I was scrolling through Instagram one day and saw an ad for a cute box/tote style purse. I’m not usually a purse person, let alone a large purse person but this was so cute and clean it peaked my interest.

I was talking to my sisters about it, one who’s a loves a good designer purse, but I couldn’t remember the name of the brand. I knew it ended something similar to “berry” so I thought it was Burberry.

Then I came across the ad again and found it was Tote & Carry. Curious, I went to their website to see what other purses they have. To my surprise, they’re actually a travel bag company. They have duffel bags, backpacks, rollers, and other bags and just happened to sell purses now. I thought their duffel bags were so cute and more affordable than other travel brands I’d seen.

I looked into them more and found that there bags were vegan and it’s a minority-owned company. Those were big pluses for me. Because I had a short trip coming up (and there was a sale), I decided to buy the Navy Apollo 1 weekend duffel and backpack. The purse brought me in but I ended up buying the luggage!

Then, I came across their “Psychedelic” and “Boho” designs and I realized I bought too soon. The patterns were so freaking cute! Because I had no self-control (and there was another sale), I bought the Psychedelic set. I still haven’t gotten the purse that pulled me in!

Apollo I (AP1) Set

The Apollo I collection is a vegan snakeskin patterned leather (that’s water resistant) in various colors like orange, blue, red, olive green, and yellow. I got it in Navy (which is a deeper, darker blue than the blue set).

There are different sets offered:

• Regular Duffel and Backpack (the one I got) – $250
• XL Duffel and Backpack – $280
• Regular and XL Duffel and the Backpack (3PC) – $300
• Regular and XL Duffel, Backpack, and Toiletry/Hygiene bag (4PC) – $325

All prices listed are the regular price before any discounts. However different colors have different prices (prices are for a regular duffel and backpack):

• Purple AP1 – $150
• Turquoise AP1 – $209.99
• Black AP1 – $220

Just to name a few.

The Weekend Duffel

The regular duffel is considered the “weekend duffel” and is best for shorter trips like weekend trips. The size of the weekend duffel is 17” x 10” x 7”. The inside is a red satin material with four pouches and a zipper pocket. There’s also a zipper pocket on the outside. You can carry it with your hands or put the strap on that it comes with to hang it on your shoulders. The only thing the strap is missing is pad for the shoulder.

I packed the duffel for my 4-day trip to LA and it could fit enough outfits, PJs, underwear, and toiletries for the four days. If I pack a bit better I might be able to get a week’s worth in the bag.

I definitely think it’s worth the price for it to be the smaller duffel of the two sizes.

The Backpack

I normally love a good back but I’m going to be honest, I probably could’ve done without this one. It’s made of the same vegan leather material and has a red interior. It’s also water resistant. There’s a flap that goes over the opening.

The opening is probably my biggest issue. Instead of it opening from the top, it opens from the front so you can’t open the bag as wide. You can fit a laptop or table in the bag with no issue at least. I put a book, a jacket and my blow up pillow (deflated) in it.

The size of the AP1 backpack is 17” x 4” x 13”. It was larger than I thought when I put it on my back but that’s probably best for certain items.

I think if you’re taking your laptop or tablet with you, this bag is great. For anything else, I’d prefer Tote and Carry’s BFF backpacks.

I plan on using the AP1 duffel on my trip to Chicago later in the year and I may or may not use the backpack.

With the 30% discount (and after adding shipping and taxes) I paid $206 for the AP1 set.

While this set came first, I ended up using the Boho/Psychedelic set for the LA trip. It arrived two days before I had to leave.

Boho Luggage Set

This was the set that I couldn’t help but buy as soon as they had another sale. This is considered one of Tote and Carry’s exclusive sets.

I actually got the Boho and Psychedelic sets confused. Their patterns are very similar but if you look close enough, you can see the difference. Not to mention there’s difference in price (prices listed are based off the regular duffel and backpack set):

• Boho Luggage Set – $250
• Psychedelic Luggage Set – $285

I went with the cheaper one, of course. The backpack that comes in the set is similar to the Apollo I and II sets, however they also had a BFF backpack for the Psychedelic collection. It’s sold separately for $250 (that’s right, $250 for just the one bag).

Shortly after I bought my AP1 luggage set, I got an email that the Psychedelic BFF backpack was discounted to $114. That’s over half off! That’s what got me. I ended buying the Boho set and the Psychedelic BFF backpack when the store had 30% discount (so that was an additional 30% off of the already half-off backpack). My mom liked the backpack that came in the set so she offered to buy it from me.

The Weekend Boho Duffel

The duffel bag is a little different from the AP1 duffel. The pattern is still all over the bag but there vegan leather stripes at the bottom and leather sides. It still has a zipper pocket on the back like the AP1 but the opening is where it differs. Not only does it open from the top, it has a side opening as well, perfect for shoes or extra items.

I was extremely happy to find the strap that came with this one had a shoulder pad!

The Boho Backpack

The backpack structure and size are similar to their Apollo II (AP2) sets. It has a flap like the AP1 backpack but there is a zipper in front of flap. I think that’s an improvement for quick access to your phone or passports.

The flaps, handle, straps and side pouches are all made of a vegan leather material while the main design of the back has a colorful bohemian pattern.

The Psychedelic BFF Backpack

As I said before, this backpack is modeled after their BFF backpacks which has a more traditional structure when you think of backpacks.

The tribal pattern is all over the bag besides the straps and side pouches. The front of it has a small zipper pocket for your passport or money. It opens all the way around, which I personally like, and actually has two sections. In the bigger section there’s another zipper pocket while the smaller section has places to put cards or ID. The interior is also red like the others.

With my mom buying the other backpack from me, I still ended up paying about $206 for this set as well. Based on first impressions, I definitely think it was worth it.

How They Traveled

Because they arrived before my trip, I took all the packed items out of my AP1 duffel and put them into my Boho duffel. They’re the same size so I could still fit everything especially with the additional side opening.

However, this time I packed with the bag opened sideways after finding that was the better way to pack a duffel.  I was able to fit the four outfits, PJs, underwear, socks, sandals, shower shoes, and a beach towel in with no issues.

While they can fit everything and looks super cute, I want to see how they fared in travel. The shoulder pad on the strap was a big help because the bag was a little heavy.

I wanted to see if the duffel could fit under the seat. Because it was fully packed, it couldn’t but I think if there were less items, it probably could squeeze under. The backpack, of course, fit fine.

The backpack fit so many items! At one point, I was able to fit:

• Tennis Shoes
• Large Beach towel
• Sunscreen
• Bug Spray
• A Book
• A pack of cards
  

And other little items.

The backpack strap was a little worn at the top by the end of trip but it still looks great! I absolutely loved these bags!

Why I Bought from Tote and Carry

I am normally a pretty frugal person and almost never by things for the name brands. I just like what I like and usually the name brands don’t seem worth it to me. So what makes Tote and Carry different?

A big reason is that I need more carry-on luggage. I try to avoid checking a bag when I can so when I saw these duffel bags, I got excited. I actually liked their designs. They are sturdy, well-made, and vegan which is appreciated (though I am not a vegan). I felt the price was worth it (especially with the discount). And it didn’t hurt that I was supporting a minority-owned brand.

Are you considering checking out Tote and Carry? Do you have a favorite travel bag that you’d recommend? Let us know in the comments!