Back in the late 2000s, at the peak of the recession, I was surfing a lot. It was free, and our office was a hundred yards from Cardiff Reef. I found myself using my board bag not just to carry a surfboard but also for all the bits and necessities for a few hours out and about - wax, sunscreen, water, towel, keys and cash. Plus it was good to stand on in the dirty streets and parking lots of North County. A sandy, threadbare blue Ikea bag wasn’t sturdy or cleanable. A backpack was a narrow black hole where you couldn’t find anything.

Why didn’t anyone make a simple, well designed tote/duffel that did it all?

Simple, fast unplanned travel from your house to your car. In the mountains we had the same problem with complicated boot bags and  backpacks. No zippers or dividers needed to go from Point A to Point B. Sometimes the distance was only 20’, but I didn’t want to walk it three times. I needed a “haul bag” - something that climbers used to haul ropes and gear without having to sort it out, be able find things on the fly without blindly digging around.

A few weeks later, talking to my designer friend from Swatch - Thilo Brunner (now head of Design at On Running), another skier and surfer who was frustrated with his everyday carry options, we set out to design the Hawl Bag. 14 years and countless revisions and simplifications later, it arrived. “The one bag to rule them all.”

Bernie | Co-Founder Beringia