Notabag is a tote bag that turns into a backpack with one pull on the handles. The idea was born in 2012 in a Frankfurt apartment, after founder Adnan Alicusic nearly had an accident with shopping bags hanging from his bike handlebars. Today the brand makes more than the Original: a foldable shopping bag, two crossbody bags, a duffel and a beach towel. One Horizon carries 14 Notabag products in more than 80 colors and patterns.
A near miss on the bike and an idea
Heavy traffic, honking, shopping bags banging against the front wheel. Riding home with his groceries on the handlebars, Adnan Alicusic only just avoided a fall and wished, right then, for a backpack he didn’t have. The annoyance turned into a sketch: a bag small enough for a jacket pocket that works like a tote in the store and becomes a backpack for the ride home. In 2012 he sewed the first prototype in Frankfurt. The mechanism behind it is patented today.
In the years since, Notabag has won several design awards, and according to the brand, millions of people use it, on the bike and off it. Since 2016 it has been made in a family-run factory in Guangdong province, China, which Notabag says it visits regularly, with living wages, regulated working hours and targeted support for women in leadership roles. In Switzerland the brand reaches One Horizon through the distributor IC Design.
How the bag becomes a backpack in one second
The handles of the Notabag Original run through the body of the bag. Pull them apart and they shorten into shoulder straps while the top edge cinches shut. Nothing gets clipped, turned inside out or knotted. Switching back is just as quick. Open, the bag measures 45 × 65 centimeters including the handles, carries up to 15 kilograms and weighs 140 grams itself. The ripstop fabric has a grid woven into it that stops small tears before they spread.
The second trick is the pouch. It is sewn on, so you can’t lose it, and the folded bag disappears into it at 15.5 × 13 centimeters, about the size of a hand. That way it lives in your jacket pocket or glove compartment instead of hanging on the door handle at home when you need it.
Notabag Original: solid, patterned, Reflective, Recycled and Artist Edition
The Notabag Original comes in 13 solid colors, from Black and Navy Blue to Olive, Sand, Terracotta and Wine Red. If you want to find yours again on a coat rack among twenty gray cloth bags, go for the patterned version with sprinkles, brushstrokes or two tones, or the stripes and gradient version. Technically they are all the same: 15 kilograms, 140 grams, sewn-on pouch.
Three versions each solve one specific problem. The Notabag Reflective has a reflective back panel and reflective straps. Worn as a backpack, exactly this surface faces the traffic behind you: gray in daylight, bright in the headlights. Made for anyone who cycles home from the store in the dark in winter. The Notabag Recycled is made entirely from recycled PET, melted-down drink bottles instead of new granules. And the Artist Edition hands illustrators such as Judit Canela and Mireia the whole bag as a canvas: the motifs run across the seam instead of sitting on a corner like a label.
2-in-1 Backpack and Shopping Bag – Solid Color
A tote bag and backpack in one: Just pull on the handles, and your tote bag turns into a backpack.…
Notabag Tote: the foldable shopping bag for 20 kilos
The Notabag Tote skips the backpack trick and focuses on one thing: a shopping bag you always have with you. 120 grams, 21 liters of volume, rated up to 20 kilograms, which covers the full weekly shop including drink bottles. Open, it measures 39 × 32.5 × 16.5 centimeters and takes a whole crate of vegetables. The 24-centimeter handle drop is long enough for the shoulder, even over a winter coat. Folded, it fits into its sewn-on pouch of 14 × 11 centimeters, the size of a wallet.
Seven calm solid colors, plus the pattern and stripes version in nine designs and the Artist Edition with nine motifs. The fabric is water-repellent and the bag is machine washable. If you want a bag for the bike basket or your handbag and don’t need a backpack, this is the one.
