Today is brought to you by the Moomins, because a couple of days ago I was gifted a Moomin patch:

I like the Moomins. I immediately started thinking about which bag (or pannier) I might attach this to. Then the next day I was gifted a rucksack...

You'd think this would solve the conundrum, but I'm not so sure. While I am appreciative of receiving the rucksack, rucksacks are a PITA to shop for and this one has a number of issues.

Firstly, it is of the zipped variety, and I don't trust these; over-load them and stress that zip and it's surely going to fail. A case in point is that this isn't a brand new rucksack, and while showing very little signs of wear overall, there is an internal pocket in the flap and the zip on that has failed.

A drawstring and a flap with clips is preferred. Such as this trusty Karrimor I've been using for over a decade:

That one is actually a prime candidate for a patch or two, since a few years ago when I fell down a mountain and tore up a side pocket (the flap pocket had previously been torn up by a client's dog who discovered something within to try and chew on). I never thought about patching the side pocket...

Secondly, regarding the gifted rucksack, is that it has a stupid pocket design where the front and side pockets (not mesh) are open to the elements, so that surely when walking in rain, they will try and fill up with water, and if I'm riding my bike with it, that front pocket will act as an air-scoop and cause drag! Great work, design department at Berghaus.

Side pockets with zips are preferred, but my experience with my two Karrimor's is that these eventually snag the fabric and then more often get caught up and tear things.

I had a Regatta rucksack for a short while (right) but that had issues too, even though it looked smart, namely with the choice of fabrics. The base fabric started to deteriorate quite soon, like scuff and crack even though I was careful about placing the pack down when I noticed this begin, and the main fabric's waterproof coating on the inside appeared to easily obtain pin holes. The rucksack was also awkwardly bulky when not much was in it - the top liked to maintain its shape regardless. I had to throw that rucksack out though when a mouse/mice took a liking to the straps. Not all Regatti(?) rucksacks are terrible though; I had a larger one (of different construction and materials) I did a week-long hike with once and that held up perfectly, the only issue I had was the clasp on the waist strap kept unclasping if I took too much of a deep breath.

I've only once put an actual patch like this on a bag (they're tough to sew), and that was on one of my bike's panniers (to the right is what they looked like when new - they certainly don't look that sharp now). That pannier didn't need a patch where I placed it but I'd had a dream about riding my bike and Spongebob Squarepants, so I sought out a patch to try an encourage the events of the dream... I don't think it worked.

Putting more patches on my panniers sounds like a fun idea, but they're all kind of worn out too, and have all received more patches in the "trying to eke out their longevity" variety (underneath), and not in places where cartoon patches would look best. Also, I think I might have to unpick that Spongebob one to afix it somewhere else at some point, so maybe that can join the Moomin on my most widely used rucksack, since it is seemingly gaining a lot of character.