Porter’s Recon Bag blends briefcase form with backpack utility

Porter took the office bag problem and made it modular. The Recon Bag from the TANKER COYOTE line is shaped like a briefcase, carries like a backpack, and lands right in that sweet spot where a commuter wants polish without giving up hands-free movement. At ¥110,000, tax included, it is not a throwaway work tote. It is a deliberate tool: 906 grams, 10 liters, and sized at W290 x H400 x D90 mm, so it reads lean rather than lumbering.

That matters because the bag was built for the exact kind of day that breaks a standard office brief. Yoshida & Co. describes it as a B4-size briefcase that can be carried by hand or on the back, with multiple front pockets and an A4-size front pocket made for quick access. That front-pocket setup is the whole appeal. It lets you keep transit pass, phone, notebook, or a slim tablet where you can actually reach them, instead of digging through a black hole of zips and padding once you are already late for the train.

The Recon Bag sits inside PORTER’s TANKER COYOTE second release, part of Yoshida & Co.’s 90th-anniversary project and the final chapter in that program. Only five items make up this release, and each bag carries a serial-number tag. The collection also uses an original “Traveling Map” lining pattern, a nice bit of inside-the-bag theater for people who care as much about what a carry does as how it looks when it is slung over a shoulder.

The materials are where Yoshida & Co. shows its hand. The TANKER COYOTE series uses 100% plant-based nylon and biomass nylon twill with polyester-cotton bonding processing, plus nylon taffeta lining. That is a real shift for a brand founded in 1935 and built on “bags as tools,” not just logo nostalgia. The Tanker line itself dates to 1983 and takes its cue from the U.S. Air Force MA-1 flight jacket, which explains why it still feels more utilitarian than fashion-fussy. Gear Patrol says the broader Tanker Coyote anniversary range includes seven bag styles, each limited to 300 units, and that scarcity will matter to collectors. For everyone else, the real draw is simpler: this is one of the rare work bags that can move from commute to office to overnight trip without making you choose between briefcase manners and backpack utility.