As an adult man of the modern world, it’s not just the weight of responsibility that you’re expected to carry around with you. It’s also a smartphone, wallet and keys. Plus, a laptop, sunglasses and noise-cancelling headphones. A notebook and pen. Bike lights and tyre levers. A cult novel that you heard about on TikTok – in paperback, ideally. A multitool with a range of differently sized allen keys and, inexplicably, an implement for prising stones out of a horse’s hoof. (You never know…) Not forgetting, a portable charger, for much of the above.

The question, then, is: how can you ensure that the trappings of 21st-century life don’t in turn hem you in? With a bag, of course. Now the subsidiary quandary: which bag?

Here at MR PORTER, you’ll note a breadth of carriers to carry you forth. From robust luggage for stylish getaways to smart folios for business meetings. But when it comes to easy-going, everyday use, two genres of containers really stand out: totes and backpacks. So which is our bag? Two of our esteemed members of staff make their (brief) case, below.

I’ve just returned from Paris, where the city was awash with messenger bags. LEMAIRE’s Croissant bags, appropriately, were the ones I spotted the most. And there’s no doubt that a cross-body messenger is the handy hands-free choice for those dashing across town on a Lime bike. Nobody wants to risk putting anything valuable in the basket of a shared bike as they tend to be used as mobile trash cans.

But if you mean business (with laptop, documents and more in tow) or are even heading to a day on the beach (towel, trunks, sun lotion and shades), then a tote bag is the more practical and stuff-friendly option.

I’ve never mastered the tight edit when it comes to packing for a short commute to the office or a vacation abroad. Each time I leave the house, I imagine I may never make it home again. I do draw the line at carrying crockery, cocktail shakers and canines, but otherwise the bag I leave the house with each day is my equivalent of a pharaoh’s pyramid: I’m unsure what I’m going to need, so I’m taking it all with me.

The versatile tote is totally your friend if you share my take-all-prisoners approach. Whether it’s full-grained leather, cotton twill or nifty nylon, the tote’s appeal is not only in how much you can carry in it, but how easy it is to reach for your possessions at any given moment. It’s access-all-areas without the need to fumble on a buckle, pull at a zip or tug on a tie. The tote bag gives you instant gratification. All your stuff visible and accessible in an instant. What’s not to like?

“A man should look as if he had bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care, and then forgotten all about them.” When the legendary Royal Warrant-holding designer Sir Hardy Amies said this, I’m willing to bet he wasn’t thinking about backpacks. However, seen through the prism of 2025, I think his principals apply to the most practical of bags.

The modern backpack can be smart in both senses of the word. First, it’s a canny choice that’s easy to sling on. Second, designers from CELINE HOMME to TOM FORD have their own luxury takes on it, rubbing shoulders with specialists such as Bleu de Chauffe (who offer up a Consciously Crafted option) and Porter-Yoshida & Co. Meaning the bag on your back has been elevated.

Now, down to brass tacks. You’re a hybrid hot-desker. You need a sturdy bag that can safely haul a laptop, but that won’t get in the way. Here, the backpack has your back – and likely a compartment for your computer.

Best of all, you want to forget you’re wearing it. Well, fasten your sternum straps – this is where a backpack comes into its own. No flimsy carrier swinging about all loosey-goosey. This bag is not only staying put, it’s distributing the weight to take a load off you.

There may be room inside for all the accompaniments of your daily life, but one thing you don’t need to carry is age-old associations with the homework and PE-kit hoister that you used to bear on a single shoulder back at school. Just like double science, you’re way past that now. And a new generation of backpacks is here to cart your stuff around in the most stylish way possible. That’s why this is the bag that we can all fully get behind.