It's hard to say goodbye, especially when you've had almost a decade long working relationship. The Clinton holds a lot of legacy and history in North St. As the dedicated backpack counterpart to the Woodward Convertible, it was named after one of the most popular biking streets in SE Portland - the street that rode right past our first shop, SE Clinton.
We've made, sold, and shipped hundreds of Clinton backpacks since its introduction in late 2013.
Every stitch has been an incredible learning opportunity. Not only has the Clinton itself evolved over the years, developing this into the workhorse it is today has taught us invaluable lessons about construction in general. You can even see echoes of the Clinton's design in many of our newer packs, from the Belmont's distinctly shaped front flap, to the minimalist external zip pocket adorning the Davis and Flanders - both tried and tested on the Clinton.
So why are we saying goodbye? The best reason possible. We're making room for more, better packs!
As a small team focused on sustainability, we've learned the value of keeping things simple. It's important to us to keep learning, experimenting, and innovating with new gear, to bring you the best bags we can. That means clearing out our pattern racks and training books every once in a while.
It only felt right to give our dear friend a proper send off, so farewell, Clinton!
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The Clinton Backpack was discontinued 3/1/2022
Looking for an alternative? Take a look at our full line of backpacks, for the minimalist Davis Daypack, to the mid-size, adaptable Belmont Backpack, to the ultra-flexible and big Flanders Backpack.
The Best Portland-Made Running Pack
Inspired by Dirtbag Runners' lead, Crista Tappan's years on the trails, this running focused pack features an adjustable cross body strap, padded belt attachment, and a spot to clip a pouch for dedicated trail runner's secret best friend - a trash bag.
Why a trash bag? For trash! Set foot on a trail with any amount of traffic and you're bound to see it sooner or later - a wrapper caught in a bush, cigarette butts, the bits and pieces scattered by the wind. For many who travel these paths by foot, cleaning up litter along the way isn't just a good deed - it's an essential part of connection and stewardship of the landscape they love.
For those who may be intimidated to join the fight, it’s important to remember that there’s no way to be a perfect environmentalist in our society…but there is always a way to take action.
Sharona Shnayder, Tuesdays For Trash Co-Founder
Available 11/8 from Dirtbag Runners
11/16 from North St. Bags
The Belmont would like to thank everyone who made this possible, from the bottom of its heart.
But, seriously, we love TechRadar, and it's so cool to get a shout out from them on their Best Backpacks of 2021 list. If you need a stylish bag that can go from the streets to the classroom to the office to the trails, the Belmont is ready to take on the job.
Check out their review here and see why the Belmont made their list by getting your own here.
We teamed up with Oregon neighbor Burley to create a collection of upcycled bags to help get you out there by bike!
A few months ago, Burley reached out to us with a challenge: help give new life to unsold trailer covers. We drafted up some collaboration exclusive designs for them and got to work. Get a behind the scenes look at our process below, then shop the collection on Burley's site.
Need something bigger? Check out North St.'s own sustainable collection of recycled EcoPak bike bags.
As unique as they are versatile, these bags are made from 80% upcycled materials. Using fabric and trim salvaged from unsold trailer replacement components, we’ve diverted over 350 trailer covers from the landfill, and were able to salvage even more material for use in our regular production line.
Setting up for summer adventures and not sure what to get? We break down our recommendations for the best North St. trip companions.
Sometimes an afternoon of R&R is all you need. Keep yourself feeling fancy free with our top day trip companions:
Pioneer 8. The best little buddy you could ask for. Keep that airflow on your back and weight off your shoulders with this timeless, never before seen, handsfree technology - the hip pack.
Need to pack heavier? The Davis daypack has your back. A surprisingly roomy rolltop main compartment safely holds your extras, while adding less than a pound in highly water resistant, super durable materials to your carry.
How to pack for an overnight, without overpacking:
Pioneer 9. Bigger sibling to the Pioneer 8, this hip pack went off to college and got an BFA in adaptability. The Pioneer 9 is at home around your waist, over your shoulder, or on the handlebars of your bike.
Belmont backpack. This compact knapsack stands out as North St. Bags' only non-rolltop backpack. Standing steady at just over 22L, the Belmont is equally at home striding the streets of a new downtown or roughing it in the woods.
Traveling for the long term? Here are our favorite packs to pack:
Pioneer 12. As a shoulder sling or hip pack, the Pioneer 12 can replace a small backpack. It boasts 6L of room, with plenty of built in pockets for multi-day organization. Use it as a lightweight daypack for your longer travels and your back will thank you!
Flanders backpack. The largest backpack of our current line up. This big bad bag can hold 32L of gear in its ergonomically designed flat main compartment. Compression straps give it the ultimate flexibility so you can convert it from your main travel pack to a day pack with a quick pull.
Dave Malwitz over at Gravelstoke took our Handlebar Pouch for some test rides and discovered exactly why it has such a unique shape.
"The Pouch features a longer shape than most small bar bags measuring 10" wide x 2" deep x 4.5" tall. At first glance, it wasn't immediately apparent why North St. designed it this way, but after strapping it on the first time the benefits were clear. While still maintaining a relatively low profile, the wide form of the Handlebar Pouch allows for plenty of room in between the velcro straps to mount other items to the cockpit. Normally when I run other small handlebar bags it can’t fit everything else I like to mount near the stem, such as a K-EDGE mount for my Wahoo Roam and a Spurcycle Bell."
