The Finest Fanny Packs of 2025

Different Bum Baggage To Convey Alongside

There are a whole lot of fanny packs available on the market. We predict these award winners above are only a bit higher than the remainder, however we’ve additionally used many others to hold our necessities. Take a look at the fanny packs under earlier than making your alternative.

Fanny Pack Comparability Chart

How We Examined Fanny Packs

Our Knowledgeable Testers

The workers of GearJunkie has been across the block — and we aren’t afraid to confess we’ve been on the fanny pack prepare for some time now. From carrying necessities on day hikes to mountain bike laps the place a backpack could be cumbersome, fanny packs make our outside adventures extra pleasing. We’ve come to know a great pack after we see one.

Miya Tsudome, our authentic lead tester, has over 10 years of expertise with gear within the open air. She examined many of those fanny packs, rigorously assessing metrics akin to carry fashion, capability, compartments, and sizing to make sure each pack is judged by the identical requirements.

Joybeth Sullivan, an avid outside fanatic who loves exploring lovely sights alongside her German Shepherd companion, joined this information as a tester in 2024. GearJunkie Editor Chris Kassar additionally contributed her experience, bringing years of expertise within the Tetons, the Rockies, and past to assist consider and refine the picks you’ll see right here.

Our Testing Course of and Testing Grounds

Our testers have been researching the very best fanny packs available on the market since 2021, combing by means of dozens of fashions earlier than choosing these in our present evaluation to place by means of the wringer. As a result of folks use fanny packs for the whole lot from day by day errands to full-day adventures, we embrace quite a lot of types — from informal to stylish, technical to burly.

We examined every product over the course of months in a variety of environments, from Colorado’s high-alpine trails to the rugged flanks of the Tetons, and out to the windswept Washington coast. We hiked, biked, ran, and even SUPed with these packs to see how they carried in real-world circumstances. To maintain issues standardized, we wore every pack for not less than 5 miles at a time with a mean of three kilos inside (although some have been too small to suit that), replicating the type of load most individuals carry. We apply this similar routine for all new packs so you may belief every decide’s efficiency and software.

Past consolation on the transfer, our testers carefully examined every mannequin’s supplies, seams, buckles, waist belts, and zippers. We load each pack with the same assortment of equipment to evaluate group and ease of use — the small particulars that make or break a fanny pack in on a regular basis life. Should you’re on the lookout for different mountain climbing gear, take a look at our guides to the greatest trekking poles and the greatest ultralight backpacks.

Purchaser’s Information: Find out how to Decide the Excellent Fanny Pack

Now that you simply’ve seen how superior fanny packs are, you need one however don’t know which to decide on. Listed here are just a few issues that will help you decide the right pack.

Main Use

In the beginning, how do you intend to make use of your pack? Do you want one thing glossy for journey or a carryall for mountain climbing? Or is water capability of utmost significance? These are necessary issues.

What you’ll use your fanny pack for essentially the most will decide what kind of fanny pack to purchase. Take care to have a look at every pack’s specs carefully, as a few of them will specialise in a sure exercise, whereas others are extra hybrid.

Fanny Pack Consumer Profiles

The Backpackers & Hikers

The day hiker will wish to select between a small pack to hold their telephone, pockets, keys, and a snack or look into buying a much bigger pack with pockets for water bottles and house for a layer. Backpackers will usually use a fanny pack as a small accent pouch for gadgets which are good to have simply accessible, akin to sunscreen, GPS gadgets, bug spray, and so on. 

Some packs are made particularly for backpacking and may even be built-in right into a backpack’s waist belt. The Patagonia Ultralight Black Gap Mini Hip Pack and the REI Stuff Journey Waist Pack are excellent for mountain climbing the place you simply wish to carry the naked necessities, and the Black Diamond Pursuit 6 and the Osprey Talon & Tempest Waistpacks are our high decisions for once you desire a pack that may carry much more. 

The Informal Customers

Fanny packs at the moment are ubiquitous for women and men alike, and are undeniably helpful for carrying across the day’s necessities with out resorting to a bag or overstuffed pockets. The informal consumer will wish to search for a pack that’s between 1 and a couple of.5 L in capability, with 3 L bordering on too large to hold round all day comfortably. Selecting a fanny pack that will also be worn throughout the physique will improve the performance of this on a regular basis carry. Different options to search for are a key leash, entrance pockets for group, and a separate again pocket to maintain valuables near your physique. 

Model is probably going an necessary consideration for these looking for a day by day driver as effectively. For the extra informal, color-appreciating consumer, the Fjallraven Kanken Hip Pack is an efficient alternative. The Kavu Spectator Canvas is available in quite a lot of colours and patterns, and is a good choice for informal outings.

