ASHLEY, STATI UNITI D'AMERICA

In 1995 I was getting ready to spend a summer in Europe. Saw the most beautiful gray-on-gray Eastpak Pak’r—cordura on top with a smooth gray leather base at the mall. It was the first time I instantly loved a bag. It was pricey but I had graduation money and my dad said it would be a good investment.

And was he right! That amazing pack transported my 18 year old self to a summer of a lifetime —that Pak’r hiked around the Pyrenees, discovered gelato, got sunburned at a beach in Spain and toured one ancient church and monument after another. It survived the middle aged jerk next to me on the flight home (he broke my headphones!) and carried me all the way to college. I used that bag for several semesters and it never showed a rip or tear.

Sadly, my well intentioned mother cleaned my room a few years later and gave away my beloved Pak’R. It might sound silly but every so often I scour eBay and thrift stores hoping to one day be reunited with a bag that turned out to be much more than a backpack.

My first Eastpak was many things at once: a gift, a tool, a fashion statement and perhaps most importantly, my trusted companion as I opened the doors to the adventure of adulthood. I hope you never stop making this bag.