Roaring Fire Dagen Waxed Canvas Backpack Review

The Roaring Fire Dagen Waxed Canvas Backpack has a unique look and heritage styling that’ll catch your eye; however, we’re curious how well it’ll work as a travel companion or for your everyday commute. Let’s dive in and find out!

External Components

The pack is crafted from waxed canvas, which gives the bag a heritage feel. It’s durable, water-resistant, and is comfortable to hang onto. However, it takes a long time to dry when it does get wet, so it isn’t wise to carry it out in a bad storm that doesn’t show signs of slowing.

The zippers are from YKK, the best brand in the business. All the tracks have a fabric welt to prevent water from sneaking inside (except the hidden back panel pocket), which is handy. The pulls are made of paracord-like material with heat-shrink plastic on the end, which is easy to grab hold of and use.

The buckles on this pack are unbranded, but they haven’t given us any issues, like popping open when we don’t want them to. They’re snappy and easy to use, which is the most important thing besides durability in our opinion.

The bag’s top handle is crafted from fine mesh. It is comfortable and has padding to cushion your hand. As the bag isn’t massive, you could carry it with the handle for ages without discomfort.

Two handles on the pack’s side connect with a small piece of fabric and a metal button. This is handy for stowing and retrieving the bag at the airport, from the closet, or in the trunk. In this mode, it carries somewhat like a duffle, though the front strap does interfere with the zipper, so you’ll have to undo the button to open the main compartment completely.

On the side, there’s a water bottle pocket. It isn’t huge, but it will work for small-to-medium-sized travel water bottles or small gear, like a snack bar or phone. The top is stretchy and hangs onto whatever you stow inside, so long as it’s big enough to create tension.

Above that are two attachment loops to which you can add extra gear, like a carabiner, pouch, or compressible water bottle.

The Roaring Fire logo is on the pack’s front face. Overall, the daypack has lovely heritage styling; however, the synthetic leather doesn’t match this. It feels clean and modern, and while we don’t hate its inclusion, it feels a bit more modern than the bag itself. We do like that the more you use the bag, the more patina it’ll collect, so get out there!

A large piece of hook-and-loop fastener is on the pack’s front face below the logo. Without anything attached here, the front looks a little odd. However, you can attach a patch here—or multiple if your patches are small enough. The size of the hook-and-loop fastener is roughly that of the oval-shaped stickers you’d see at a tourist shop in an outdoor adventure area.

Below the hook-and-loop fastener, there are 12 attachment loops. These add to the pack’s vintage look and are handy for attaching extra gear. If you have things to add to your bag, great. If not, they don’t get in your way and make you look tactical. Fun, huh?

Fit Notes

The shoulder straps are malleable but padded and feature mesh to enhance the bag’s breathability. They have a slight curvature, which is comfortable no matter how much gear you’ve got stowed inside. There are three attachment loops on either side, so you can attach more gear if you didn’t get your fill on the backpack’s body (or want quick access while wearing the pack).

The straps attach to the bottom with a plastic buckle, enabling you to attach the bag to things. However, you can’t stow the straps anywhere, which would have been handy when using the side handles we mentioned. Still, detachability is a handy feature that doesn’t get in your way if you don’t want to utilize it.

The sternum strap is stretchy and has a strap keeper, which we dig; however, it isn’t adjustable, which isn’t ideal, as you can’t personalize it. We dig the placement for taller users. If you have a more petite frame, it may sit awkwardly on your chest.

The back panel has two padded areas with ample cushion and mesh for breathability. An air channel down the center keeps things cool, and the harness experience is comfortable overall.

This bag is relatively small and may feel that way on larger frames. It isn’t uncomfortable; it just isn’t big and wears like that. The malleability of the shoulder straps ensures there isn’t any pinching, but you sometimes feel like you’re heading into elementary school with this pack.

Inside The Pack

We’ve got three secondary compartments, which feels more like something you’d expect from a travel backpack than a modest daypack, but we’re here for it.

There’s a zippered pocket on the top of the pack’s front face. It has no organization and is a solid spot to stow your phone, wallet, keys, and a snack to get you through the day. Placing anything too large here will cause the pack’s front face to bulge slightly.

Below that, there’s another zippered pocket. This iteration has organization inside, with another zippered compartment and three liner pockets on the back wall. It can be challenging to utilize this segmentation because there isn’t much depth to this pocket, and the zipper can be uncomfortable to brush up against with your hand; however, it’s a solid place to stow cables or a battery bank that you want to have semi-quick access to on your morning commute.

Near the back panel is a hidden pocket that’s hard to see while wearing the pack. It has a beefy YKK #10 zipper, which makes sense, as this storage area was designed with CCW in mind. If that isn’t your jam, this pocket has other uses. It’s well padded and has soft materials, making it a solid spot to stow a tablet. Or, utilize it as a hidden compartment for your wallet or passport. We don’t recommend stowing anything too broad here, as it’ll push the back panel outwards and can cause discomfort.

The main compartment has a clamshell-style opening. It doesn’t open all the way, so the flap will fold back towards the bag when it isn’t loaded with gear. If you utilize the organization on the tongue, that’ll hold it down, so you can get into the nitty-gritty of organizing your gear in the bucket half of the main compartment.

There’s good padding all around this compartment, so your gear will stay safe on most adventures. Waxed canvas is a solid material, but this padding adds peace of mind for electronics and enhances the bag’s structure.

On the flap or tongue side, there’s a lot of organization. On top are three elastic bands that you can attach gear to. You can line this with pens, attach gear under the elastic, or leave them empty. Some gear, like a large pair of over-ear headphones, won’t work well here as the elastic is too close to the top.

Below that, there’s a flat zippered pocket that lacks organization. You can stow a small book or journal here or use it for little tech items.

On the bottom of the flap are two liner pockets crafted from mesh, though only the top portion is stretchy. This is a solid place to stow cables or a battery bank. If you use the organization on this side of the pack wisely, you might be able to get away without a tech pouch.

On the bucket side of the main compartment is a laptop sleeve. It’ll work with most 13” laptops and some thinner 14” models. It has some padding, which adds peace of mind for those debating whether or not to bring a laptop case.

At the base of the bucket side, there are two mesh pockets, one on either side. They aren’t super stretchy but will work for a small water bottle, larger computer wall charger, or snacks.

There’s a ton of organizational details here, inside and out. Some users may find this suffocating; however, for the traveler who wants every piece of gear to have a spot, it’ll feel like home for you from day one!