We tested the Bogg Bag against Owala, Simple Modern and Away, and the results shocked us

If you’re part of a family of beachgoers, major league sports fans or campers, then you likely have — or are looking for — an ultra-durable tote bag that’s stood the test of time. A great bag, whether for the beach or another outdoor adventure, has to be waterproof, easy to clean and able to hold items of all different shapes, sizes and weights. This is why the Bogg Bag is one of the most popular tote bags on the market right now — it’s available in several sizes and colors (including prints), it’s compatible with many attachable accessories and it’s made of a strong and flexible plastic material known as ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA).

But since Bogg Bag first launched, other brands have released their own versions of the all-purpose tote, including Owala’s The Sun-Day Tote, Simple Modern’s Getaway Bag and Away’s Beach Tote. This summer, our staff, including senior editor and tote bag enthusiast Shalwah Evans, tested these competitors to see just how they compare to the beloved Bogg Bag. We looked at functionality, materials, features, accessories and more, and even examined the weaknesses of each option. We also included testimony from editors who have tried other options in the past, including Yeti’s popular Camino 35 Carryall Tote.

Keep reading to find out which bag was our top pick, what it had that the others didn’t, plus which types of tasks and events each beach tote might be best for.

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Below are our thoughts on all of the totes we tested and how each one stacks up to its competitors. We also talk about their best features and which areas of improvement we’d love to see for the next iteration.

Best all-purpose tote

Owala recently launched The Sun-Day Tote, its answer to the Bogg Bag, and the brand sent us the non-collapsible bag to test out (it also sells a collapsible version, though we only included the non-collapsible one because it is most similar to the Bogg Bag). Evans tested The Sun-Day Tote for a few weeks, taking it to the beach and even a restaurant and bar. She enjoyed using The Owala Sun-Day Tote because it repels elements well and has plenty of room to hold many different items.

“I love the prints and colors available for this bag because they’re not just your basic, boring ones that everyone will have. The fact that sand bounces off of it, water dries quickly, and it doesn’t get stained easily is a bonus,” she says. “It’s a great alternative to lugging several grocery store bags too. I also love how sturdy the straps are and how they go around the entire bag to give the base even more reinforcement when I’m carting heavier stuff like champagne bottles and melons.”

It’s large enough to hold a beach blanket, towel, speaker, a few bottles, small personal items and food storage containers before it gets too heavy to wear on the shoulder. The one drawback: Besides being bulky, “the top is wide open so everyone can see right into your bag if it’s on the subway floor,” she says. “Thank goodness for the privacy pockets inside that hides your money, phone and other small necessities.”

While the collapsible version of this bag is easier to slide into a closet, Evans says that this option can be used to store household items when it’s not beach season. She used the bag at the grocery store, flower market, the beach and the park. She ranked this as the best overall of all the bags because it has the function of the Bogg but with sturdier straps, and if you get the collapsible option you eradicate any storing issues.

Best customizable tote

What we like

• Holds a lot
• Easy to clean
• Great for the beach

Evans tested the Original Bogg Bag for a couple weeks during trips to the beach. She says that it held all of her items very well and provided ample room for small, lightweight things like towels, swim suits, snacks, sunscreen, keys, wallets, fruit and a blanket. The Bogg Bag was easy to carry on one shoulder since she didn’t have super heavy items and was carrying supplies for no more than two people. “I like the Bogg Bag for the beach, especially if I’m driving,” she says. “It holds so much stuff without getting too heavy on my bad shoulders.”

Another highlight of the Bogg Bag is how easy it is to clean, according to Evans. “The bonus is that when I come home from the beach or park I just shake it out over the trash, wipe it with a damp cloth, and it’s ready for the next use,” she says. Additionally, the Bogg Bag is compatible with several attachable accessories from the brand, such as cup holders and trays, though they are sold separately.

Some potential drawbacks Evans had with the Bogg Bag mainly revolved around the fact that the bag itself is somewhat bulky at times, depending what size you get and what types of items you use it to carry. For light items, the bag is perfect, but if you put heavy things like large beverages or water bottles in it, it can start to wear a lot on your shoulder after a while, says Evans, who mostly used the bag while riding the train, which meant going up and down lots of stairs.

Senior production manager, Becca Delman, has had the Bogg Bag for years and says it’s been perfect for trips with her family. “It contains messes and wipes clean easily; every side wipes down without a problem,” she says. “It can easily hold beach or swim items for an entire family of five, plus food and snacks. It also comes with attachments like a phone holder and a 4-cup holder, perfect for keeping everyone’s coffees and waters secure.”

