the back, and in the hand
The shoulder straps are padded and adjustable, and the back panel is padded to match, so the laptop edge is not what you feel. At 22 L this is a bag you wear rather than one you carry: there is no waist belt and no sternum strap, because a load this size does not need to be transferred off the shoulders.
The grab handle on top is leather and sewn through, not riveted to the fabric, which is the difference between a handle that lasts and a handle that eventually pulls a hole in the canvas. Use it for the overhead locker, the boot of a car, and the hook under a cafe table.
The side compression straps do more than they look like they do. Cinched, they pull the front panel toward the back and stop a lightly loaded bag from folding forward against your spine. Loose, they give you the depth back when you have packed it full.
Is this the right backpack for you
Choose this if: you want a retro canvas backpack that carries a 15 inch laptop without looking like a laptop bag; you commute, travel light for a night or two, or work from cafes; you like a material that visibly ages; and you would rather have a flat bag than a round one.
Consider something else if: you need genuinely waterproof carrying, in which case a sealed roll-top in coated fabric is what you want, and this is not that. If you are packing for more than two nights, 22 L will frustrate you. If you want a lightweight bag, waxed canvas with a leather base is a substantial construction and there are far lighter nylon options. And if you need a laptop larger than 15 inches, the sleeve will not take it.
Caring for waxed canvas, and how this bag ages
Most of the care here is not cleaning. Brush the dry dirt off with a stiff brush and leave the rest alone; a waxed finish is designed to be lived with, and the marks it collects are the point of choosing it.
For a real stain, use cold water and a cloth, working with the weave. Do not machine wash it, do not use hot water and do not use detergent: all three strip wax, and stripped wax means a patch of canvas that soaks instead of beading. Never put it in a dryer or on a radiator, because heat moves the wax around inside the cloth and leaves it pooled where you do not want it.
Re-wax when water stops beading and starts darkening the cloth instead, usually after a year or two of regular carrying. Warm the canvas gently, work the wax in thin with a cloth, and let it cure overnight. The leather wants a different regime entirely: an occasional conditioner, kept away from the canvas. Our guidance for the leather parts is here: how to clean and care for leather.
What owners say about this backpack
Owners who talk about the build describe a solid feel, gorgeous leather and quality workmanship for a medium-size pack, which tracks with a waxed canvas body over a leather base.
The other thing owners describe is what they load it with: textbooks and a laptop for college, duty as a second camera bag, a MacBook Air and a Surface Pro with a small notebook and headphones on the move. That is the range a 22 L flat backpack with a laptop sleeve is built for.
This is a flap-and-buckle bag, and a flap and two buckles will always be slower to open than a zip. If you need one-second access at a ticket barrier, that is worth weighing.
Questions buyers ask
Is this backpack waterproof? No. The waxed cotton canvas is water-repellent: rain beads and runs off. The seams and zips are not sealed, so it is not waterproof.
What size laptop fits? Up to 15 inches, in a padded sleeve against the back panel.
How big is it really? 43 x 32 x 16 cm, which is 16.93 x 12.60 x 6.30 in, and 22 L.
Will it fit under an airline seat? At 16 cm deep it is a flat bag and goes under most seats, though every airline sets its own dimensions and the depth of the space differs by aircraft. Measure against the airline's stated allowance rather than ours.
Is it heavy? Waxed canvas over a leather base is a substantial build and it is not a lightweight bag.
Can I wash it? No machine wash, no hot water, no detergent, no dryer. Brush off dry dirt, spot clean with cold water, and re-wax when water stops beading.
How does it close? A flap held by two leather straps and buckles, over a drawstring that cinches the opening underneath.
Does the canvas get lighter where it folds? Yes. The wax thins where the cloth creases and rubs, and those lighter lines are how waxed cotton ages. Re-waxing brings the color back if you would rather it did not show.
Does it stand up on its own? The leather base gives it a flat bottom, so it stands when it has something in it. Empty and uncompressed, a soft bag leans, which is what the side straps are for.
