YETI is rapidly becoming far more than an overbuilt cooler brand: The company has expanded into incredibly popular insulated drinkware, which is a straightforward step, as well as created waterproof expedition-ready bags and backpacks for outdoor enthusiasts. But there’s quite a bit more going on at YETI these days. The company offers overbuilt dog bowls, cushy dog beds, blankets, ultra-tough camp chairs, and now the YETI Crossroads Collection.
For those who still think of YETI as a cooler company, YETI has fully transformed into a premium product lifestyle brand. That doesn’t mean YETI has traded in its outdoor cred. No, the company still infuses a rugged outdoor-oriented design into every product it creates — even when the products don’t necessarily have to do anything with the rugged outdoors.
YETI Crossroads Duffles, Backpacks and Luggage Now in Stock
Enter YETI’s New Crossroads Collection of backpacks, duffels, and luggage, which are now in stock (which isn’t easy given how the pandemic has hammered supply chains around the world).
What we get with the Crossroads Collection is well-built travel gear that’s now also aimed at the more urban elements of an outdoor-lover’s life. The marketing pitch is that the Crossroads bags are tough and can take abuse . . . but it’s hard to imagine too many people strapping these bags to the top of their roof racks and heading out into the wild. Then again, adventure travel has spawned a thriving market for tough bags and packs.
Don’t Forget the Panga
The new Crossroads Collection is not the end of this story though: YETI is including its existing lineup of truly rugged waterproof ‘Panga’ bags alongside the Crossroads Collection, ensuring that consumers see both the urban-ready, day-to-day and airport gear along with the expedition-ready Panga bags you can throw on a raft in Alaska and drag up a muddy riverbank.
Learn more: Read our YETI Panga Backpack 28 Review
Still, even the Panga line is getting a new addition later this spring: A hard-sided, waterproof and wheeled carry-on case called the Panga 22 Carry On.
The new Panga 22 Carry On will have 30 liters of interior space and incorporate removable organizers. It’s not exactly back to YETI’s insulated cooler roots, but the promise remains: It’ll be rugged and waterproof.
(If you want to see a sneak-peek image of the new Panga 22 Carry On, YETI has a couple photos on its Crossroads Collection page.)
Meanwhile, what parts of the Crossroads Collection are available now?
Let’s Take a Closer Look
The Crossroads Collection bags and luggage are made with durable, lightweight “Tuffskin Nylon.” YETI has released three new backpacks, two duffels, and two soft-sided luggage-style bags as well as some organizing packing cubes:
- YETI Crossroads 22L, 27L and 35L Backpacks
- YETI Crossroads 40L and 60L Duffels
- YETI Crossroads 22″ and 29″ Luggage
- YETI Crossroads Packing Cubes
Shop the entire Crossroad Collection at YETI now and get FREE Shipping!
In addition to great quality, the YETI bags are loaded with access points, grab handles, stash pockets, and optional dividers to help organize packing. They’re not waterproof, but they are water-resistant and abrasion resistant.
They’re also very smartly designed. Take, for instance, the Crossroads 22L Backpack. It features a suspended laptop sleeve that keeps the edge of your laptop off of the bottom portion of the pack. Why? When you’re tired and not thinking through every consequence and you set your pack down hard on the ground or concrete floor, the edge of your laptop won’t smack the ground. Nice.
Another feature I appreciate is the built-in interior water bottle pocket. Lots of backpacks have exterior mesh water bottle pockets, but they expand the footprint of your backpack and tend to let water bottles fall out. The YETI Crossroad Backpacks have built-in side pockets sized to fit its insulated YETI Rambler bottles.
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