Herschel Supply Co. is a Canadian company that supplies retro “hipster” backpacks with a unique style.
Sold in over 10,000 stores globally, they have become a staple in the backpack industry and you’re bound to see some of their backpacks anywhere you go.
As such a popular backpack brand, it’s no wonder that many people question the quality of Herschel’s backpacks. Are they durable? Will they last? Do they have plenty of neat features?
Well, that’s what we’re here to find out! Read on to find out more about whether Herschel backpacks are good quality.
The Herschel Supply Co. Brand
There’s no denying that people shop by brand.
“What is a brand?” you might ask.
Simply put, a brand is an experience you have as a customer with a certain company or product. A brand represents a company’s values, beliefs, and practices, so it’s no surprise that people pay close attention to brands when shopping.
This could be for several reasons. Maybe you are eco-friendly and prefer to work with companies who reflect those values. Or perhaps you shop with a company because they have a reputation for well-made products.
If you want to know whether a company delivers well-made products, simply take a look at their brand.
Aimed at 18-35 year olds, Herschel has quickly cemented itself as a company worth noticing. Herschel’s brand is all about evoking a sense of nostalgia with their leather straps and vintage logo and boy, do they deliver.
Taken straight from their website, Herschel states its goal “is to create a timeless product with fine regard for detail” and that they are “driven to provide the everyday traveler with the perfect bags and accessories”.
Just from these two phrases alone, we get an idea of what they’re about: delivering the perfect bag.
So far we’re off to a good start, eh? Let’s take a look at Herschel’s history.
The history of Herschel
Herschel was founded in 2009 by Jamie and Lyndon Cormack, two brothers who took on the name of the small village where three generations of their family grew up: Herschel, Canada.
Jamie and Lyndon have always been passionate about backpacks, regardless of whatever fashion trend was happening at the time.
“I’ve been wearing a backpack as my go-to bag forever,” Lyndon confessed. “I guess I was unfashionable and became fashionable at a certain point in time.”
The pair decided to get into the backpack business when they realized that there was a gap in the market. While there were tons of high-tech or sporty backpacks, there weren’t very many lifestyle backpacks. The brothers decided to create a backpack that could be carried around everywhere, whether it’s in the dusty streets of a foreign land or the hallway of your local college campus.
Looking back, Herschel has a long-standing history of passion for backpacks, a good sign of a high-quality product.
How popular is Herschel?
While Herschel only sold about 8,000 bags in their first year of operation, they have since expanded to over 10,000 points of sale throughout the globe, selling millions of backpacks every year. Due to the prevalence of their market, 18-35 year olds, they can be found just about anywhere, including big name stores like Nordstrom, Walmart, and Journeys.
With their rising popularity has also come an increase in profits. Between 2014 and 2015 alone, the Canadian company saw a 75% increase in sales and their products sell in over 70 countries all over the world.
With such rapid expansion and large growth, it’s safe to assume that Herschel has a product that does what it does well. For people to continue buying their backpacks, they must like the value they get from the brand. Consider that another point towards Herschel delivering a high-quality backpack.
What materials does Herschel use?
Herschel carries several different lines of backpacks in order to appeal to a wide variety of consumers. Pioneers within their industry, the Cormack brothers are always searching for new fabrics to step up their game and have been known to introduce some revolutionary materials within their products.
Take, for instance, their SealTech line, which is composed of the same material used in WWII parachutes. Made from nylon, the ripstop fabric has a special crosshatch weave interspersed with finer yarns that essentially “self-heals”. That’s right, if your bag is punctured, simply rub your fingers over the puncture hole and the heat from your fingers will cause the fabric to heal itself!
However, Herschel isn’t just high-tech, it’s also environmentally friendly! They recently trademarked a new fabric called ApexKnit. This woven fabric helps to significantly reduce the waste and energy associated with making a backpack, reducing its carbon footprint significantly.
As a result of their passion for backpacks, Herschel is always at the forefront of revolutionary new designs and materials to make their backpacks better than ever. When it comes to design, we’re going to say that yes, Herschel delivers high-quality backpacks.
Herschel: a backpack made for everybody
If you take a look at the Herschel website, you can see that they have over ten different backpack collections as well as categories separated into men, women, and children. Part of what makes Herschel such a popular brand is that they recognize that backpacks aren’t a one size fits all.
What a casual urbanite might want in a bag could be quite different from what your everyday traveler needs. In order to provide the perfect bag for everyone, Herschel has adopted a divide and conquer approach.
They have created multiple backpack lines that excel in the market they are intended for. Their classics line is made for the everyday young professional, their SealTech line is perfect for the rough and ready explorer, and their ApexKnit collection is the go-to for high-tech backpackers.
So, if you’re wondering if Herschel backpacks are of good quality, the answer is a resounding yes. There’s a reason they’ve made such a large name for themselves.
Which Herschel backpack is your favorite? Leave a comment and let us know!