Is There Such Thing as a Cool Gym Bag?

And your other questions, answered.

Welcome to new HEAVIES series where I’ll attempt to answer your questions about health, wellness, and all of their adjacencies. Feel free to leave any questions you want answered in the comments, or shoot me an email or DM.

1.

bro i have a q fot a future HEAVIES—
does a swaggy gym bag exist????
i am often biking so i use an old adidas rolltop backpack i got at gq but i feel like theres gotta be a better option — Marian B.

Marian! I love this question for a litany of reasons, mostly because I love bags. Tote bags. Technical messengers like the 3A-1 from Acronym. Strange experimental ones that look like biophilic takeout bags but are actually cut from ultra-lightweight Dyneema. I could go on!

But gym bags, especially duffles, that announce to everyone that you’re going to go work out have always struck me as a little doofy, especially when they have an external compartment for a protein shaker. Gym-going should be a covert operation.

My recommendation is to skip any bells and whistles and just go for a bag that fits your style. Maybe something understated, like this oversized backpack from Comme des Garçons, which is very roomy, and very cool. (I can also vouch for the Muji backpacks as a more affordable alternative.)

Right now, I rotate between carrying a roomy Yohji tote that can fit a laptop (pictured above) and the aforementioned Acronym messenger, which is a tighter squeeze. And my secret to transforming either into an undercover gym bag—depending on the day—are these $9 reusable diaper bags…