Light Bag Pack for Easy Travel and Tablets
The research
- Why you should trust u.s.a.
- All-time minor bear-on bag for most situations: Cotopaxi Allpa 35L
- All-time big handbag for virtually situations: Elevation Design Travel Backpack 45L
- Best bag for document organization: Topo Designs Travel Bag 30L
- Best bag for long journeys on foot: Osprey Farpoint forty and Fairview 40
- Best bag if yous need a large suitcase on your back: Tortuga Outbreaker 45L Backpack
- All-time affordable large backpack: eBags TLS Mother Lode Weekender
- Who should go this
- How we picked and tested
- Other adept carry-on travel backpacks
- The residue
- Sources
Why you should trust us
I've been roofing aspects of luggage and travel handbag design for Wirecutter for more than four years and have personally researched, tested, and compared hundreds of bags in that time. And as members of a remote organization, our editors and writers travel a lot and are continually testing the gear we recommend—our travel gear guide remains a perennial favorite amongst staff members. I personally endeavor to practice almost of my travel with a single backpack whenever possible. I spent 9 months roaming around Hawaii with not much more than than that and another six months nomadically couch-surfing in New York City.
In addition to documenting our own experiences, I reached out to experts and writers who specialize in traveling the globe carrying everything they need in a single bag. Eytan Levy is the owner and operator of the Snarky Nomad travel website, which combines travel guides and tips with in-depth gear reviews. James Feess is the founder of The Savvy Backpacker and writer of The Savvy Backpacker'south Guide to Europe on a Budget. And Sharon Gourlay is the author of the Where's Sharon? travel website. I as well spoke with moderators of Reddit'due south r/onebag and r/heronebag forums, as well every bit with Chase Reeves, bag fanatic, reviewer, and owner of Matterful.
Best small carry-on bag for most situations: Cotopaxi Allpa 35L
Our option
Get this if: You want an easy-to-organize, comfortable-to-conduct bag with a rainfly for downpours and some water-resistant surfaces (handy if yous frequently place your gear on the ground), or yous want to support a B-corp and its related social and sustainable missions.
The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L features an like shooting fish in a barrel-to-pack clamshell design and highly adjustable straps that go far a great all-around bag for any traveler who's dedicated to packing low-cal, or for a smaller person who wants less to carry. Handles on all four sides of this bag make it easy to grab no thing where y'all've stowed it. Information technology'due south as well protected past a full lifetime warranty and has the build quality to dorsum that up. After more than two years of testing, this single backpack (plus a personal item) has replaced about every travel bag or piece of luggage I use.
Unlike the straps on our other picks, the Allpa's straps are contoured to comfortably fit people who take big or small chests. It'south not a specifically gendered pattern, simply our female tester noticed the improvement right away.
The hip belt, which can exist removed while the bag is on your back if y'all like, is notwithstanding substantial enough that it's comfortable to clothing when yous need information technology. With or without the hip belt, the Allpa is very comfortable over long distances. However, folks who have longer torsos (more than 19 inches) may find that the waist chugalug sits a petty high off the hips, unless you lot fully extend the shoulder straps.
The Allpa has a clamshell design, which ways it opens like a difficult-sided suitcase: A large YKK zipper runs around iii sides of the bag, letting information technology fall open up into 2 halves when unzipped. On the right side is a deep compartment, spacious enough for ii big packing cubes or half a suitcase's worth of clothes (which you access through a mesh zippered flap). On the left, there'due south infinite for one more medium-size packing cube behind a zippered flap with high-visibility backing (which is good for hard-to-differentiate personal items).
The Allpa too has two side-access zippers—great for on-the-become access, especially when the pocketbook is hanging from your shoulder. One of these reveals a apartment figurer pocket with a padded faux bottom, so if you drib the bag, it won't drop right onto the corner of your computer; the other reveals a "secret" pocket with a hidden zipper and access to the main compartment. All of the main compartment zippers are protected by security loops, which y'all thread the zipper through at the end of its run. This prevents anyone from subtly or quickly grabbing a attachment and opening your handbag when you aren't paying attention.
