Peak Design Brand Review: What to Know Before You Buy

Peak Design has undoubtedly been one of the brands I trust the most over the last decade. The PD suite of products have come with me on a daily basis in my life, as well as around the world in my travels.

From Peak Design travel backpacks and tech pouches to my Peak Design phone case and camera straps, the brand is worth following and having in your arsenal of photography or travel gear. I find that the look of the products is timeless, and that the quality is “for life.”

In this brand review, I’ll get into the details about Peak Design and if their products are worth investing in.

Backpacks & bags

Peak Design makes extraordinarily well-designed backpacks and bags that I’ve taken both near and far. When I think “Peak Design bags,” I immediately think of the company’s industry standard for high quality. Seriously, when paired with the tried-and-tested functional design of their bags, it’s a winning combo.

Everyday backpack

The Peak Design Everyday backpack has come with me on countless photography jobs and gigs, both in NYC and far away. The backpack is optimized for photographers in that it has dual-side access, customizable interior organization and external storage pockets as well.

It’s won a spot in my list of the best travel backpacks for photographers.

Not a photographer? The backpack is good for anyone who wants a quality backpack, and it’s travel-friendly, with the luggage pass-through, grab handles and weatherproof durability.

I think my favorite feature is the dual access compartments. This sets aside this backpack from other similar ones I have. They are perfect for accessing whatever you want to stash inside. For me, this is anything from my rolled-up rain jacket, to my glasses case, to an extra lens.

Travel backpack

I got a lot of my familiarity in the Peak Design brand with this trusty carry-on-sized travel backpack from PD, which I detail in my Peak Design 45L Travel Backpack review (where you can see all my close-up photos of it). Saying this backpack has been durable is an understatement: it’s been basically unbreakable for me, in traveling with it long-term during several stints since 2018.

In packing it during my travels, I’ve stuffed it almost until it has burst at the seams, but it’s always as good as new. One of my favorite features of it is the radical expandability: there are expandable zips for fitting in more of your items while also creating compression, and even the side pockets expand from fitting water bottles to one of my tripods.

I could go on for pages about why this backpack is my #1 for taking on a trip, and you can see all the reasons at my Peak Design Travel Backpack review. It has been worth every penny, and Becca and I also own it in the 30L size.

Travel Duffel

I got the Peak Design Travel Duffel when it was a brand new item for the brand, and I may have been one of the first people to receive it from the Kickstarter campaign. To this day, I think it’s one of the best duffel bags for travel.

It’s made of weatherproof recycled nylon canvas shell just like the Peak Design backpacks. It has a waterproof bottom liner, which means if you set it down somewhere wet, the stuff inside should be kept dry.

If you’ve read Becca’s list of the best travel backpacks for women, where she calls out the Travel Backpack from Peak Design, you may know that she really prioritizes quality and strength in zippers.

The theft-deterrent zipper pulls on this duffel make it ideal as a travel bag because the zippers won’t slide open in the airport, or on a train, or anywhere you need them to stay closed.

The benefit of having a travel duffel from the Peak Design “ecosystem” is that even this duffel has clip-in points for PD camera cubes and you can fit up to three Peak Design packing cubes.

Everything else (more bags)

Peak Design makes several more bags I’d like to try. The Everyday Messenger bag is a strong type of carrying bag that’s a cross between a sturdy camera bag and a business bag. It’s not only for photography, though: it fits a laptop, essentials like phone/wallet/keys, a packed lunch, a jacket and more.

The PD Everyday Sling is another more minimalist type of crossbody bag that comes in 3L, 6L and 10L versions for a convenient way to carry daily essentials plus some photo gear. It’ll fit one camera setup, and can also be worn as a hip bag.

Lastly and aside from Peak Design backpacks and more traditional bags, the Peak Design Everyday Tote is another type of bag made from the trusted recycled nylon with the weatherproof top zip. It fits up to 13” laptops and would fit a camera body plus 3 to 4 lenses or camera accessories.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Peak Design came out with a “Totepack,” a cross between a backpack and a tote bag. It has a clean look and the brilliant carrying support as all the others in the Everyday line, and has dividers that can be positioned horizontally or vertically.

Bag Accessories

Peak Design “bag accessories” range from zippered tech bags to camera cubes and packing cubes, and really, anything that can go inside a backpack or duffel.

Tech Pouch

In my experience, the Peak Design Tech Pouch is one of the best travel accessories for long flights. As someone who is always traveling with a camera, it’s also one of the best camera accessories for my uses. See it in depth at my Peak Design Tech Pouch review.

Field pouch

Pull from other places we’ve talked about it. In addition to the Tech Pouch, the Field Pouch is one of the best tech bags I’ve come across as an avid traveler and photographer.

Packing cubes

Known as some of the best packing cubes for travel, the PD packing cubes are the first ones I reach for when we’re going away. They’ve even let me get away with packing a suit if we have an occasion far from home.

Wash Pouch & Shoe Pouch

Peak Design debuted a Wash Pouch, which is a smartly-designed toiletries bag that matches your other products from the Peak Design collections. It also comes in a more petite version, the Small Wash Pouch.

The Shoe Pouch is a strong product for packing away shoes in your luggage and to keep them separate from clean stuff. Both are timeless choices for gifts for travelers.

Photography accessories

Peak Design has photography gear for photographers of all skill levels, interests and activities. We’ve enjoyed making these a part of our on-the-go photography packing.

Camera cube

Peak Design’s highly popular Camera Cube v2 is designed to integrate with the travel bag. It happens to be where I store my camera gear at home. I have the camera cube in a drawer and it has proven to be a smart and dust-free way to put away my equipment when it’s not in use.