The Mountain Bikers

A strong waist pack is a good addition to the mountain biker’s package. Backpacks are inclined to get very sweaty and sometimes are overkill for what most bike lovers may have on a trip. A fanny pack with a stretchy waistband, breathable again panel, pockets for small water bottles, and sufficient capability to suit snacks, sunscreen, and a few small bike instruments would be the excellent companion in your subsequent path trip. 

The EVOC Hip Pack Professional 3L is a good specialised pack that even features a 3L bladder to make sipping water a neater affair. We additionally love the Black Diamond Pursuit 6 with its stretchy, comfy waistband for lengthy rides.  

The Runners

Let’s be actual, operating with any kind of bag in your physique isn’t essentially the most splendid. Should you’re going for a brief run or one the place it is possible for you to to entry ingesting water, give the Flipbelt Zipper Version a shot. However once you begin rising the mileage, carrying some water and a few vitamin turns into necessary.

Runners will wish to search for a fanny pack that has both built-in water bottles or flasks, or a devoted place to securely put your personal bottle. You’ll need the bottle or bottles to be small in order to not really feel cumbersome or slosh round an excessive amount of as you trot, and also you’ll desire a comfy, safe waistband that retains the whole lot in place for wherever the path takes you. 

Nathan is an athletic model that makes fanny packs particularly for the devoted runner. The Nathan Peak Hydration Waist Pack is a good minimalist decide that features a water bottle, hugs the physique securely, and has sufficient house for just a few necessities. We additionally ran with the Osprey Tempest and Talon 6 and the Black Diamond Pursuit 6 and located these comfy sufficient for longer runs.

Carry Model

Whereas the basic approach to put on a fanny pack is in your hips with the bag dealing with the entrance, there are literally just a few alternative ways to put on one, which is able to change based mostly on the load of the pack, private choice, or exercise. Some, just like the Kavu Spectator, could be worn in your waist or crossbody fashion.

Bigger baggage just like the Cotopaxi Allpa X 3L Hip Pack, our high decide for journey works effectively as a bum bag or slung throughout your physique. Some packs are heavy and are higher worn on the again of the hips reasonably than the entrance for much less awkward carrying.

Capability

Not all fanny packs are created equal. It’s necessary to notice the capability of a pack earlier than buying and in addition have a look at the variety of pockets the pack has to ensure it’s going to suit your wants. We examined fanny packs starting from ultra-lightweight to the 9L Mountainsmith Tour.

Some packs solely have one main compartment, whereas others, just like the Cotopaxi Coso 2L Hip Pack, have quite a lot of pockets, pouches, and even water bottle holders. Think about what stage of group you’re on the lookout for in a fanny pack.

Compact

A compact fanny pack ranges in measurement from round a 1L capability to 2.5 L. Fanny packs historically fall round these sizes, whereas greater packs are typically known as “waist packs.” Being compact permits for a extra comfy carry all through the day, as the load they will maintain is proscribed. Many fanny packs of this measurement will also be worn throughout the physique, offering a unique carry fashion.

This measurement pack is often restricted within the variety of pockets it has, and is normally simply sufficiently big for just a few small equipment. The Fjällräven Excessive Coast Fanny Pack, REI Co-op Path 2, and Patagonia Ultralight Black Gap Mini Hip Pack are nice compact packs that you simply’ll end up grabbing in your on a regular basis carry. However if you wish to carry round a full-size water bottle, eBook, or a light-weight layer, you’ll must delve into sizes past 2.5 L. 

Mid-Sized

Mid-sized fanny packs can vary wherever from 3 to 9 L in measurement. These packs are usually extra technical, and could be helpful for particular actions that require packing extra equipment like looking, fly fishing, mountain biking, or mountain climbing. Mid-sized fanny packs will typically have thicker, padded waistbelts to allow you to hold weight extra comfortably, and have a tendency to have quite a lot of pockets, water bottle holders, and compression programs. 

The Cotopaxi Bataan and Allpa X 3L are the bigger informal packs we examined. The Black Diamond Pursuit 6 and Osprey Talon sit within the center vary at 6 L, and the Mountainsmith Tour Lumbar Pack is the biggest in our roundup with its 9L capability.

Supplies

Whereas nylon is a well-liked fanny pack materials, it actually isn’t the rule. Many modern packs make the most of high-tech materials to realize water resistance and sturdiness or just add some flash.

On the technical facet of the spectrum, the 00% recycled 840D TPU-coated nylon of the Cotopaxi Allpa X 3L makes it waterproof. We have been additionally impressed with the Jansport Fifth Avenue Fanny, which is a funds decide nonetheless made with 600-denier ripstop cloth — a extremely sturdy materials.