Foldable Shopping Bag – Solid Color
Foldable shopping bag with a 21-liter capacity that can hold up to 20 kg and weighs only 120 g. After…
Crossbody and Crossbody Light: small until you need more
Closed, the Notabag Crossbody is a flat shoulder bag of 28 × 17.5 centimeters for wallet, phone, keys and headphones. Undo the snaps and it grows to 28 × 40 centimeters, enough for a 13-inch laptop. The strap works in four positions, over the shoulder, across the body, in the hand or around the hips, without rebuilding anything. Inside there is a carabiner for your keys and two card pockets. Five colors, including Cream, Copper and Fern Green, made of recycled PET polyester.
The Notabag Crossbody Light is the 80-gram version in the same ripstop fabric as the big bags: 21 × 13 centimeters closed, 21 × 27 centimeters open, so a notebook or a small tablet fits inside. Nine designs, from stripes to the artist motifs.
Notabag Crossbody
A crossbody bag made from recycled PET polyester that can be unfolded to laptop size when needed. Closed: 28 ×…
Notabag Duffel: gym bag with shoe compartment and backpack strap
The Notabag Duffel holds 20 liters at 45 centimeters long and 25 centimeters in diameter. A ventilated shoe compartment keeps your sneakers away from the towel, the waterproof YKK zipper sits right where cheap bags break first, and the buckles are matte aluminum. The multifunction strap is the same as on the Original: in the hand, over the shoulder or as a backpack, without re-clipping. On the outside, you tuck a yoga mat, umbrella or skateboard into the straps.
Notabag Duffel
20-liter sports bag with a waterproof YKK zipper. The ventilated shoe compartment keeps your sneakers separate from the rest of…
Which Notabag fits which routine
Bike and groceries: Notabag Original, in winter the Reflective. Groceries only, always with you: Notabag Tote. An evening in town that sometimes turns into a workday: Crossbody. Just wallet, phone and keys: Crossbody Light. Training and weekends: Duffel. And if you want to give a gift without wrapping it, take the Judit Canela gift box with an Original, a Tote and a key ring in the same motif. In September 2026, all 14 Notabag products are available at One Horizon, the solid Original in all 13 colors. The full range is on the Notabag brand page.
Frequently asked questions about Notabag
Pull the two handles apart. They run through the body of the bag, shorten into shoulder straps and cinch the top edge shut. Nothing is clipped, turned inside out or knotted; the switch takes one second and works both ways. The mechanism is patented.
The Notabag Original carries up to 15 kilograms and weighs 140 grams itself, the Notabag Tote carries up to 20 kilograms at 120 grams. The reason is a ripstop fabric with a woven-in grid that stops small tears. Both bags take a full weekly shop including drink bottles.
The Original folds into its sewn-on pouch of 15.5 × 13 centimeters, the Tote to 14 × 11 centimeters, the size of a wallet. The pouch is attached to the bag and can’t get lost. That way the bag can stay in a jacket pocket for good.
Adnan Alicusic founded Notabag in Frankfurt in 2012, after he nearly fell off his bike with shopping bags on the handlebars. Since 2016 it has been made in a family-run factory in Guangdong, China, which the brand says it visits regularly. In Switzerland, IC Design distributes the brand, and One Horizon has carried it since 2026.
The Notabag Tote is machine washable and water-repellent. On the patterned versions the print sits in the fabric, so it doesn’t flake off and doesn’t stain light clothing in the wash. Original, Tote and Crossbody Light go in the machine at 30 degrees and air-dry, without fabric softener, which coats the water-repellent finish.
The Notabag Reflective. Its back panel and straps are made of highly reflective material that lights up brightly in headlights. Worn as a backpack, exactly this surface faces the traffic behind you. Available in yellow, mint, navy and black.
The bag you don’t forget because it’s already in your jacket
Most cloth bags don’t fail on quality. They fail because they’re hanging at home while you’re standing in the store. Notabag solved the problem at the root: the bag is small enough to stay in your jacket and built to carry the way home on your back. If you want to get to know the brand, start with the Notabag Original in Black or Terracotta. The Tote for your second jacket usually follows on its own.
Neo Abgottspon, One Horizon, Raron. As of September 2026.
