Thank you! I already ordered mine, but that is a GREAT find!
Bag arrived and is beautiful. It has a lot of structure which does make it slightly smaller inside than the Grand Prix bag, but I think it’s going to work well for me.
1 Like
I have an old JanSport that works great, holds all of my stuff and then some, lots of pockets. Cost me $15 on FB Marketplace.
Buy a backpack from a company that makes backpacks - they work with much better factories and have more experience making backpacks that last. Don’t pay 4x-5x as much for the trendy “horse” brand!
1 Like
curious which one you landed on? While I’m happy with the Samshield for now (it literally does everything I need it to do), I am not super thrilled about the look of it (for me) and have actually been thinking about eventually selling it and replacing it with something more casual. It was a gift from my husband though so I think if I got rid of it he would feel bad.
I’m also on board with the Samshield backpack. I bought mine from England and paid under 200 dollars for it. (I got mine from Royal Equestrian). Tons of room and IMO very well designed and good looking. I put my helmet on the outside in the sling and use the inside for my air vest and the other random things that usually come in handy with horses. In the current environment buying from England is a little bit unpredictable- I recently ordered from Equiport and had to pay over 100 dollars in import duties, something that had never been an issue before the tariffs, so I would do your research before ordering from overseas to see if you could get an idea of how much the duties will end up costing. That being said, even with the duties my order was hundreds of dollars less than it would have been buying in the USA.
I went with the Samshield. Less for the name, I just really love the “leather” look of it and all of the pockets. Not to mention the brown color is beautiful!
Tack N Rider in Wellington is by far the cheapest you can find! Least mark up of all the stores I looked into (about 4-5 stores!).
3 Likes
I recently replaced my barn backpack and went with a similar approach. None of the equestrian bags really fit what I needed so I wound up shopping for sports/gym bags instead. There are way more options on the market, they’re more durable, and they tended to be cheaper too. Most of the features carry over - helmets fit in pouches designed to carry balls, whips work with attachments for bats and lacrosse sticks, etc.
2 Likes
I have the Maelort, and it is gorgeous! Probably not exactly what you’re looking for if you want something more casual, though. I love the internal laptop sleeve.
1 Like
It may’ve been mentioned upthread but I recall seeing people post here about bags for baseball players (I think) as being essentially the same principles, design-wise, but less expensive.
I brought my old Jansport (raises a glass to AAHunterGal) out of retirement last year to pack mule stuff up the hill when conditions were too icy drive up. On one trip, I got an old-school wool quarter sheet, Ogilvy baby pad, my full chaps, and some other odds and ends in it.
The thing from the 21 Jump Street reboot, about “two-strapping it,” was stuck in my head because I’m pretty sure this was the first time I’d ever used both on this backpack. 
2 Likes
I don’t like a backpack, but I’m not usually riding to the ring.
I’ve always like a rectangular zip top bag, which has plenty of room for helmet and pockets for spurs/hairnets/emergency kits/etc for the ring. Sticks just stick out the top through the zipper. The key for the helmet is that the top zipper goes in a rectangular pattern, not straight across.
I’ve had dozens of versions of this setup, but this is the most recent incarnation I bought last year. It’s a bit larger than my past versions since it spends more time in the car now and less time on a golfcart. But I can put my paddock boots and halfchaps in it and take it on trips where I don’t take a trunk.
2 Likes
I actually carried a duffel for IHSA shows and it was awesome. Made it so easy to have absolutely everything I needed, including my boots (in their own boot bags), in one bag.
1 Like
I just got an Equinavia one on sale for Memorial Day, and its already not that much $$. I really like it!
That one looks really nice, I like how wide/deep it looks from front to back.
1 Like
I like that it has the outside helmet sling, but that can be completely tucked away in a little zippered pouch on the bottom of the bag as well. Its big enough that I personally may just put my helmet inside.
Ariat® Backpack | Dover Saddlery
I think this might be what you are talking about since your link isn’t up anymore 
1 Like
I never use the sling, I always worry about my helmet getting banged around. I actually “line” the bottom of my bag with a hand towel so there is a little extra cushion and put the helmet inside.
1 Like
Thanks, mine is different. The Ariat bag I bought had a nice mesh helmet holder place.
