Egoelife Canvas Review

The Egoelife is a simple book bag. About as unpretentious as it gets, it's ideal for a student or professional without a lot of electronics.

Performance Comparison

Casual and comfortable, the unassuming Egoelife is super cheap and perfectly adequate for simple use scenarios.

Comfort

At first glance, we didn't expect much from this small and flimsy canvas bag, but it's surprisingly comfortable! Despite having zero shoulder strap padding, it distributes weight very effectively, even when packed heavy. It's also the perfect size to sit squarely in the small of the back without poking anywhere. It does not have a crossbody strap, but for simple bike rides, it stays in place, probably due to the non-slippy nature of the canvas.

Even packed to the gills with a laptop and book, the Egoelife laid comfortably on our back.

Packing & Organization

This is another category where we ended up pleasantly surprised. For how light and flimsy the Egoelife is, organization feels intuitive and well laid out. There's a zippered pocket on the outside front and back, and the two large pockets under the flap are ample. The interior has another small zip pocket and two thin drop pockets. The drop pockets don't feel useful for much because the lining is thin and baggy, but there are quite a few good options. There aren't any pen/pencil sleeves, so a separate pouch for small items might be a wise addition.

Despite being small and not optimized for electronics, the Egoelife has useful pockets that work for most any assortment of belongings.

Electronics

You can absolutely put electronics in the Egoelife; we fit a 13" Macbook, but this isn't an optimal bag for such things. There's no laptop sleeve or padding, and the material is not weather-resistant in the slightest. If you need to bring your gadgets along every once in a while, you will be fine (the pockets work well for cords and such), but if you plan to have a computer with you every single day, this isn't the most optimal option.

We fit a 13" laptop in the Egoelife but there's no dedicated sleeve and the corners stay visibly exposed.

Ease of Use

No doubt about it, this bag is easy to use. There's nothing complicated or technical, just the basics here.

It doesn't get much simpler than this bag.

Wear & Tear

The Egoelife is just a simple canvas bag with a fabric liner. The canvas is decently thick, but it doesn't have any coating or treatment to keep water out or stains from soaking in. With casual use, this bag will no doubt last for many years, but if you're hard on your gear or in inclement weather often, this isn't the bag for you.

Our water tests showed that this bag doesn't keep much out.

Volume to Weight Ratio

This bag weighs 1.43 pounds, and we measured the volume to be about 10 liters. This is a decent volume to weight ratio, but not stellar. That being said, the interior packs well, so even with less capacity than other bags in our review, we didn't feel overly constrained.

Despite not being very large, we rarely had an issue fitting all the things needed for a day out and about with this bag. As long as you only need the essentials and don't have to also pack lunch and a change of clothes, you should be golden.

Value

This is the current cheapest bag in our review by a long shot. No, it doesn't have fancy features, weatherproofing, or a ton of space, but for simple and casual day to day use, it's great, and the cost is hard to beat.

Conclusion

The Egoelife isn't fancy, but it doesn't claim to be. If your needs are simple and non-technical, there's no reason why this ridiculously cheap bookbag can't cover all your bases. The pockets are useful, it's comfortable, and it's as easy to use as can be. Just don't expect it to keep your electronics very safe or be able to weather a storm.

Simple days and simple pleasures are well paired with the Egoelife.