Both Evans and Delman agreed that it gets heavy and it’s bulky — issues that didn’t come up with some of the other bags.

Best budget tote

What we like

• Lightweight
• Budget friendly
• The straps are very sturdy

Evans also had the opportunity to try out Simple Modern’s beach tote, the Getaway Bag, which resembles the Bogg Bag but has more of a basket-like shape. Like the Bogg Bag and Owala’s Sun-Day Tote, Simple Modern’s Getaway Bag is available in several colors and multiple sizes, including medium, large and extra large. Also, similar to the competitor options, the bag is completely waterproof, making it easy to clean.

Evans says that she preferred using the bag for grocery shopping instead of a trip to the beach, since its shape and size wasn’t the best for holding a lot of different items the way the Bogg bag or Owala tote were. Additionally, the bag is much less bulky than the Bogg or Owala, according to Evans.

“I was surprised at how much I liked this bag. The hinge straps and perforations initially had me skeptical but once I used it to protect my work bag in an unexpected storm, I was team SImple Modern Getaway tote,” says Evans. “The waterproof material dried quickly, and I love that even the pocket inside will protect my phone and other small personal items. And while they look short, the straps fit over my shoulders with no resistance.”

With that said, Evans feels that the bag could potentially become uncomfortable to carry on your shoulder if you were to fill it with heavier items, which is why she says it’s more suited for grocery shopping or heading to a local farmer’s market. She considers it the perfect bag for stocking up on snacks or going to the flower market. It’s the smallest of all the bags and has a see-through inner pocket — two features she says she would upgrade if given the chance.

Best lightweight tote

What we like

• Made of durable material
• Water resistant
• Easy to fold and store

Something to note

• Only available in one size
• Limited colors

Earlier this year, beloved travel accessory brand Away launched its first line of beach totes and accessories ahead of the summer. The brand sent a sample of the new Beach Tote to test and Evans immediately took it on an international vacation. The main difference between the Away Beach Tote on the rest of the options on this list is the material it’s made of — while most of the totes on this list, including the Bogg Bag and the Owala, are made from a firm, durable and flexible EVA material, Away’s beach tote is made of a mix of mesh and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), which is much more malleable and more easily collapsible and foldable. It’s water resistant, holds up to 40 liters and only weighs around 2.5 pounds itself.

Evans tested out Away’s Beach Tote during a beach trip, a day on a boat, a park day and to carry groceries home from a farmer’s market, and she said she loves how much it holds even though it’s so light, but also how easy it is to collapse. “I first used this on a girls’ trip to Panama and it did not fail me. First of all, it folded so perfectly in my overstuffed carry-on luggage, then it proved itself to be a much-needed item for the trip,” she says. “My favorite part is the hidden inner pocket where I stashed my passport and cash. I’ve since used it for beach days, layouts in Central Park, and errands at the flower and fruit markets. I also love the bright yellow color, which even as a New Yorker, I can get behind for summer.”

When she’s not using the bag she puts it back into its duster and slips it into the closet. Compared to all the other bags, the most standout feature of this tote is how compact it becomes for storing even though it’s really large when in use. Overall, Evans says it’s her personal favorite of all the bags she tested (though the Owala is the best overall) because it marries the function she needs as a public transit rider with the look she wants as a fashion lover. The biggest drawback? It has the least amount of structure, so it doesn’t load and unload as seamlessly as the others, and it doesn’t sit well on the floor when you’re traveling and want to give your shoulder a rest.

Best tote worth the splurge

What we like

• Waterproof
• Has clip-on loops
• Has multiple pockets

Yeti has a lot of popular and highly reviewed products and the Camino 35 Carryall Tote Bag is one of best but also least talked about items. It’s the brand’s closest equivalent to the Original Bogg Bag. The bag is waterproof and it has a material and texture that almost marries what you get with the Away Beach Tote, Bogg Bag and Owala Sun-Day Tote.

The Camino has more structure than Away’s bag, but it isn’t made of as firm of a material as the Bogg Bag. It’s available in small, medium and large sizes, and several colors and styles. The Camino also has several pockets on the inside, including a zippered compartment, and it has multiple loops on the outside which you can use to attach clip-on accessories.