Different in some other models, in the Allpa the laptop is situated against your dorsum; this keeps the weight of the electronics closer to your body and adds a sure layer of security. The computer pocket is the sturdiest we tested, just information technology is also slim. The handbag also includes a deep front end-access panel to hold miscellaneous items; it'south deep enough to carry several paperback books and a one-liter water bottle.
The Allpa's front console is fabricated of a waterproof, TPU-coated 1000-denier polyester (a strong fabric covered in a flexible plastic blanket), which means you tin lay it on its back in a moisture field or in gravel without worrying most moisture soaking through or jagged edges ripping the fabric. The rest of the paneling is made with 1680-denier ballistic nylon, similar to the Topo Designs Travel Pocketbook or the Tom Bihn Aeronaut. This feels similar to a strong canvass, but it has a more prominent weave. The Allpa is the kind of purse you lot tin toss equally hands into an overhead compartment equally yous tin into the back of a rusty pickup truck. Uniquely, the Allpa likewise includes a rainfly, which, considering the heavy nylon and TPU coating, seems like information technology'll be unnecessary in all just the heaviest downpours. Still, information technology's there.
Flaws merely non dealbreakers
The Allpa has a minimal amount of administrative organization—places to go on pens and papers, spaces to agree tickets, and and then forth. This is where a expert personal item comes in handy. However, if you want to travel with simply this one bag, there are a few nooks you can hide things in. The front organizer is deep enough that you tin also fit several small organizing pouches, if y'all want.
Capacity: 35 liters
Weight: 3 pounds, vii ounces
Main compartment access: clamshell opening
Style: adventurous
Colors: Evergreen, Spruce, Black
Best big bag for most situations: Peak Blueprint Travel Backpack 45L
Our pick
Get this if: You travel oft with expensive camera gear and need easy access and many storage pockets, or yous merely prefer a backpack-based packing system with enough of adaptability and customization.
Some numberless in this category are built to do 1 thing extremely well—be luggage on your back. But the Peak Blueprint Travel Haversack 45L is congenital to suit. Information technology'south the Swiss Army knife of backpacks: adjustable, customizable, and (if you jump for the extra cubes and organizers) an most perfect system for a photographer or gearhead on the move. Virtually bags' expanding mechanisms aren't worth the extra attachment they're built on, and they wait most as bonny as a boiled ham splitting out of its plastic packaging. Not so with the Acme Design: It looks just as practiced fully packed at 45 liters as it does compressed to a 30-liter daypack.
You tin can access the purse through a dorsum console, which doubles as a computer and tablet pouch, also every bit a front ane, if you unzip the pass-through divider. You tin can as well get into the master compartment via ii wing-similar trapezoidal flaps that run forth each side of the pack. In its natural shape, the Travel Haversack holds 35 liters, but an expansion attachment lets the bag swell to 45 liters. If you desire to utilize the pocketbook as a daypack, you fold in the top corners and snap them down, reducing the bag's volume to a slim 30 liters. And information technology still feels larger than a normal daypack, but nosotros think that'south a minor compromise for beingness able to apply one haversack as both your travel pocketbook and your daily explorer. The Travel Haversack looks skilful in any of its configurations. The bag itself consists of 400D nylon and polyester fabrics. It feels tough, but not as tough as another bags nosotros've tested, such as the Cotopaxi Allpa.
The Top Design lets you lot tuck its shoulder and hip straps away when you're not using them. But different whatever other bag we've ever tested, this pack has magnetic flaps on the back panel that open up and close with an almost magical snap. Once you've played with them, you'll wonder why every backpack doesn't have something similar. A small, kittenish part of me still gets excited about tucking away the straps when I put the Height Blueprint into an overhead bin. Although the straps are sparse, they're comfortable. The hip belt isn't quite equally plush as the 1 on the Tortuga; still, even when the Top Design is fully loaded, the belt doesn't pinch or dig into the body.
If yous travel with a camera, you don't have to use Peak Design'due south photographic camera cubes, only they do make conveying that gear a whole lot easier. The cubes come up in iii sizes, and if they're situated properly in the handbag with the provided clips, they line up with the Travel Backpack'south side-admission flaps for quick access. Caleigh Waldman (the lensman for this piece and, full disclosure, my spouse) took this bag across the land for a hymeneals shoot. "I want this backpack," she said afterward three weeks of travel. "I desire to travel with information technology everywhere. With my cameras. Without my cameras. Information technology doesn't matter. I want to travel with it."
