Skip to main content
Style

Dagne Dover Review

Dagne Dover makes stylish neoprene bags—here's why we're obsessed with them

A lavender fanny pack and a green backpack. Credit: Reviewed / Dagne Dover

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.

  1. Product image of Dagne Dover Dakota

    Dagne Dover Dakota

    Pros

    • Excellent for travel

    • Fifteen pockets and zippered compartments for organizing

    Cons

    • None that we could find

    Buy now at Dagne

From trendy crossbody bags to endlessly cavernous totes, it can be overwhelming trying to find the right bag to carry all of your daily essentials. Oftentimes, you have to choose between form and function—do you opt for adequate storage or something that’ll look better with your outfits? Today, more than ever, brands are building extensive functionality right into trend-forward styles. Dagne Dover is one such brand, offering a variety of daily carry and travel bags that aren’t just stylish—they’re built for people on the go.

To see if these bags are worth the hype, we decided to test them out. Dagne Dover sent us the Ace Fanny Pack ($95) and the Dakota Neoprene Backpack ($115-215), and we put them through the wringer. Below, see why we love these bags so much.

What is Dagne Dover?

A camel-colored duffel bag, and a man wearing a brown phone sling.
Credit: Reviewed / Dagne Dover

Dagne Dover offers well-made wardrobe essentials like backpacks, fanny packs, crossbodies, travel bags, and more.

Founded in 2013 by entrepreneurs Jessy Dover, Deepa Gandhi, and Melissa Mash, Dagne Dover was established with one goal: To make lives easier through good design. Indeed, the brand totes itself as offering “problem-solving bags” that are made from durable, high-performance materials, chock-full of pockets and clips to hold everything you need, and designed with a modern and minimalist style.

In addition to the backpack and fanny pack that we tested, the brand also offers a wide range of other bags including totes, wallets, phone slings, and even travel bags. Similar to brands like Away, Baggu, and Beis, Dagne Dover opts for minimalist designs in neutral colorways, made from unexpected materials like neoprene and nylon in addition to more traditional textiles.

Shop Dagne Dover

How we tested Dagne Dover

Jen tested the Ace Fanny Pack in Dune. It was her faithful companion through a sweaty season of swim meets, youth baseball games, and errands, and then later an icy winter of being tucked over coats and under jackets for winter hikes, school runs, and sledding outings.

Anthony tested the large Dakota Backpack in Dark Moss. The Dakota accompanied Anthony on four cross-country flights, one move across state lines, and also through an entire semester of courses he taught at a local university.

What we liked about the Dagne Dover Ace Fanny Pack

A mauve fanny pack, shown open with items inside, and a navy blue version that is closed.
Credit: Reviewed / Dagne Dover

The Ace Fanny Pack is well-made, stores plenty, and looks great.

The Ace Fanny Pack is just the right size

The Ace fanny pack gets two sizing elements just right. The first is the bag itself: At 9.25-inches long and 5.5-inches wide, and with a volume of 1 liter, it's roomy enough to hold all the typical essentials—my keys, my phone, chapstick, a pen, all of that—as well as some of the other must-haves that other belt bags can't handle (a sunscreen stick, sunglasses case, a backup battery for my phone). I normally make use of the in-pack card pocket or zippered front pocket to carry a few important cards and some cash, but if I'm switching bags in a hurry, I can even drop in my entire wallet—a full-sized bifold wallet that is chronically overstuffed—and have room for more. But no matter how full it is, the Ace looks sleek, not bulky, when it's on.

Just as important as far I'm concerned, the 36-inch strap is generous enough for me to sling it over my shoulder to wear it high (even over a light jacket) and a snap to adjust (with one hand, even) if I want to transition it to a more traditional belt bag. I've been burned before by belt bags with skimpy straps that ensure only the smallest wearers can wear them crossbody, but the Ace's adjustable length is just right. The woven strap is substantial enough to be comfortable without digging in, and the buckle, once snapped into place, is super secure.

