Photography Store Moment’s Super-Functional + Minimal Travelwear Collection
Designer Audrey Louchart discusses our favorite camera-ready piece, the functional yet appealing MTW Tote
Comprehensive photography store Moment recently unveiled their first-ever Travelwear collection, a suite of original backpacks, totes and organizers meant to store and protect your most precious camera gear and other daily accessories. After determining that many backpacks built for outdoors are too technical and city-oriented bags aren’t quite durable enough, the brand created the MTW Backpack, MTW Tote, MTW Tech Organizer, MTW Battery Organizer and MTW Camera Insert. These minimal, uncomplicated bags, packed with useful features, are available on Kickstarter now.
“We wanted to create a new line of products to broaden our audience a little bit and rethink about creatives as the target and not just photographers and videographers,” Moment designer Audrey Louchart tells CH. “Our motto was ‘work anywhere, travel everywhere,’ so you could put your office in your bag. That was where we started—making sure all of your tech would fit in this bag. But you can notice, as a brand, we try to do products that look more approachable than tech-y. We didn’t want a tech bag; we didn’t want it to look like you have tech inside, especially for the tote. We wanted something more on the fashion side of things. We really wanted these bags to be approachable and almost understated.”
This balance proves especially evident with the MTW Tote ($99), a 19-liter bag with impressive exterior features and careful considerations within. We’ve been using a nearly final prototype of the MTW Tote for awhile now and it has quickly become the favorite for daily use. Perhaps most practical is its ability to stand up on its own, even when loaded, lopsided or empty. A subtle padded base provides this, while also adding a layer of protection for items not packed in one of the compartments. The bag’s rugged, recycled Kodra fabric construction also ensures protection from the weather; it’s coated with a waterproofing layer twice and boasts water-resistant zippers.
“We didn’t want it to be overloaded with pockets or padding,” Louchart continues. While plenty of camera bags offer protection (including dedicated compartments specific to a certain model), Moment did not want their new bags to be camera-exclusive, even if they work well with them. “We still need to be versatile. One day you might take your camera but other days you don’t need it, so you need this space to be for something else. It’s a balance between being functional but versatile at the same time. We also needed to make sure that everything had a home and that we added protection when needed. The laptop pocket, for example, has padding because you want your laptop to be protected. But you might not need it for everything else in the tote. You don’t need padding on every pocket around it.”
The bevy of pockets included in and on the MTW Tote impress thanks to their ability to blend in, while still fitting everything needed. A dedicated tablet sleeve can fit a 13-inch device; nylon sleeves offer space for pens, sunglasses, wallet and other accessories; the aforementioned laptop sleeve accommodates a 16-inch device; and two stretchable water bottle pockets bookend the vast, catchall-style center. Plus, no matter how full the bag gets, the ultra-soft webbed straps—which are also long enough to prevent drooping or dragging—do not dig into your shoulder when carrying.
Unlike many totes that are often minimal but end up calling for additional storage solutions, the MTW stores everything we need without being oversized or requiring extras. Simply put, it’s capable but not cumbersome, and works equally well on day-trips for photoshoots or casual afternoons in the park.
Images courtesy of Moment