Fanny packs additionally usually combine different textiles into their design so as to add particular performance, akin to a stretch mesh utilized in a water bottle pocket or a neoprene divider that provides construction to the pack.

Compartments

From zippers to drop pockets to water bottle holders, there are a variety of various methods to tote round your package in a fanny pack. In any zippered pocket, search for high-quality YKK model zippers that may last more than their generic counterparts. Some will even be waterproof.

A drop pocket gained’t have any kind of closure to maintain issues safe, however usually these could be helpful for shortly tossing a telephone into when you’re out and about. We additionally drastically appreciated each time a fanny pack included an inner compartment with a key loop to clip our keys to.

Straps

As a result of most fanny packs can solely carry a lot (the typical throughout the packs we examined was 3.5 L), massive padded waist straps aren’t usually wanted. Many will use a easy webbing hip belt, introduced along with a single side-press buckle.

Some fanny packs, just like the bigger Mountainsmith Tour, supply barely extra padding of their straps and even embrace pockets that add to the general capability. We additionally particularly appreciated the mountain bike-specific EVOC Hip Pack Professional 3L’s adjustable elastic and Velcro waist wrap.

Sizing

It’s at all times a good suggestion to take your measurements and verify the pack specs. Most baggage match quite a lot of folks, however some packs don’t cinch down sufficiently small for petite packers, whereas others run surprisingly small. Measuring will provide help to decide the suitable pack in your physique to maximise success and luxury.

Now it’s time to buckle up and prepare for a lifetime of fanny-pack adventures. We’ll even allow you to name it a lumbar bag or hip pack if it makes you are feeling higher. Simply get on the market and benefit from the awesomeness that’s hands-free packing, regardless of the exercise.

Value & Worth

Fanny packs are available in a variety of costs, from budget-friendly choices round $15 to premium designs of $239. Whereas the cheaper fashions usually present the necessities and performance wanted for a fanny pack, spending extra normally means higher supplies, elevated sturdiness, and extra options for outside lovers. Beneath is a breakdown of what you may anticipate at totally different worth factors

Price range

Price range choices are nice for informal adventurers or those that simply want a easy pack for mild use. Whereas these packs usually lack superior options, they nonetheless supply strong worth for his or her worth.

The Jansport Fifth Avenue Fanny Pack ($20) is a no-frills, enjoyable choice with a basic design. Whereas it lacks water resistance and a number of compartments, it’s a light-weight, inexpensive alternative for on a regular basis use. The REI Stuff Journey Waist Pack ($25) is light-weight and intensely packable. That is excellent for journey and quick hikes. Its waterproof materials makes it a strong step up from funds packs.

Price range choices usually sacrifice water resistance, long-term sturdiness, and superior options, however they’re nonetheless dependable for a lot of actions.

Mid-Tier

Spending extra on this vary will get you higher materials high quality, extra compartments, and improved consolation for longer adventures.

The REI Co-op Path 2 ($30), our greatest general decide does all of it; from biking to canine walks and the whole lot in between. The Fjällräven Excessive Coast Hip Pack ($40) is a minimalist but sturdy pack made with eco-friendly supplies and waterproof cloth (with essentially the most vibrant coloration choices, by the way in which!), splendid for these looking for a glossy and practical design for day hikes or city exploration. Initially designed for runners, the FlipBelt Zipper Working Belt ($42) is light-weight and weather-resistant, an excellent alternative for minimalist adventurers who want fast entry to necessities with out the additional bulk. The Baggu Fanny Pack ($52) has a big carrying capability, a number of compartments and a sturdy design.

On this class, you’re gaining additional consolation, water resistance, and higher sturdiness, however would possibly nonetheless miss out on a few of the superior options present in premium fashions.

Premium

Premium fanny packs are designed for critical adventurers who want top-quality supplies, superior consolation, and specialised options like waterproofing or additional compartments for lengthy hikes or rugged circumstances.

With its signature daring design made with eco-friendly, recycled supplies, the Cotopaxi Coso 2L Hip Pack ($60) is a wonderful premium alternative. It options a number of compartments, a cushty match, and excessive sturdiness for lengthy adventures. Recognized for its sturdiness and a number of compartments, the Mountainsmith Tour ($90) is a favourite amongst critical hikers and outside adventurers, providing superior group and luxury. The Osprey Tempest 6 and Talon 6 ($95) come absolutely geared up to hold all you want for a full-day of mountain climbing and adventuring, making the steeper price ticket value it.

At this worth vary, you’re investing in sturdiness, top-notch supplies, and added consolation options that make these packs appropriate for prolonged outside use.

Often Requested Questions