You might be wondering if it’s really worth it to write about something as ordinary as backpacks. I’ve heard that as soon as you leave school (or a university), you should forget about them.

Well, whoever said that probably thought that I’d buy everything that I needed to make it through a day, or, God forbid, that I’d store it in a car. But I don’t want to buy (or support) soft drinks in plastic bottles, fastfood chains and other carbed up and fried hellholes, or restaurants of exceedingly poor quality. And I certainly don’t have the luxury to waste a lot of time in a car, so I always use public transportation.

Thanks to a backpack, I feel less dependent on circumstances. I can change my plans whenever I want, because I carry my office with me. When I’m hungry, I eat, because I always have something in my backpack (some nuts, for instance); when I want to have my coffee in a park and not in a café, I have something to carry it in (without filling the trash cans afterwards). When I go shopping, I use a string bag that I carry with me, so I don’t have to buy a plastic bag. I’m quite the friend of the environment, wouldn’t you say?

All of this is possible thanks to my backpack – all my stuff is in there. Food, drink, everything that I need for work or a workout. So to all the backpack critics – please tell me how to get by without one. Please.

I have to admit that I’m also fascinated by backpackers. How to travel independently and in a simple, clever and affordable way. I try to reflect these ideas in my everyday life. I don’t travel much at the moment, but I’m always on the move. If I wanted to sound cool, I’d say that I’m a digital nomad, but I’m afraid that without a few pictures from Chiang Mai, no one would appreciate that – my remote work places are neither exotic nor far away.

I’m always on the move. And even though I don’t travel that far, a practical backpack is a must.

And that’s what bekpek will be about. And also about the process of finding a backpack that would meet all my practical and aesthetical requirements. Frankly, it’s a pain in the ass, because most backpacks are either practical, or good-looking.

Every how to choose your urban backpack guide will tell you that, basically, you should only worry about the look and the number of pockets. If you follow that advice, you’ll have to buy a new one each year. And the same is true of outdoor backpacks – if I’m not trying to conquer Mont Blanc, I don’t have to look like a professional mountain climber.

In short, it doesn’t matter if you’re going to travel round Asia or take a bus to work. If you’ll meet people or trees. I don’t care about the number of likes on Instagram or about stroking my ego on Snapchat. It’s about the things you carry. Not in your backpack, but in your head and in your heart.

I don’t want to be grandiose – above all, bekpek will be about both interesting and absolutely ordinary backpacks (I’ll always try to look for the positives, but I’ll point out the negatives as well). I also want to get in touch with people who are interested in backpacks, as well as those who make them. Last but not least, I’ll add a few practical things that are useful with any backpack, because without them, even the most practical backpack would be useless.

And one last thing – you can also follow Bekpek on facebook, twitter and instagram (and newly on Pinterest).