Small

Small covers 8 to 12 inches across the base and holds roughly 3 to 5 liters. That takes a phone, a full-size wallet, keys, a sunglasses case, a compact umbrella and a slim pouch, with enough slack left to close the top. A 500 ml water bottle stands about 8 inches tall and 2.6 inches across. It stands upright only in the taller bags of this band and lies flat in the rest.

Weight is why crossbody bags cluster here. An empty small leather bag runs 300 to 600 grams, and a full one rarely passes 1.5 kg. One shoulder or a diagonal strap carries that all day without protest. Step up a band and the same contents plus the extra structure push past the point where you start switching sides.

What it gives up is flat storage. Nothing longer than about 10 inches goes in without folding, so tablets, laptops and paperwork are out, and a hardback usually is too. Judge one on its interior. At 4 liters, three padded slip pockets can swallow a quarter of the usable volume. A single open compartment with no divider turns the bag into a pit you dig through. One zipped pocket plus one open slip is the practical balance.