About WITZMAN
Travel backpacks, duffels, messenger bags, laptop bags and more — designed for journeys that rarely stay the same from beginning to end.
WITZMAN began in 2001 with a simple question. While traveling from the skyscrapers of Manhattan to the forest trails of the Adirondacks, Shawn Hu found himself moving between city streets, subway platforms, mountain paths and airport cabins — but his backpack could only be carried one way.
The next morning, at a hostel breakfast table, he borrowed a pen and sketched an idea on a napkin: one bag that could be carried by hand, slung across the body or worn as a backpack. He was not a designer. He was simply a traveler who believed a bag should change with the journey.
That sketch became WITZMAN. One bag for every journey.
Our Journey
2001
The First Sketch
On the road between Manhattan and the Adirondacks, Shawn Hu sketched a bag that could be carried, slung or worn as a backpack. That napkin sketch became WITZMAN — one bag for every journey.
2005
Our First Store
Our first store opened in Guangzhou. More than a place to display bags, it gave travelers the opportunity to handle them, try the different carry styles and feel the details for themselves.
2014
Crossing Borders
WITZMAN reached travelers across the United States, Europe and Canada through Amazon. An idea born from one traveler’s frustration was beginning to cross continents.
2020
Taking Ownership
We established our own factory to take closer responsibility for stitching, zippers, assembly and quality control. Every detail could now be considered under one roof and under our name.
2023
Reaching More Travelers
WITZMAN expanded its presence in the United States through Walmart Marketplace, bringing the brand closer to travelers in more communities.
2025
New Roads Ahead
We continued into new markets and channels, including Amazon India and TikTok Shop, while carrying the same adaptable design idea forward.
Today
One Idea, Thousands of Journeys
More than two decades later, WITZMAN bags still carry the same DNA: adaptable across settings, flexible in the way they are carried and made to keep the journey itself at the center.
The World Is Wider Than Imagined
For more than two decades, the original idea has remained the same: a bag should move through different settings without limiting where the journey can go.
Our Purpose
We design travel bags for the changing rhythm of real journeys — from city streets and train platforms to airport gates, cabins and open trails. The more ways a bag can move, the more of the world there is to discover.
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A bag should adapt to the journey — not ask the journey to adapt to it.
Our Design DNA
Versatility by Design
Carry it by hand through the city. Sling it across the body on a crowded platform. Wear it on both shoulders when the road opens up. This ability to move between carry styles is not an added feature — it is the idea WITZMAN was built around.
We continue to design travel backpacks, duffels, messenger bags and laptop bags around the transitions that happen during a real journey.
Quality Assurance Tests
Bags are rotated in a tumble tester for 125 cycles to observe how the body and connection points respond to repeated movement.
Handles and their attachment points are checked under repeated pulling and sudden movement.
Zippers and surrounding seams are checked under controlled tensile force.
Shoulder straps and their attachment points are checked while carrying a controlled load.
Built Under Our Own Name
In 2020, we built our own factory. Not to say more, but to be responsible for more. Bringing production under our own roof gave us closer oversight of every stitch, zipper and connection point.
When someone trusts a WITZMAN bag with a journey, good intentions are not enough. We believe responsibility begins with being close to how each bag is made.
The Journey Comes First
We believe thoughtful travel gear should make the journey easier without becoming the journey’s biggest expense. Our aim is to create useful, adaptable bags with honest value, so more of your time and budget can stay focused on the places ahead.
WITZMAN. The world is wider than imagined.