NBC Selected reporter Zoe Malin has the Yeti Camino and loves how durable it is. “This is by far the most durable tote I own thanks to its thick, solid shell that’s covered in a puncture- and water-resistant material, so I tend to use it most when I’m spending time outside all day, like going to the beach, pool or park,” she says. “It’s very structured and has a flat bottom so it sits up no matter where I put it, and it stays open when I unzip it, which makes loading and unloading it very convenient.”

The bag also has a bar attached to the bottom of the handles, so you can choose to carry it with your hands instead of on your shoulder with the straps, which keeps it higher above the ground.

Here’s everything we considered when making the list of beach totes above.

• Durability: The most important aspects we considered when testing the bags above is how well they held up through weeks of use. This included how easily they held several types of items like towels, water bottles, food, shoes and more. Plus, we considered how easy (or hard) it was to keep the bags clean, such as after a trip to the beach. Most of them all proved to be relatively easy to keep clean, according to Evans, who says that sand didn’t adhere to the bags at all, and even coffee wiped away with a damp cloth. All of the bags, except for the Away Beach Tote, are made from a similar EVA material and have small holes on the sides and/or around the bottom, which helps keep sand and other debris out (while also functioning as a system for adding pockets and other storage).
• Size and shape: In addition to durability, we factored in the size and shape of the bags, which were all similar, but particularly the Bogg Bag, Owala and Simple Modern options. The Away Beach Tote is made mostly of a mesh material that is much more pliable and thus doesn’t have the same type of structure as the other options, so unlike those, it doesn’t stand upright on its own well for loading and unloading.
• Comfort: We also considered whether or not each bag was comfortable to carry, whether by hand or on the shoulder, as this is an important factor with any tote bag, but particularly with the Bogg Bag. While it is known for its toughness and durability, the Bogg Bag is critiqued for being slightly uncomfortable to carry when it’s filled with heavy items. While any tote will eventually become uncomfortable to carry if it’s heavy enough and/or if you hold it for long enough, Evans found that there were varying levels of comfort between the options she tried.

Here is what you should consider when deciding whether the Bogg Bag or the other options on this list are best for you:

Bogg Bag

This is the bag for you if you want an extremely durable bag that can handle trips to the beach, park or elsewhere with a group. It tends to be a good pick if you’re traveling by car versus public transportation. You should also go for the Bogg Bag if you enjoy the customizability that the brand offers with its accessories, like its drink and phone holders and trays, which attach to the sides of the bag. The large size costs $90 and the aforementioned accessories are sold separately.

Owala

The Owala Sun-Day Tote is ideal if you want an equally durable and easy-to-clean bag as the Bogg Bag, but don’t necessarily care about all the bells and whistles when it comes to attachments and accessories. Also, the Owala is great if you prefer fabric handles over the EVA ones the Bogg Bag and Simple Modern ones have, which some people, like Evans, find a little more durable. The bag is $99.99 and only comes in one size (large), but is available in a collapsible or standard option.

Simple Modern

Shop the Simple Modern Getaway Tote if you don’t plan on hauling a ton of large items, but instead prefer to use it for things like grocery shopping or buying small toiletries and personal items. The large is still smaller than the equivalent Bogg or Owala, so it simply wont carry as much, though Evans enjoyed using this for light shopping and said it was one of the most comfortable. It’s also the only bag she says she could imagine fitting on a bike, and it was the least bulky on the subway and other public transit. At $69.99, the large size is the least expensive of all the beach totes.

Away

The Away beach tote is best if you prefer a durable bag that most resembles your traditional, stylish beach tote, and is also foldable. It easily fits in a storage bin, luggage or in the trunk of a car. It’s great for your beach or park day essentials — towels, sunscreen, glasses and a water bottle — but it may not be your first choice for carrying heavy or large items. It’s an ideal pick if you travel around a big city because it carries on the shoulder without adding bulk in crowded or tight spaces. The bag only comes in one size (two colors, though) and is the second most expensive at $128, though Evans thinks it’s also the nicest looking of them all.

Yeti

The Yeti Camino is suitable for those who appreciate extreme durability and waterproof material, such as regular campers and fishers. The Camino has, similar to the Away beach tote, a zippered closure on the top, so if you carry items that could potentially get damaged if they come in contact with water or moisture, then this is also a great option for you. At $160, it’s the most expensive of all the beach bags on this list.

I’m a commerce editor at NBC Selected, where I write about home and kitchen appliances, storage and organization and lifestyle accessories. For this story, my colleagues and I tried out various beach totes throughout the summer and also compared them to ones we’ve used for long periods of time prior to testing for this story.