A first look at Peak Design's new colorways
Eclipse, Kelp, Ocean, Ibis, and Coyote are making their way to the Everyday and Travel lines, plus packing tools and straps.
Peak Design is launching five new colorways across its major product lines starting today, Aug. 12, and they’re set to add a major pop of color. Eclipse, Kelp, Ocean, Ibis, and Coyote will be offered in various products in the Everyday Bags, Travel Bags, Packing Tools, Camera Clips, and Camera Straps categories. You can buy them starting now on Peak Design’s website, in Peak Design retail stores, or at third-party retailers.
Some of these colorways are new, like Kelp, Ocean, and Ibis. Others are ones we’ve seen before, like Eclipse and Coyote. And avid Peak Design fans already snuck a peek at some of these color options via social media teasers and livestreams. Either way, it’s a massive color launch that adds much-needed consistency and variety to Peak Design’s lineup.
There’s consistency in the sense that you can now build a matching gear kit of Eclipse products spanning the Outdoor, Everyday, and Travel lines. Before, you could only get Eclipse in phone cases, the Outdoor line, and the Roller Pro. There’s also variety in the sense that Ocean and Ibis are completely-new colorways to choose from.
I’ve been testing these five colorways in the wild for about a week, and I’m a big fan. They don’t look nearly as gaudy in person as they might online, for starters. What makes these new offerings great isn’t their primary colors, it’s their accent colors. Eclipse bags open up to a bright, high-visibility citrus orange on the inside. Kelp gear is lined with bright-yellow external carry loops and black accents throughout.
There aren’t any changes to these Peak Design products aside from color, so it’ll really come down to whether you’re in the market for some new gear and like the new options.
Everyday Backpack 20L in Kelp
Out of all the new color options, Kelp surprised me the most. I’m usually not a fan of green, and Sage — while a fan favorite in the Peak Design community — didn’t interest me. Kelp is a different story, though. It’s a deeper green that can give G.I. Joe vibes in darker lighting but brightens up outdoors in direct sunlight. I personally love how the black bottom, zippers, and straps complement the Kelp portion of the bag.
The yellow zipper pulls and external carry loops are the difference-makers for me. Combined with the other black accents, the Kelp Everyday Backpack 20L becomes more of a statement piece than just another green bag.
Travel Backpack 45L in Ocean
I feel like Peak Design made the Ocean colorway just for me. Obviously, it didn’t, but I definitely asked for it. Here’s what I had to say while reviewing the Coyote X-PAC collection last year:
Now, I’m east coast U.S. born & raised, and I’m not sure how much I’d like Coyote back home. If you ask me, Peak Design should immediately start exploring an Atlantic Blue (or similar color) for the X-PAC Ocean Edition. I’d much prefer a nice blue to Coyote if it was available.
Admittedly, Ocean isn’t made out of X-PAC — it has the same recycled 400D nylon canvas shell as the rest of the lineup. It looks just as good as I imagined regardless. I’ve been using the Ocean colorway of the 45L Travel Backpack, and it’s stunning. Like the Kelp colorway, the black accents on the straps and more create a neat two-tone look.
Field Pouch in Coyote
We’re all pretty familiar with the Coyote X-PAC colorway. It first debuted across the Everyday and Travel lines, and it’s hitting the Field Pouch and Travel Backpack 30L now. The unique reflectivity and durability of X-PAC isn’t for everyone, but I think it’s a particularly fitting colorway for the Field Pouch — great for outdoor hikes and excursions.
Wash Pouch in Eclipse
I’ve talked a lot about the accent colors, and how they make these new colorways pop. There’s no better example of that premise than Eclipse. It’s a beautiful, deep purple on the outside that looks great on its own. Then, when you open it up, you’re greeted with a stunning circus orange color that adds an even bigger pop of color and extra visibility.
I checked out the Eclipse version of the Wash Pouch, and loved the look. But it might look even better on something like an Everyday or Travel bag, where the entire interior will be lit up with this accent color.
Packing Cube in Ibis
Ibis is a neat colorway that’s bright and colorful, sort of like an orange or grapefruit hue. It’s only available for certain products, like packing cubes and the packable tote, but that’s okay. The high-vis look is perfect for those applications, whereas it might be too intense for a full-on backpack. It looks quite similar to the interior color of Eclipse bags.
What I’m loving about these colors (and what I want to see)
Personally, I found many of Peak Design’s traditional colorways to be a bit too discrete. Black, Ash, Bone and Charcoal never really stood out to me, and even Midnight wasn’t as eye-catching of a blue as I wanted. Of course, some want their camera bag to be low-key, and those existing colors should stick around for that audience. I’m just happy Peak Design is now catering more to the eccentric crowd, too.
As for what’s next, I’m hoping these colorways continue to break into more Peak Design product categories. I’d love to see an Ocean version of the Roller Pro or even a phone case, for example. It’s not always feasible to offer every product in every color, but the goal should be for users to be able to build a complete, matching kit if that’s what they want.