UPPER Bags Guide: Which Bag Makes Sense for Your Day?
A diaper bag sounds like a simple purchase until it becomes the bag you carry almost everywhere.
UPPER builds bags for the version of that day that also includes a laptop, a pump and a train — bags that, in the brand’s own words, don’t scream baby gear. This guide covers what the brand actually makes, what is verified, and which model fits which routine.
UPPER at a glance
| UPPER Bags | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2018, New York City |
| What it makes | Diaper backpacks, work totes, a lightweight everyday backpack, a crossbody, travel pieces and accessories |
| Materials | PETA-approved vegan leather on the premium bags; 750D Oxford fabric on Maison Air; water-resistant Oxford on Noah and Milan |
| Bag prices | About $94 (Noah) to $198 (La Madison DayFlow 23) |
| Returns | 90 days, unused with tags, return shipping paid by you |
| Machine washable | No — spot clean with a damp cloth |
| Design language | Unisex, self-standing, three-zone interiors |
UPPER’s own phrase for its bags is life bags, not just diaper bags. The founding story on its site is specific: a new dad on a packed New York subway watching his wife manage a crying baby, a stroller and a sagging diaper bag, followed by interviews with parents whose recurring complaint was that their bag screamed baby gear. The company launched in 2018 and now says more than 700,000 parents carry its bags.
That origin explains the range better than any feature list. An UPPER bag still has insulated bottle storage, stroller clips and a wide clamshell opening, but from the outside it reads as a commuter backpack or a leather work tote. Whether that matters depends entirely on what else leaves the house with you.
Start with your day, not the prettiest bag
Before comparing pockets, be honest about the load. A parent with a newborn can need diapers, wipes, bottles, spare clothes, feeding equipment and their own things. A parent with a four-year-old may leave with water, wipes, snacks and one emergency outfit. Buying the biggest bag for both situations is not an upgrade; it just gives you more space to fill.
| UPPER model | Your normal day | What matters most |
|---|---|---|
| La Madison DayFlow 23 |
Baby + office | Laptop kept apart from baby gear, backpack carry |
 Harvey Pump + Work Bag |
Pumping + work | Capacity for pump parts, bottles and a 14 in. laptop |
 Madison Everyday Tote |
Office + occasional kid gear | Tote shape, 15–16 in. laptop, trolley sleeve |
 Maison Air |
Preschooler + errands | Low weight, snacks-and-wipes organisation |
 La Madison II Travel Backpack (21 L) |
Frequent family travel | Luggage sleeve, wide opening, carry-on shape |
 Madison Mini Crossbody |
Very short outings | Phone, wallet, keys, passport |
 Noah or Milan |
Tight budget, full newborn load | Waterproof fabric, many compartments |
La Madison DayFlow 23
If you want to understand UPPER, start here. La Madison is a hybrid of a diaper backpack and a work backpack, and it is the model UPPER’s other product pages point back to when a buyer asks about carrying a laptop.
The interior is split into three zones — baby gear, personal items and work — behind a wide clamshell opening, and the base is structured so the bag stands on its own rather than collapsing when you set it down. The laptop pocket is suspended so it does not touch the ground, and UPPER says it takes a 15 in. laptop in a case, with a 14 in. MacBook Pro the recommended fit. The stroller straps double as a luggage sleeve for a suitcase handle.
One thing to know: UPPER does not publish a capacity or weight for this bag. The name implies roughly 23 litres, and the product page describes it only as super light. If exact figures matter to you, Harvey and the Madison Everyday Tote are the models with published numbers.
About $198 in vegan leather. Camel, black, oat-milk beige and olive.
Four things that matter more than the pocket count
Diaper bags are vulnerable to feature-list marketing. Twenty pockets sounds better than twelve, so brands add pockets. A few design choices matter much more, and they are the reason UPPER’s bags cost what they do.
Can you see inside?
A wide main opening is the single most useful thing a parent bag can have. Deep backpacks with a narrow zip can have excellent capacity on paper while making small objects disappear; wipes go in first, a spare outfit and snacks land on top, and finding one small item means emptying the bag. UPPER’s clamshell layout is a direct answer to that.
Does it stay standing?
A self-standing bag can be opened on a changing table, a car seat or a café floor without a second hand holding it upright. That sounds minor until the first hand is already holding a child.
Can messy things stay away from expensive things?
If you carry a laptop, tablet or documents, separation from bottles, food and used changing gear is worth paying for. This is the clearest reason to choose a purpose-built parent-and-work bag over any large backpack.
Will both parents actually carry it?
UPPER’s bags are deliberately unisex and neutral — the about page lists I wish my husband would carry it among the complaints that shaped the range. A shared bag only works as a shared bag if both people are willing to pick it up.
Harvey Pump + Work Bag
A laptop plus a breast pump changes the packing problem quickly. Harvey is UPPER’s larger bag for that combination, and it is the model with the most complete published specification: 13.5 × 14 × 8.5 in., 26.49 litres, 1.9 lb empty, and a 9 × 12 in. top opening.