The camera cube comes in different sizes, and I also have the Camera Cube v1. It’s a valuable product because of how it fits in my Peak Design travel backpack.

Camera straps

Peak Design camera straps make me feel like a pro when I am shooting photos.

I have the Peak Design Cuff, which has been my go-to camera strap for years now.

There are lots of different sizes of PD’s camera straps, from the Slide, to the Slide Lite to the slimmer Leash. They all work with the Peak Design Anchor Link system.

Anchor links

All of the Peak Design camera straps integrate with the Anchor system. It’s the flagship item for Peak Design, in my opinion, and it’s what got me started with the brand. I keep PD anchor links on all my camera bodies and have the option of using my Cuff or Slide.

You don’t need to stop at photography for using the anchor links with the straps, either. I can attach the anchors to my NOC binoculars or anything else that I commonly wear around my neck. Some of the Peak Design tech pouches or other small bags have a place to add anchors, and you can wear those bags with anchors. They’re also “tripod-friendly.”

Tripods

Peak Design tripods are known for being high quality. For this reason, you won’t find them for cheap. I haven’t personally tried or tested one (yet). As for the great things about them, they’re exceptionally compact, meaning the typical negative space you’d find in folded tripods has been eliminated in how these are crafted.

If you’re trying to get a deal on a Peak Design tripod, try the Peak Design pre-owned shop.

Mobile

I’ll be honest that I was a little skeptical of all of Peak Design’s mobile products. Why was the company jumping into smartphone gear having been the industry leader for pro camera products?

I got to try the Peak Design iPhone phone case, though, and it opened up a world of functional mobile gear that I can’t live without now. See what I’ve tried and tested.

Cases

The PD phone case grounds all of the mobile gear together. That’s because the smartphone case has a strong magnet, plus a connection point (called the SlimLink™), which all of the other accessories can use for attaching. I have the iPhone case, and there are cases for Samsung phones, as well as Google Pixel phones.

A bonus of my Peak Design phone case, because it has a magnet, is makes any MagSafe accessory a lot stronger. I have a MagSafe phone stand from another brand and it isn’t as strong.

Car Vent Mount

The Peak Design Car Vent Mount has become a crucial part of our car gear! It’s highly sturdy, strong and good-looking in terms of other mounts I’ve seen. We used it with my PD phone case for the first time on a road trip to the Catskills, and now I use it for charging my phone wirelessly during driving.

The PD Car Mount and Vent Mount require the PD phone case, as other phones won’t have a strong connection.

Wireless charging stand

This wireless charging stand has become one of the best accessories for my desk and is part of my work-from-home setup. It looks good and is made of high quality materials (anodized aluminum). I like that it’s minimal, and the stand is solid enough to stay put and not move when I take my phone off with one hand.

It works best with my PD phone case, but works fine with any MagSafe phone case.

Mobile tripod

I wasn’t sure if I’d have a use for a mobile tripod, but I find this one very practical. It has really helped me out with filming review videos for YouTube on my phone. It’s small, compact, portable and durable. It’s nice to prop it up anywhere on a flat surface.

More mobile products

Peak Design makes more products I haven’t tried (yet!). The mobile wallet looks nice, with cool utility-based design and magnetic locking technology.

The bike mount and wall mounts are also pretty neat. The wall mount can be used in a kitchen, workbench, bathroom or workspace setting.

What is Peak Design?

Peak Design centers itself as a company to empower professionals and creatives to create, commute and explore. They say they’re a “radical company” and are unique because they have no investors nor venture capital funding, and truly care about the products they make.

Why should you trust me?

I’ve been reviewing travel gear and remote work products since 2016. I’ve traveled around the world in a backpack (my Peak Design one) and duffel bag, and I’ve come to appreciate quality travel and photo gear.

I’ve used a lot of brands for travel and photography products over the years and I’m able to discern which have held up.

As a photographer, I invest in only the most durable gear to keep my photography equipment safe. Anything less than products that’ll last for many years won’t cut it for me. When I review brands, I’ll speak up transparently about my experiences in keeping my gear safe with them.

Through my photograph advice, I’m sharing my knowledge and practices I’ve developed with our audiences around the world. You can learn more about me at our About Us page.

Where can you buy Peak Design products?

Buying Peak Design products is easy because you can get them online or in a store near your home.

Peak Design directly

This is the best way to buy Peak Design gear, as you’ll typically get free shipping over a certain order value, you can be sure you got the lifetime warranty with your purchase and there’s a window for 30-day returns. You may not get these benefits when buying from other retailers.

Peak Design Pre-Owned Shop

The online Pre-Owned Shop is for anyone looking to buy or sell used (and good condition) Peak Design products. This is a smart way to get into the brand if you don’t want to spend a lot for everything new. You can also sell your pre-owned Peak Design goods on the marketplace.

I thought the FAQ was helpful in answering my questions about it.

Peak Design on Amazon

You might consider getting PD items on Amazon if you have Amazon Prime.

B&H

Peak Design is available at photography and electronics store B&H online. The site will also tell you if the item is on display in a B&H store.

In person

I was delighted to find out that if I want to handle and feel Peak Design products before buying new ones, I can go to a variety of retailers in travel & outdoors equipment (REI and others), electronics (think Best Buy) and photography and cameras. Closest to where I live, I could try out PD gear at a wide variety of stores in the New York City area.

Peak Design products are sold at big box stores and smaller boutique shops all throughout the US, Canada and Mexico. You can find a retailer here.