Summit Design likewise makes a line of ultralight packing cubes. They're good cubes, and they compare well to the ultralight Eagle Creek Specter Tech fix, our upgrade pick for packing cubes. Nonetheless, the Acme Design cubes are sized specifically for this bag and fit just and then inside it, particularly when combined with other Tiptop Blueprint gear cubes and accessories, like the toiletry bag. (Chase Reeves has done an in-depth video review of these cubes; it's a expert resources for anyone who'south on the fence near ownership them.) After testing the cubes (and this is not a marking against the Hawkeye Creek or the Tiptop Pattern ultralight cubes, both of which are excellent), I personally nevertheless adopt the more-rigid Eagle Creek Pack-It set, our top pick.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The Travel Backpack has few flaws. It is expensive—especially if you commit to the unabridged system of packing and camera cubes. The adaptable blueprint and multiple zippers do add complexity, and complexity adds potential weaknesses. Summit Design covers all of its numberless with a lifetime warranty, which should alleviate almost people'southward concerns. But if yous're particularly difficult on your gear and withal demand to carry as much as possible, yous might consider the Tortuga instead.
Capacity: 45 liters
Weight: 4½ pounds
Master compartment access: back-panel loader
Style: minimalist and unobtrusive
Color: Black
All-time bag for document organization: Topo Designs Travel Bag 30L
Also slap-up
Get this if: You lot travel frequently for piece of work and prefer a pocketbook that's much easier to work out of than most of our other picks. The front console and assorted pockets are like a pocket-size traveling office space.
Of all the bags we recommend, the Topo Designs Travel Bag 30L comes closest to the style of an everyday carry backpack, due to its small size and minimal external features. This pocketbook is perfect if you lot have to travel to a work consequence, get off the airplane, and then employ it every bit a daily backpack without drawing too much attention to yourself. Topo also includes built-in zipper clips, if you desire to piggyback a smaller daily-conduct backpack to your Travel Bag. I know people who love to do this. I personally do not. But it'southward a good feature, especially if yous're committed to Topo gear in full general.
The Travel Bag is one of the simplest bags we tested, with a master compartment and some basic document organization in the front pocket. This bag is a front-panel loader (which nosotros find very piece of cake to pack), organized effectually a main pocket that can fit 2 big packing cubes. Within, the lid of the bag too has 2 mesh dividers, for a small-scale amount of organization. Outside, the handbag has two small zippered pockets for travel accessories (such as earbuds and a passport) and a larger organizer pocket for books, tickets, and snacks. The Topo is constructed with heavy YKK zippers and, similar to the Cotopaxi Allpa, has built-in zipper security loops (strong loops of fabric that secure your zippers when the bag is shut), if you want a touch more security.
Similar to our other picks, the Travel Bag is backed by an excellent lifetime warranty and repair program from Topo. However, Topo's gear is made from 1000D nylon (a dense and very tough material) and built like a tank; information technology has rigid padding throughout, and there is an attending to detail (particularly in the stitching around the zippers and handles) that'southward a mark of quality to whatsoever savvy bag enthusiast. The point is, you would really have to go into some trouble to demand the repair program. Only it'south there if yous practice demand it.
The Travel Bag has a built-in laptop compartment that fits nearly fifteen-inch laptops and is situated close to your back; this protects the calculator and keeps its weight closer to your torso. (All of our picks have similarly designed laptop compartments, except for the Osprey Farpoint 40.) The Topo is well padded on all sides, and it is stitched in a style that keeps the border of your computer from the lesser of the bag and should protect your computer from all but the worst drops. This handbag, like most of Topo's gear, is designed to work with Topo dopp bags, accessory bags, and packing cubes. Fully packed, it can carry two big packing cubes, ii medium accompaniment bags, and a dopp kit.
There are three ways to carry the Travel Handbag: the top or side handles (there isn't a bottom handle, unfortunately), an optional shoulder sling (you have to buy information technology separately), or backpack straps (which stow in a zippable pocket when not in use). Both the shoulder sling and backpack straps are easy to access and feel about as comfy every bit using a daily driver bag. Though this bag is not expressly congenital for long treks or cross-country hikes (the nylon back can get a picayune hot), the backpack straps themselves are well padded and strong plenty to distribute the weight of the bag evenly across your trunk. Based on how easy the bag was to acquit over moderate distances, I recently suggested the Travel Purse to my sexagenarian parents when they traveled to Europe during their retirement.
