Fashion

On the Rise: We’re Obsessed With These Vancouver-Made Bicycle Bags

Field and Forest’s custom technical gear has local bikes dressed their best.

By Alyssa Hirose /

If Megan McLellan and Emanuel Smedbøl aren’t in their Commercial Drive studio, you can probably find them outdoors. The pair’s blog covers everything from canoeing in the Kootenays to biking all the way to Mexico to conquering the Skeena Mountains by horseback. And properly equipping their bikes has been its own adventure.

Megan McLellan (left) and Emanuel Smedbøl are photographers, bike bag makers and travel bloggers: check out fieldandforest.co.

“We started making bike bags for ourselves,” says McLellan. “And then we had lots of friends asking if we could make bags for them, too.” They officially launched Field and Forest, a custom handbuilt bike accessory company, in December 2020. McLellan and Smedbøl both sew, and he handles the design, which is unique for every project: “Each bike has a different geometry,” Smedbøl explains. Their made-to-order technical bags fit snugly within the frame (it’s a minimalist look that happens to also be very aerodynamic).

The bike basket bag ($95) is designed to fit—you guessed it—snugly in your bike’s basket. Keep your valuables and farmer’s market finds in here.

Along with their custom creations, Field and Forest crafts standard-sized basket bags, rack packs and snack sacks. But all of their accessories have one thing in common: they’ve been field tested on the duo’s many expeditions in the PNW and beyond. “We make things we want to use,” says Smedbøl. “And,” adds McLellan, “before we launch any new products, we try them out on a trip ourselves.” 

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