I'm a big fan of minimalistic living. I have been travelling the world whilst living out of a rucksack for the past eight years now, and I can't stress how nice it is for my brain - leaving a place, knowing I have everything I need on my back. For me, personally, it's priceless. It almost goes without saying that when it comes to a rucksack, I'm gonna need something really decent. Enter the Db Rucksack and my Db Journey.
Db Rucksacks: Who They Are
Db make award-winning travel gear, from backpacks to duffels, from wheeled luggage to sports equipment, Db has got you covered. Originally called 'Douchebags' (thanks to a suggestion from the community) they are now known just as 'Db' - and it can mean anything you want it to mean: 'DreamBigger' and 'DeepBreathing' are a couple of their suggestions and they encourage you to think of your own. I tried hard and came up with 'DanceBold'. (I'm not renowned for my naming abilities.)
What Tamás and I like about Db is they want to create bags out of the 'materials of tomorrow' meaning that the bags are made responsibly. Something we should all be conscious of nowadays imo. In fact, this is the number one thing we look for when working with companies. Everything else is secondary - we don't care if it looks good, or even feels good, so long as it's responsible. So it's an added bonus that Db rucksacks do also look and feel good, and I will now elaborate on these:
Db Rucksacks: A Review
We tried out two different Db Rucksacks and this is our review:
Db Rucksack 30L Sage Green Hugger Review
The reason I chose the 30L Db Hugger is because I really liked the colour. Apparently it was inspired by the Norwegian landscapes. In the top it says "I think my dog is vegan" I don't know if that's because they know I'm vegan or if it's a coincidence, (but just for the record dogs can be vegan - you have to make sure they're getting the right nutrients, like with any animal (including humans). And although people who have vegan dogs get a bad rep I think that's unfair when most dogs are fed e-numbers out of a can... but that's a rant for my other website veganvstravel.com.. I haven't written it yet, but I did write a post about being a vegan and a douchebag.)
Back to the rucksack! It also has an extra pocket on the back for your laptop. As a digital nomad this is a must for me, hello easy access! And inside there are an extra two pockets inside for underwear or whatever you like. I'm personally going for underwear and cables (the two things I like to grab easily). I really like that it opens from the front, I used to have a rucksack that opened from the top and it was annoying trying to get stuff out from the bottom. There's also a convenient pocket on the top which I'm keeping my 'long journey musts' in aka my e-reader and my headphones. It's called the hugger. Does it feel like a hug? It actually does, I wish you could feel it, there's definitely some kind of love magic in there.
Last but not least, after we trialled the bag a few times moving back and forth across Budapest something miraculous happened. I say miraculous because I really mean it here. I've been struggling with back pain for months, and after wearing this rucksack with my stuff in it, the back pain went?? It was like it pushed my spine back into place or something, lol. I'm not a doctor (if that wasn't already obvious from my last sentence) so please don't think this rucksack will cure your back pain too (I mean, I doubt you were thinking that, but I have to cover my bases), no, I'm just saying, somehow it seems to have cured me and I'm really really grateful, thanks Db!
Db Rucksack 50L Deep Sea Blue Review
Tamás decided to go for the 50L Hugger in blue. This is because he carries more than me (partly because I am bad and give him stuff to carry) but also because he is Sam Wisegamgy (how tf you spell that Tolkien?) in that he is the cook over here at Travelling Weasels and Vegan Vs Travel so he carries the useful kitchen stuff that goes into making delicious meals (I'm eternally grateful for this). The 50L is pretty similar to the 30L, albeit, of course, bigger. But like the 30 it opens from the front not the top, it has a nifty top pocket. The 50L also has three inside pockets too. One of the things I like about DB is the bags can hook onto each other with the metal things on the back of the rucksack.
Anything We Didn't Like?
One of the things I didn't like was when I first opened the box the rucksacks were inside a plastic bag. But to be fair, when they arrived the cardboard box they were in wasn't exactly watertight and although I don't think the rucksacks need protecting from the outside world, I do understand that something might have got spilled or got in on the way here. Hence plastic bag. I know they're useful and necessary even for some things... But please refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle when it comes to plastic.
One of the things we definitely want to add on the downside is this: there is the issue of the Db's lack of transparency of sourcing materials and labour. How are workers treated and paid? Where do all the materials come from? In our video we made the case that it would be nice if Db - like all employer-employee based companies - could transfer to an employee owned and run company (a worker cooperative, also called workers' self-management). This, of course is not just something we'd like Db to do but would be nice to see as a general change in the world of work - a peaceful progress towards workplace democracy.
Wrap Up: Our Db Rucksack Review
All in all, we're really happy with our rucksacks, they are cool colours, they're comfortable (and for me, apparently, back saving). They have great pockets and they're just so stylish! If you're interested, plz check out their website. We reviewed these two DB rucksacks briefly in this video (you can see my Sage Green in the thumbnail image) - enjoy :)
P.S.: If you're interested in a way of travelling and getting accommodation cheaply, you might wanna check out house sitting. Trustedhousesitters.com was kind enough to provide us and our readers with a 10% discount, feel free to click on the link to use it :)
ABOUTME
We overland. We eat plants and fungi. We live outside as much as possible. We are all connected. A female travel blogger overlanding and writing about ecotourism, ethical and sustainable travel, socially conscious travel and housesitting. An online travel magazine since 2015.
Disqus Comment
Facebook Comment