If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIRED
Best All-Day Pack
Mountainsmith Tour
Best for Running
Patagonia Ultralight Black Hole Mini Hip Pack
Best for Bike Commuting
Road Runner Bags Lil Guy Mini Pack
Best for Concerts
Timbuk2 Slacker Chest Pack
Here at WIRED, we love fanny packs (or waist belts, bum bags, whatever you want to call them). Before the resurgence of all things the 1990s, this might have been an unpopular confession. But now, we’re just happy to share our affection with a wider audience.
Fanny packs don’t make your back sweat or twist your spine. You can carry the weight in your front, swing it around to the back, or sling it over a shoulder. They can go from the hiking trail to the bar without skipping a beat, and they can hold your train ticket and fit into a backpack while traveling. Best of all, they’re so much more convenient than trying to fit your enormous phone into a pants pocket. These are our favorites. You’re welcome.
Updated July 2023: We added the Bontrager waist pack, the Moment Long Weekend, and the Beis diaper pack.
Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.
-
Photograph: Mountainsmith
Best All-Day Pack
Mountainsmith Tour
This is my favorite bag to take on an all-day excursion. Why? Pockets, pockets, pockets! The Tour is loaded with stash spaces, and the bag’s large size technically makes it a lumbar pack, since it sits on the hips but covers the lower back as well. I can typically fit a change of clothes and a couple of meals in here, all in addition to the gear I’ll need for a full day on the trail or on the bike.
The Tour has compression straps on the sides to keep it snug, and the latest model adds a sewn fabric pouch to the bungee cord on the face, making it an even better place to lash a windbreaker. There are two water bottle pockets on the sides, a zip-shut phone pocket on the hip, and a half-dozen pockets in the interior, including a padded tablet sleeve where I keep my Kindle for post-lunch relaxing. When it gets heavy (which believe me, it does), the nice, wide shoulder strap turns it into a sling. There are even backpack-style shoulder straps available for $28. —Michael Calore
-
Photograph: Patagonia
Best for Running
Patagonia Ultralight Black Hole Mini Hip Pack
I’m a big fan of minimalist fanny packs. They are a welcome alternative to crossbody bags that tend to swing around and smack me in the face when I tie my shoe. I’ve written about Patagonia’s small travel fanny pack before.
The Black Hole fanny pack now uses 100 percent recycled, ultralight ripstop nylon that’s been treated with a durable water-repellent (DWR) finish. It comes in a bunch of delightful retro colorways and fits a phone, wallet, and lip balm. When I cinch it, it stays tight against the small of my back on miles-long runs through the woods, but it easily expands to fit a hat or pair of gloves when I strip them off. It also packs down into a small stash pocket while traveling. —Adrienne So
-
Photograph: Road Runner Bags
Best for Bike Commuting
Road Runner Bags Lil Guy Mini Pack
Fellow cyclists, I have to tell you about my favorite bike accessory. Handmade in Los Angeles by Road Runner Bags, the 10-inch-wide, 5-inch-tall, and 2-inch-deep Lil Guy is the perfect size for toting the minimum required gear for an afternoon in the city: Phone, lights, lock, sunglasses, keys, Kind Bar, and a couple of brewskis.
My favorite design detail: The Road Runner kids put a U-lock holster on the side of the bag that faces your body, so that when I slide my lock into the dedicated slot, the lock sits flush against my back and doesn’t flop around. If that isn’t comfortable for you, there are other places to fasten a lock, like at the hip. The extra strip of webbing across the outside of the Cordura bag is the best place to latch tail lights, an additional lock, and a carabiner filled with keys. —Michael Calore
-
Photograph: Timbuk2
Best for Concerts
Timbuk2 Slacker Chest Pack
This little Cordura bag from Timbuk2 is shaped to be comfortably worn three ways: around the hips, slung on your back, or across the chest. It stays put in all three modes with help from the padded mesh panel on the back.
The Slacker is one of the smallest bags in this roundup, so just know that it doesn’t hold a whole lot. I routinely use mine for my phone, earbuds, sunglasses case, and keys (there’s a key clip inside). Anything more than that, and I’d be Tetris-ing stuff in and out through the relatively tight zipper opening. But the small size makes it a great choice for taking to concerts or on short walks. The ability to swing it around to my chest where I can keep an eye on it also affords me added peace of mind at a crowded bar or on public transit. —Michael Calore