Inside are four insulated bottle pockets and a divider insert, and the bag ships with a padded changing pad, an insulated bottle holder, a zip pouch and stroller straps. It takes a laptop up to 14 in. — but UPPER’s own FAQ on the product page says that if carrying tech for work is your main goal, you should buy the Commuter 23 instead, because this one prioritises baby gear first. That is a useful degree of honesty from a brand about its own line-up.
If your day genuinely involves pump parts, bottles, cleaning supplies, a laptop and the daycare load, the extra litres earn their keep. If it does not, carrying a 26-litre bag every day is more bag than you need.
About $155 at the time of writing, discounted from a $255 list price.
Backpack, tote or something smaller
The backpack-versus-tote decision is practical, not stylistic. A tote suits people who put the bag beside them at a desk, want top access and prefer something that reads as an office bag. A backpack is easier when you are pushing a stroller, carrying a child, walking any distance or moving through an airport. Think about how often you actually carry the bag rather than how it looks on a table.
Madison Everyday Tote
Vegan leather, 12.5 × 20.9 × 5.2 in., 1.3 lb. Fits a 15–16 in. laptop, has a trolley sleeve for a suitcase handle and a padded sleeve UPPER pitches for hiding a pumping kit in a client meeting. About $155.
La Madison II Travel Backpack
The 21-litre travel version of La Madison in the same vegan leather, aimed at flights and weekends rather than the daily commute. About $198.
Madison Mini Crossbody
A slim REC nylon crossbody for passport, wallet, wipes and phone, with RFID-blocking and a removable strap so it converts to a clutch. About $120. Not a diaper bag — it is for the days when bringing the big one feels ridiculous.
Maison Air
Maison Air is not trying to be a newborn diaper bag. UPPER positions it for two-to-four-hour outings, preschool runs, errands and the lighter family days that arrive once you stop carrying six diapers and two bottles everywhere — while you are still the person carrying snacks, wipes, water, sunscreen and everyone else’s small objects.
It is built from 750D Oxford fabric instead of vegan leather, weighs 1.6 lb, has a spill-resistant interior, a front quick-access pocket for snacks and wipes, and a padded sleeve for a small tablet. It keeps the wide-opening, structured approach of the bigger bags.
Check the size carefully before ordering. UPPER’s own site currently lists Maison Air two different ways: 12.5 × 5.5 × 14.5 in. and about 18 litres on the product page, and 13.8 × 17.7 × 4 in. with approx. 15 L in the listing text. The weight is 1.6 lb in both. Those are not the same bag dimensions, so confirm which is current with UPPER if the difference matters to you.
About $129 for the bag alone; $169 with the Day Set accessories.
Noah and Milan
Not everyone needs the vegan-leather bags, and UPPER knows it. Noah is a waterproof, lightweight Oxford-fabric diaper backpack at roughly $94–108, and Milan is an Oxford backpack at about $109 with thirteen compartments, a wide top opening, insulated bottle pockets and a USB port for a bundled bottle warmer.
Neither has the structured leather look or the three-zone work layout of La Madison, and neither is pitched at laptops. What they do have is the full newborn load handled at roughly half the price. If your bag gets thrown onto playground floors and stuffed under seats, wipe-clean fabric that you do not mind scuffing is the more sensible material anyway.
One inconsistency to note: the Noah and Milan pages mention a 30-day warranty, Harvey’s page says 180-day, and the FAQ describes a 90-day guarantee. The returns policy itself is 90 days for every product; the warranty wording just has not been tidied up across older listings.
The right choice if you want UPPER’s opening and organisation without paying for the leather.
Vegan leather or fabric?
Most of the range uses PETA-approved vegan leather; Maison Air, Noah and Milan use Oxford fabric. Neither is automatically better.
Vegan leather gives La Madison, Harvey and the Everyday Tote their polished work-bag look, and it is meant to be wiped rather than washed. Fabric makes more sense when low weight, a softer structure and casual daily use matter more than appearance.
The deciding question is how the bag will actually be treated. If it spends its day moving between an office, a car and a stroller, appearance carries weight. If it lives on nursery floors and gets regularly covered in crushed snacks, you will care more about weight and how easily it cleans.
Either way, nothing UPPER sells is machine washable. The FAQ is explicit: spot clean with a damp cloth to preserve the structure.
A note on insulated bottle pockets
Insulated pockets are convenient for organisation and short outings. They are not a substitute for proper cold storage when milk needs to stay safely chilled for hours. Milan’s page claims its pockets keep bottles warm for four to six hours; treat that as a convenience figure, not a food-safety one.
What owners actually say
UPPER hosts its customer reviews through Loox, a Shopify review app. Those are buyer reviews, not independent testing, so they are best used to spot recurring themes rather than as proof that every bag performs identically.
The theme that recurs most is the one the brand was built on. A reviewer quoted on the La Madison II page puts it plainly: “I need as a first time mom, and that looks nice and fashionable and not so much like a baby bag.” The pull quote UPPER uses on the DayFlow 23 page makes the same point from the other end — that the bag passes for an everyday or work bag, so it keeps getting used after the diaper years.
