Why it’s great:
 

It’s hard to pin the Baggu Duck Bag’s excellence on a single feature, but that’s where its genius lies: Its practical simplicity makes it a more universal choice than any other tote bag we tested. Almost the entire Wirecutter staff has used the Duck Bag before, and during our testing we received a lot of positive feedback about its style.

 

The Duck Bag is 11 inches wide by nearly 16 inches tall, and its flexible seams mean it can accommodate a large volume of contents. “I can stick my whole yoga mat in there,” one tester told us. And its shoulder strap extends to 40 inches, double the strap length of most totes we tested. You can adjust it to use the bag over your shoulder or carry it on your back, or you can use the short handles to carry it like a briefcase.

 

“It’s a good, unisex tote bag,” said Wirecutter's Sarah Kobos during testing. Overall, the Duck Bag was the most well-liked canvas bag we tested because of its utilitarian shape and understated appearance.

 

The Baggu felt sturdy over weeks of testing and didn’t pick up much dirt—and in our experience, the bags have lasted extremely well. Lesley Stockton, our food stylist and senior staff writer on the kitchen team, has owned a Duck Bag for 10 years and has used it for everything from lugging knife rolls and heavy clogs to hauling a giant food processor across New York City. Besides the expected amount of wear and tear, the bag has remained intact without developing any major rips or thin spots. In contrast to the care instructions for our other picks, Baggu recommends machine washing the Duck Bag and line drying it, though you can also wash it by hand.

 

The Baggu Duck Bag comes with a one-year warranty against defects in material and workmanship, which is common for tote bags, and 65 percent of the 100 percent cotton canvas construction comes from recycled sources.