Fanny packs are great – they give you a pouch where you can stash small gear strapped right on your hip. It’s very convenient. And while they were relegated to jokes about 80s fashion for a really long time, people have rediscovered their utility in recent years. So much so that many outdoor brands now make a product in the category. One of the more interesting things we’ve seen is just how people have evolved the waist-worn pack to carry more gear and that evolution takes center stage with the Swift x Kitsbow Anchor Hip Pack.
A collaboration between Swift Industries and Kitsbow Cycling Apparel, the bag straps around the hip and gives you 2.5-liters’ worth of space to take stuff on the go, giving you plenty of room to carry a good load of stuff. Seriously, it’s big enough to carry tablets, cameras, and other stuff you normally wouldn’t try to carry in a fanny pack, making it quite the useful addition to your stash.
The Swift x Kitsbow Anchor Hip Pack doesn’t just have plenty of room inside to accommodate a big load of gear, it also incorporates a cargo flap on the outside that you can use to wrap around any gear too big to fit in the main compartment. That’s right, you can use a hip pack to carry a blanket, a sleeping pad, or any gear you would normally need a backpack to carry. The flap is designed to carry gear on the front of the hip pack, too, so any extra gear you tow won’t be touching your body, ensuring it doesn’t add any discomfort.
Do note, it will carry your stuff in a horizontal orientation, so if you carry something too long (like a tripod), it could get snagged into stuff while you walk, hike, or ride your bike. When it’s not needed, the cargo flap simply tucks away right into the bag, so it doesn’t add any unnecessary bulk to the shape of your hip pack.
The Swift x Kitsbow Anchor Hip Pack also comes with attachment points on the side that allow you to add the outfit’s Sidekick Stem Pouch onto the bag. That pouch is spacious enough to accommodate large water bottles (like those Thermos bottles), food jars, and other tall items that won’t quite fit inside. Basically, it’s a hip pack that carries way more stuff than such a bag is supposed to be able to handle. It’s downright impressive.
Dimensions are 11 x 3.5 x 6.5 inches (width x depth x height), so it’s still compact enough to carry comfortably around your waist. At the size, though, we feel like this will be more comfortable to have around the back due to all the extra pounds in the midsection you’ve nurtured since the gyms closed earlier in the year, although it depends on how you roll. Other features include VX21 fabric and Dyneema ripstop construction, Dyneema grid and Pendleton Umatilla wool lining, an adjustable waist belt, and gator hook cam straps for on-the-fly adjustments.
The Swift x Kitsbow Anchor Hip Pack is available now, priced at $138.