One reality check worth carrying into the decision: a structured 23-litre bag can look smaller than a soft 23-litre backpack because it does not bulge. Whether that is a plus depends on whether you want a clean shape or maximum stuffing capacity.
What to check before ordering
The exact model
UPPER renames, bundles and discounts its bags often. The current commuter bag is La Madison DayFlow 23; there is also a La Madison II Work & Play Commuter at about $179 and a La Madison II Travel Backpack (21 L). A review of an older La Madison may not describe the configuration on sale today, so check dimensions, laptop fit, included accessories and material on the listing itself.
The returns terms
UPPER’s returns page gives 90 days from delivery, in new condition with tags, and you pay for return shipping — that applies to sale items too. A trackable method is required, and packages without an order number on the outside are not accepted. The Happiness Guarantee in the FAQ is the same 90 days. The one thing that is inconsistent is the warranty wording on individual product pages, which ranges from 30 to 180 days depending on how old the listing is.
Whether you need the premium bag at all
If all you need is diapers, wipes and a bottle for occasional short outings, Noah does the job for roughly half the price of La Madison. If the lowest empty weight is the priority, Maison Air at 1.6 lb and the Everyday Tote at 1.3 lb are the light ones, and neither Harvey nor La Madison is in that bracket.
Who UPPER is for — and who should skip it
Makes sense if you
Regularly combine parenting with work in the same day.
Carry a laptop or pump alongside baby gear and want them kept apart.
Want a diaper bag that reads as a normal backpack or work bag, and that both parents will carry.
Travel often and want the same organisation outside the nursery.
Would rather buy one bag that outlasts the newborn stage than a baby-only one.
Probably not worth it if you
Only need diapers, wipes and a bottle for short trips — a cheaper backpack will do.
Want the lightest possible bag above everything else; compare fabric options first.
Need something you can throw in a washing machine — none of these are.
Are buying outside the U.S. and need clarity on shipping and returns; confirm with UPPER before ordering.
Frequently asked questions
Does La Madison fit a 15-inch laptop?
UPPER says yes for a 15 in. laptop in a case, with a 14 in. MacBook Pro the recommended fit. The pocket is suspended so it does not sit on the ground. Harvey takes up to 14 in.; the Everyday Tote takes 15–16 in.
Which UPPER bag is the lightest?
Of the bags with published weights, the Madison Everyday Tote at 1.3 lb, then Maison Air at 1.6 lb, then Harvey at 1.9 lb. UPPER does not publish a weight for La Madison DayFlow 23.
Can I wash an UPPER bag?
No. The FAQ says none of the bags are machine washable; spot clean with a damp cloth. The vegan leather is designed to wipe clean after milk or snack spills.
How long do I have to return one?
90 days from the date you received it, unused and with tags attached. You pay return shipping, including on sale items, and the parcel must be trackable with the order number written on the outside.
Is UPPER a real brand or a dropshipper?
A real brand with its own designs, founded in New York in 2018, shipping from a U.S. warehouse, with a published returns policy and reviews hosted on its own store. The website copy is uneven — some listings still carry old warranty wording — but the company and the products are what they claim to be.
Which UPPER bag to start with
For a new parent who regularly carries both work and baby gear, La Madison DayFlow 23 is the easiest place to start. It is the model that most clearly represents what UPPER set out to build: laptop backpack, diaper bag and everyday bag in one.
If pumping equipment takes up a large share of your daily load, look at Harvey — and take UPPER’s own advice that it is the baby-first bag, not the tech-first one.
If you want something that reads as an ordinary work bag, the Madison Everyday Tote is the more natural shape. For preschool and the lighter stage after bottles and spare outfits, Maison Air makes more sense than continuing to carry a full newborn bag. And for very short outings, the Madison Mini Crossbody exists for exactly the days when bringing the entire parent backpack feels absurd.
That is the honest way to approach this brand. Do not start with the bag. Start with what your Tuesday actually looks like, then buy the bag that carries it.
Sources
UPPER — About Us
Founding story, 2018 launch, materials and community figures.
UPPER — Returns & Exchanges
90-day window, condition requirements and return-shipping terms.
UPPER — FAQ
Happiness Guarantee, care instructions, shipping.
UPPER product listings
La Madison DayFlow 23, Harvey Pump + Work Bag, Maison Air, Madison Everyday Tote, Madison Mini Crossbody, Noah and Milan — dimensions, weights, laptop fit and included accessories as listed in September 2026.
CDC — Proper Storage and Preparation of Breast Milk
Transport guidance for expressed milk.
How this guide was researched: Pikipok checked UPPER’s current product specifications, brand pages, policies and hosted customer feedback in September 2026. We have not hands-on tested every bag mentioned. Where UPPER’s own pages disagree with each other, we have said so rather than picked a number. Configurations, prices and policies change; confirm on the listing before buying.