It’s been years since I had a decent gym bag.
I’ve looked for months, but typically just fell back on my old standbys, a reusable grocery bag or a tote bag given to me for participating in a friend’s wedding a few years back.
They work, but barely.
Don’t laugh, this was my old gym bag.
Then last month I discovered Apera, a Colorado-based company that launched mid-2012 and has a line of sports bags with antimicrobial product protection, which helps prevent growth of bacterial odors in and on the bag.
Apera generously offered me a yoga tote to check out and review for Scoot and I am smitten.
Yoga tote has a space just for your yoga mat. Photo by Apera
Not only is it cute, (hello, fuchsia!) but it’s incredibly versatile. I can use it as a gym bag, as an overnight bag and as a carry-on for one of my many race weekends. Happy dance!
It’s also got LOTS of deep pockets to store all sorts of goodies. And that means I can put my keys in one zippered pocket and my phone in another (and that, my friends, will avoid any possibility of them colliding and scratching the phone screen.)
Brought my bag to work with my gear for an evening run.
Sadly, I have not yet used it for yoga, as I am a sporadic yogi. Next week. I promise. Or not. We’ll see.
Each Apera bag also has the following:
Ventilated compartments: (note the mesh a top my bag) The bag’s breathable material allows for air flow, and in turn keeps everything inside dry and stink-free.
My bag is filled with Thursday’s workout gear, see the separate slot for my sneakers?
Wipeable linings: (and yes, I already spilled water in here. It cleaned up easily.)
A washable insert: (I’ve used it for my swimming goggles thus far.) It’s meant to help you separate your wet and dry gear and keep everything else in your bag from getting wet.
Pic by Apera, my goggles aren’t as sleek and my cap is pretty hideous
I also love to support small companies that have a meaningful mission.
And Apera does just that. For every three bags the company sells, they donate one bag to a Special Olympics athlete.
Want to win an Apera bag of your own? It’s your lucky day as Apera gives one bag away each month. All you have to do is sign up to receive to Apera’s newsletter via e-mail and you are automatically entered into their monthly drawing.
This month, the bag of choice is Apera’s sling tote, which retails at $109 and is next on my “must-have” list.
The sling tote
Subscribe by March 31 to be in the drawing for the Sling tote. The winner will be notified via email by Apera. Go to the Apera site to enter and scroll to the bottom of the screen and type in your email address. It’s that easy.
They also often offer deals. Currently, the entire blue line of Apera bags (any style Apera bag in blue!) are 40% OFF. Also, all of the duffel packs (any color) are 40% OFF. Happy shopping!
Note my cat lounging with my yoga tote. She’s trying to pose like it. HA!
Do you have a favorite gym bag? What sort of bag do you use? What are the pros and cons? I’ll get you started, I sometimes use a plastic grocery store bag. YUP.
Disclosure: I received one Apera yoga tote to review. All words and opinions are my own.