Is the New Béis Weekender Worth the Upgrade? I Took It on the Road to Find Out

If you’re chronically online, or just a big Béis fan, you’ve heard the chatter about its Weekender bag…and seen the videos of people schlepping through the airport with it on their shoulder, one slight breeze or accidental shoulder check from toppling over. Shay Mitchell has seen them too. After one too many comments to the effect of, “wait, does anyone really LIKE this bag?!”, the mega-popular weekender got a makeover. Relaunched in July, the redesign took some of the internet’s critiques into consideration, aiming to make the bag roomier, easier to pack, and more comfortable to carry.

I first started using the original weekender in 2021, a few years after it debuted as Béis’s first product, and found myself liking it, but with similar critiques: It’s a great road trip or even train trip bag, but not one you want to take to the airport (more on that later). As with most Béis products though, I appreciated the thoughtfulness that went into designing the bag—it’s always been clear that Mitchell and her team are actual travelers, and think through how to solve certain overlooked problems. So when the new and improved version came out, I was eager to put it to the test—to be honest, lighter weekenders had taken its place in our list of favorites over the last year or two. To properly compare, I had my mom bring along the original Weekender on a trip we took to Rhode Island; here’s how it went.

A side by side comparison of Béis’s original Weekender (left) and the newly upgraded model (right)

Madison Flager

What’s new and improved

Side by side, the biggest difference I noticed at first glance was the size. The newer model looks larger, especially when the sides are unclipped, which adds a few extra inches of height to the bag. This seemed counterintuitive to solving the oft-repeated problem of these bags being way too heavy to carry when full, but as an overpacker, I did appreciate the added space. I was able to fit everything for my three-night, four-day trip into both bags, but with a bit more breathing room in the new one.

The exterior zip pockets on both sides are both larger; there’s one regular pocket, and one that opens on the top and bottom to use as a trolley sleeve if you’re placing the bag on luggage. In the previous iteration, the pass-thru pocket didn’t zip on top; this is definitely an improvement in my eyes as you can better secure whatever’s inside.

Other changes: The shoulder straps are longer, and the removable crossbody strap has more padding, an upgrade that definitely improves the carrying comfort level. The interior pockets are stretchy instead of just a slip, which keeps things more contained, and there’s an interior water bottle pocket that even has a cutout for a handle. Other small tweaks that I like: a magnetic laptop closure instead of Velcro, which surely will last longer; a stretchy key leash; and the option to roll back the fabric separator if you want the main compartment to be one large area.