Check out the rest of Dave's gravel focused review here, and pick up your own Handlebar Pouch for your next gravel ride!
At North St our choices matter, especially when it comes to selecting the best bag materials possible. We insist on quality, but we also consider origin and sustainability. As a brand committed to building gear that's guaranteed for life, we opt for the most durable, longest lasting, best textiles on the market.
EcoPak
North St. Bags operates with the goal of continual improvement. We prioritize the slow and steady, the scenic routes, and doing whatever we can to make our gear the ethical, sustainable, and economic choice.
Enter EcoPak. It's the first and only 100% recycled sailcloth of its kind. Made by Connecticut-based heritage manufacturers Challenge Sailcloth, EcoPak boasts the storm-weathering performance of virgin nylon cloth with a fraction of the CO2 emissions, energy efficient manufacturing, and are VOC free.
All of that in an eco friendly bag, while still being incredibly abrasion resistant, lightweight, and ripstop.
Shop our selection of 100% recycled EcoPak bags, or our classic 1000d Cordura Nylon lined with EcoPak.
Here's the nitty-gritty on EcoPak:
CORDURA® Nylon
CORDURA® is the best woven nylon available on the market. But its success over the years is similar to that of Kleenex® or Xerox®. When you build a product that is the clear industry leader, often your brand name becomes synonymous with the entire category of product, lumped together with the imitators and infringers. With so many copy-cats (legal or otherwise) on the market, many companies will use imitation nylon and simply call it CORDURA® without thinking twice. That's not us.
Today, to use CORDURA® brand nylon in your products is truly a differentiator. We only source 1000 denier* CORDURA® for the outer shells of our bags. It's durable, rip and wear resistant, and it's even coated with a durable water repellant (DWR) finish making it fairly water resistant. This fabric is built to last and we are some its biggest fans.
*What's a denier you might ask? For reference, 'denier' is a unit of measure for the linear mass density of fibers, is the mass in grams per 9000 meters of the fiber. That's how fabric is measured and rated, with a higher number indicating a heavier weave, thereby (in theory) being more durable and abrasion resistant.
X-Pac™
A nylon sailcloth from Dimension Polyant made in Connecticut. Lightweight, strong, with a waterproof laminate backing, X-Pac™ provides durable weather protection without a significant weight penalty. It's also incredibly abrasion resistant and many feature an X-PLY® monofilm backing.
X-PLY®'s signature diamond or 'X' pattern is often visible through the outer face fabric, which retains strength across the bias (45 degree angle)--a traditionally weak point in most ripstop fabrics. For technical, all-weather applications, X-Pac™ is the ultimate balance of weight, durability, waterproofing, and affordability.
VX-21 features a 210 denier CORDURA® nylon face fabric, making it more durable and abrasion resistant than most other fabrics. A standard black polyester X-PLY® 22° monofilm is backed with a 50 denier polyester taffeta. Also called 'Rugged X-Pac™' it's best suited for high-stress/abrasion areas on a bag intended for rugged usage in a lighter weight package. 285 g/m². Tear strength 139 N.
Sometimes we use other variants like X-33, X-21, and X-51 depending on the application and intended use case scenario. The varying numbers denote the weight of the face fabric bonded to the waterproof laminate, with a higher number indicating a heavier and more durable outer sheath.
X-33 uses a 330 denier CORDURA® nylon face fabric making it durable and abrasion resistant. A layer of X-PLY® monofilm is bonded to the backside making it tear resistant, waterproof, and has high-tensile strength. Also our current stock features the official US Army Multicam camouflage pattern. 214 g/m². Tear strength 102 N.
X-51 is truly tough stuff. It features a 510 denier CORDURA® face fabric bonded to black polyester X-PLY® 22° monofilm. It is highly abrasion and tear resistant, waterproof, with high tensile strength. Very very gnarly material. We love it. It's 312 g/m². Tear strength 174 N.
Fabric Care
Whether it's made from CORDURA® or EcoPak™ we recommend keeping your North St. Bag clean with occasional spot treatment on stains or accumulated dirt with a damp cloth. For set in stains use a brush with lukewarm water and mild detergent or hand soap. Please do not machine wash or dry. Seriously. Air dry for an hour or two.
To keep your bag looking fresh and keep water from accumulating on the outer shell face fabric, reapply a DWR finish. We like Nikwax TX Direct.
Curtis Williams wasn’t satisfied with the commuter backpacks and panniers on the market in 2008, so he started hand sewing his own pack in the basement of the house he rented with a few other people in Berkeley, Calif. Today he runs a full-blown pack-making business in Portland, Oregon, with eight employees who still hand sew packs, panniers, hip packs, duffels, dopp kits and more for his company, North St. Bags.
From the get-go, his products have been geared toward cyclists, including his latest, the North St. Micro Pannier intended for bikepacking, although the duffels and packs in the Weekender series has appealed to professional types outside the cycling arena. For the new North St. bikepacking collection, Williams wanted to capitalize on his heritage of making pannier-style packs (vs. a front triangle frame pack) to keep the products versatile for the rider.
“In an ideal world, I want each pack to serve more than one purpose for the user.”
Take a dive into the evolution of North St., from the principles we were founded on to some of our latest releases in the world of bikepacking in this profile by Mountainflyer’s Trina Ortega.
Trina tested our revamped Pioneer 9 hip pack for mountain biking.
Read the full article here
Shop the Pioneer 9 here