The fabric feels luxurious

I was a fan of the buttery neoprene material from the jump—it feels substantial and luxurious, and it has a subtle sheen that's a pleasure to behold. But it's a workhorse, not just a show pony: Thick but flexible, it gives but doesn't stretch out. I chose the grey-lavender Dune color for the pack, and it's both a chic accent to a neutral outfit and a seamless part of a more colorful look. My only advice would be if you want a similarly light-colored model, know that water drops and other stains may show more than on darker colors—but that's life. After dropping pizza toppings on my bag (I'll do anything for science), I successfully got the stain out with Shout wipes, but there's a little residual watermark from the edges of the cleanup. Still, the bag looks great.

What we liked about the Dagne Dover Dakota Backpack

Close-up of an open green backpack. The first image shows a neoprene pouch that holds a tablet pen and perfume gun.
Credit: Reviewed / Anthony Palliparambil, Jr.

The Dakota Backpack features ample storage space, and even comes with a removable pouch for all of your small items.

There are more pockets and compartments than you’ll ever need

When I say that this bag was designed with functionality in mind, I mean it. I have counted no fewer than 15 different open and zippered compartments on this bag—each of which I used during testing. Of course, there is the standard-issue front pocket, water bottle holders on either side, a spacious interior compartment, and a laptop compartment in the back. But inside the main interior compartment, there are also four zippered interior pockets, an additional water-bottle strap, and an additional mesh laptop pocket.

If that’s not enough, the backpack also comes with a nylon shoe bag and a smaller, removable neoprene pouch that clips onto an included lanyard. While I tested this bag, I’d assigned a different function for each pocket. The zippered pockets inside the bag held my headphones, inhaler, and other daily essentials. The removable neoprene pouch carried a bottle of perfume, iPad accessories, and face cream. The front pocket carried a pack of gum, a spare phone battery, and pens. For someone as obsessed with organization as I am, this bag was a total dream.

This is the ideal carry-on backpack for air travel

Unexpectedly, I traveled quite a bit while I tested this bag, and I was very grateful for the thoughtful design on each of those trips. Firstly, the luggage-handle sleeve slips right over the handle of wheeled bags, meaning I didn’t have to contend with a carry-on bag while also carrying a heavy load on my back.

Additionally, two zippered pockets on the very back of the bag meant that while I was traveling, I kept some of my more sensitive documents and personal items closer to my body, making me feel safer while I had the bag on. An open pocket on top of the bag also meant that I could slip my phone in for safekeeping while I was waiting at my gate and even to keep my phone tucked away while I was on my flights.

What we didn’t like about Dagne Dover

Front and rear view of a green backpack on the handle of a gray rolling suitcase.
Credit: Reviewed / Anthony Palliparambil, Jr.

The Dakota Backpack is designed with travel in mind, easy to sling over the handle of a rolling bag.

Honestly, nothing!

As Jen wrote above, neoprene may not be the easiest to clean when it comes to oily stains, but aside from that, neither one of us found any faults with the bag. The argument could be made that more pockets don’t equal a better bag, but in our humble opinions, that’s a load of hogwash. There wasn’t a single pocket that didn’t go unused throughout the entirety of this product test, and that speaks to the thoughtful and carefully considered design of the brand’s offerings.

Is Dagne Dover worth it?

A man wears a gray backpack, and another man is seen wearing a burgundy fanny pack.
Credit: Reviewed / Dagne Dover

Dagne Dover bags are worth the investment for a fashionable and functional wardrobe staple.

Absolutely.

If you can’t tell by now, we are obsessed with Dagne Dover. The brand has nailed the balance between form and function, offering useful bags that are also stunning to look at. Even after constant use for over five months, the Dakota backpack looks as good as it did on day one. And the ultimate test? When Jen returned her testing sample, she purchased her own and never looked back. Although the bags ring in at a higher price point than many fanny packs and backpacks, we fully believe they’re worth the investment. Not quite convinced? The brand’s Almost Vintage program offers you the chance to buy slightly used versions of their bags at a discount, and earlier this year, we tested a similar neoprene fanny pack from Quince that our tester found to be a solid alternative to the original.

Shop Dagne Dover

Related content

Up next