A Hump and a Gladstone

These are two very different bags.

Actually one is really a cover for a bag.

My husband, who is a cyclist or a bicycler or basically a person that rides his bike to work every day in San Diego and then rides centuries or double centuries for fun, really wants a Hump bag.

Most of the cyclists in London have one.

It seems to be a combination of a glow-in-the-dark apparatus so that drivers don’t hit you on the road and a way to cover up all your gear from the elements.

This is how it is advertised:

“Respro Waterproof Hump Rucksack Cover

It's simple, it's effective, it's versatile and it's waterproof: a waterproof cover for your rucsac in bright and reflective materials which is highly visible from the side and the rear.”

I, on the other hand, am completely enamored with a Gladstone bag that I saw at a local antique store.

It is not simple or reflective.

Instead, it is gorgeous - handmade by a woman in Northern England. The Gladstone bags are a nod to a different era and crafted with exquisite detail.

One of many beautiful bags designed by Karina Hesketh of Newcastle

You can buy a dozen Humps for the price of one Gladstone.

But does that really matter.