I’m hooked on Peak Design’s new City bags

It’s just a hook, sewn into a bag, but I really, really like it. Peak Design is so proud of its clever integration that the San Francisco-based maker of camera gear gave it a name: BagLev, for its ability to keep its new City Line of bags levitated above the dirty ground.

How many of us are guilty of coming home and tossing a bag onto the kitchen table or counter to unload it? We pretend it’s not a thing, despite the carryall having come into contact with unknown filth picked up from the floors of subways and dive bars, sidewalks, and parks. BagLev lets you hang your bag off a chair, ledge, tabletop, or counter as you go about your day, keeping it mostly free of urban gunge.

I’ve been testing Peak Design’s innovative little nonslip hook in a pair of bags while vanlifing through France. After a few weeks, it’s the 12-liter City Crescent ($119.95) crossbody bag I grab to casually explore villages, opting for the 15L City Backpack ($179.95) when heading out with my laptop for some truly remote work. In either case, the BagLev hook keeps Peak Design’s lightweight and water-resistant fabric clean when hanging above cafe and forest floors. And what dirt does collect on the nearly white “Moon” fabric has been easily wiped away with a damp cloth.

As silly as it might sound, Peak Design’s BagLev hook that comes with every new City Line bag is so useful that it’s changed my expectation of an everyday carry, making my other, hookless bags suddenly feel dirty and less capable.

While Peak Design might be best known for its camera bags, its new City Line targets the casual urbanite, not photogs. The backpack and crossbody bag both make compelling arguments to be your daily carry even if we ignore the inclusion of the BagLev hook. They offer clean, not-too-slouchy silhouettes constructed of a lightweight, rain-shedding Mono Shell 660D fabric that looks equally at home in trendy coffee joints or casual business settings. Each bag features thoughtful flourishes like zippers with large, easy-to-grab pulls, a key tether, and a place to hide a tracker like an Apple AirTag or new Pixel Tag. But it’s the hook that’s the hook, and the reason you might want to buy these bags.

I like to carry the highly versatile City Crescent crossbody bag with the BagLev dangling behind me. I don’t bother putting it back into its zippered pocket anymore, because that’s where I store my keys. In this orientation, I have access to a zippered pocket on the front leading edge where I can pull out a 24 ounce (0.75 liter) water bottle or compact umbrella when cycling or walking. Unzipping the main compartment gives me access to that same water bottle pocket. I like putting my phone in the zippered side pocket pointing away from my body, and the opposing side pocket — with its self-closing magnetized opening — up against my hip where I can quickly access my glasses. This, folks, is intelligent design, and why Peak Design is a well-regarded brand.

Along the inside walls of the City Crescent bag is another zippered pocket where I can securely carry a wallet, and two stretchy pockets for devices, cables, and assorted doodads. I can carry my 14-inch MacBook Pro in the cavernous main pocket, but I’m not comfortable doing that without putting it inside a protective sleeve first because the City Crescent doesn’t offer any padding — not that you should expect much protection from a bag that weighs just 530g (1.16 pounds). Even with a water bottle, umbrella, laptop, and assorted accessories, I find the wide, unpadded, and adjustable shoulder strap to be reasonably comfortable to wear. Still, I’d opt for the City Backpack to regularly haul a heavy laptop load around town.

Peak Design’s 15L City Backpack is the better choice if you’re regularly commuting short distances with a computer. It’s lightweight at 750g (1.6 pounds), and the padded straps do a good job of supporting a fully loaded bag. The straps lack pockets or attachment loops for additional hauling options, or a sternum strap to help stabilize things. Nevertheless, the backpack was comfortable to wear under a variety of loads and didn’t sway too much when bicycling or walking around town.

Importantly, the City Backpack features a deep internal pocket that leaves your laptop suspended in the air, protected by padding on both the front and back. It easily fits my 14-inch MacBook Pro with the padding coming right up to the top edge, potentially leaving larger laptops with less protection. There’s also a sleeve for a tablet, if that’s how you roll.

The City Backpack has two stretchy, zippered side pockets each suitable for a 24-ounce (0.75L) water bottle. I soon realized they were perfect for a bottle of wine and baguette, as well. Those pockets can be accessed quickly by sliding the bag off one shoulder and swinging the base of the bag forward — a move I’ve been practicing with Peak Design’s side-access backpacks for a decade already.

The BagLev is less handy on the City Backpack because the hook can’t rotate like it does on the City Crescent bag. Located inside a small pocket at the top of the bag, the hook lacks the extra bit of fabric attached to the Crescent’s BagLev that gives it more freedom of motion. It’s an odd oversight — especially for a company that rhymes with “peak design” — that causes problems when trying to hang the backpack off tabletops with short overhangs, for example. Fortunately, the backpack does have an integrated grab-handle that can slip through many chair designs to assist the hook in keeping the backpack off the ground.

Overall, the City Backpack did a better job of organizing my gadget essentials than the Crescent. There’s a zipped pocket accessed from the top where I store my wallet and glasses, and many more pockets in the main compartment offering a mix of zippers and stretchy, semi-transparent pouches for your phone, e-reader, power banks, cables, dongles, pens… you name it. There’s even a sleeve on the padded backside to feed the handle of your roller bag through when heading to the airport gate. Still, unless I need my laptop, the City Crescent has been my go-to bag.

Peak Design’s City Line fits nicely between its lightweight Outdoor lineup and more rugged collection of Travel and Everyday bags. The balance of features, weight, durability, and price puts them squarely in the everyday-carry sweet spot for many. I can enthusiastically recommend the $119.95 City Crescent 12L and $179.95 City Backpack 15L for those who can afford them. But there’s also a much cheaper way into the bag-hook lifestyle.

I’ve come across a few interesting tabletop bag hooks that are both portable and inexpensive. For example, there’s this $3.54 Walmart hook, this $4.24 hook from Etsy, and a few different sub-$10 bag hangers from the Japanese stationery brand Lihit Lab. And for what it’s worth, the BagLev hook can be removed and attached to other bags that feature similar fabric loops.

Whichever way you go, testing Peak Design’s City Line has made me a bag-hook convert. It beats setting a bag on the dirty ground or hanging it off the back of the chair where it will inevitably slide onto the floor, and it’s far better than holding a bag on your sweaty lap on a hot summer day. I’m hooked.

All photos by Thomas Ricker / The Verge