North St LTD Upcycled Daypack review -probably the best use of old SRAM and Life Time event gear ever

Made from donated event tents and sail cloth makes this a super practical and a totally unique sustainable* choice

Image shows the St North St LTD Upcycled Davis Daypack
(Image credit: Future)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Portland made North St LTD Upcycled Davis Daypack will really appeal to folk prioritising brand and product eco credentials. Made from upcycled event tents from cycling events, means no two bags are the same, and with limited availability - the backpack will be a talking point, and hot property. The rugged fabric offers impressive water resistance, and practical external pockets for water bottles and locks make it ideal for bike rides. However, its subtle nod to cycling also makes it a practical and individually designed day bag on and off the bike. Compartments on the backpack wouldn't go amiss, and a little more padding with back ventilation would make it a more comfortable wear, as well as making the $145 swing tag more palatable. That said, the individual and quirky designs and construction appeals to me massively, so I'd suffer its flaws to own one.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Made from upcycled event tents

  • +

    No two bags are the same

  • +

    Rugged fabric

  • +

    Great water resistance

  • +

    Handy external pockets

  • +

    Lightweight

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    No internal compartments as standard

  • -

    No venting or padding

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

I've been in a big quandary lately. The old North Face backpack that I won at a race many moons ago has been suffering a long lingering death. I've been gifted a beautiful sustainable* and locally made canvas replacement by my loved ones, but I decided it was too 'posh' to be used as a commuter backpack, too good for slinging on my sweaty back when riding more than a couple of dry miles. 

Which made me super keen to put the North St LTD Upcycled Davis Daypack through its paces as a rugged altnative to the original old faithful backpack.  

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Hannah Bussey

Hannah is Cycling Weekly’s longest-serving tech writer, having started with the magazine back in 2011. She has covered all things technical for both print and digital over multiple seasons representing CW at spring Classics, and Grand Tours and all races in between.

Hannah was a successful road and track racer herself, competing in UCI races all over Europe as well as in China, Pakistan and New Zealand.

For fun, she's ridden LEJOG unaided, a lap of Majorca in a day, won a 24-hour mountain bike race and tackled famous mountain passes in the French Alps, Pyrenees, Dolomites and Himalayas. 

She lives just outside the Peak District National Park near Manchester UK with her partner, daughter and a small but beautifully formed bike collection.