48 / 116
by
Julie Richie
bags
46
|
JANUARY 2017
|
GROW
I
n today’s highly mobile society, the right bag
to carry and protect our many (expensive)
technical devices—laptops, smartphones,
tablets and e-readers—is essential. According
to the U.S. Travel Association, U.S. residents
logged 1.7 billion trips for leisure and 459
million trips for business in 2015.
To better accommodate the needs of travelers
and their important gear, manufacturers have
upped their game in making products that are
more lightweight, comfortable to carry, durable
and easier to maneuver than ever before. In
no place is this trend more evident than in the
backpack market, where styles continue to
evolve from the very first modern backpack,
developed by Gerry Outdoors in 1967.
Although the first backpacks were originally
intended for hikers, college students began
using them to lug their books around campus,
prompting companies to begin creating
backpacks designed specifically for students. By
the 1980s, backpacks had become part of every
back-to-school checklist. Now, with students
relying less on textbooks and more on laptops
and tablets, backpacks are being redesigned
again with mobile device storage in mind.
Other types of bags are also evolving to
meet customers’ changing needs, with more
eco-friendly fabrics, compactable designs
and dynamic, full-color decoration to make
logos and images stand out. Read on to see
some great bag options for gifts, incentives and
promotions, and for tips on choosing bags for
specific purposes as well as how to distinguish
between good, better and best backpacks.
The right
bag makes
all the
difference
in every
promotion.
Ready To Roll