If yous desire to comport every bit much as possible, the Travel Pocketbook as well comes in a 40L model. It's a fine bag at that size, and it does come with a small nevertheless stowable waist chugalug to help behave the weight. But we adopt our larger picks, like the Tortuga (more than carrying chapters) or the eBags TLS Mother Lode (less expensive).
Flaws only not dealbreakers
Despite its travel-certificate organization, the Topo purse lacks the large internal pockets of our other picks, and the bag'due south principal compartment isn't quite as spacious equally that of our other picks. People who like a deeper main compartment might prefer the Cotopaxi or Tortuga bags. The Topo bag's compartment is a picayune tight for large laptops, so it isn't the all-time when going through security.
Capacity: 30 liters
Weight: two pounds, x ounces
Main compartment access: front-panel loader
Way: retro
Colors: Olive, Navy, Ballistic Blackness
Best bag for long journeys on pes: Osprey Farpoint forty and Fairview twoscore
All-time bag if y'all demand a big suitcase on your back: Tortuga Outbreaker 45L Haversack
Also not bad
Get this if: Yous desire to maximize your packing space in a pocketbook that's durable, customizable to fit most trunk lengths (there's also a 35L version, though we're seeing stock issues with it), and h2o-resistant, and that has organizational features to accommodate any digital nomad.
The Outbreaker is congenital to occupy the maximum carry-on space available. Information technology'south a nearly perfect blend of backpack and luggage. On the outside, its tear-resistant sailcloth and sealed zippers provide ample protection from abrupt objects and the elements. Opening the master clamshell attachment reveals a cavernous interior and a few organizational features (the front panel is a item standout, great for keeping track of electronics and chargers) that make the bag a cinch to pack. Of all the bags nosotros tested, the Tortuga Outbreaker strikes the closest balance between the carrying comfort of a hiking haversack and the space and organization of a piece of luggage.
But every bit important, thanks to the adaptable torso length, shoulder straps, and waist-chugalug organisation (borrowed from hiking backpacks), the Outbreaker is the virtually adjustable bag we've tested 3 years in a row. And that's despite the pocketbook'due south hefty (just over 5 pounds) weight when empty—it's roughly 2 pounds more than than about of our other picks, except the Peak Pattern Travel Backpack. The Outbreaker is available as a 45-liter bag (the max space for a bear-on purse), which we tested, along with the 35-liter version, which is compliant with some intra-European. The more-diminutive version is a decent choice for weekend travel or for minimalist travelers—but for this size, we prefer the space-saving profile of the Allpa. Both sizes of the Outbreaker are adaptable for body length, which means you lot tin can dispense the location of the shoulder straps (video) to fit a wider variety of body sizes. This blueprint (with its included load-adjuster straps at the superlative, to preclude the bag's weight from sagging toward your lumbar region) is the all-time of those we've tested at distributing the weight of an otherwise fairly heavy bag. Across moderate distances, these straps practice aid with the bag's overall weight.
When it comes to packing, the Outbreaker'south interior is soothingly minimal, equally any skilful suitcase should be. In addition to the cavernous main pocket, along the sides at that place are four inner pockets, which are a petty too modest for anything other than socks and pocket-sized personal items like toiletries. The lid of the bag reveals two wide, vented pockets, which can carry shoes or concur dirty laundry.
Tortuga makes a less expensive, less rigid, less adaptable, and ultimately less comfortable 45-liter backpack, the Setout. Choosing between the 2 is a close call, but we preferred the extra rigidity, strength, and load-carrying ability of the Outbreaker. If yous want a Tortuga and yous don't listen making some compromises, the Setout does carry just as much every bit the Outbreaker. However, we think that for the price, you're better off either spending more for the comfort of the Outbreaker or saving a little and opting for the more-attainable eBags TLS Mother Lode.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
Some people, especially those who are difficult on their gear, may consider not being able to remove or stow the Tortuga's straps (as they tin can with our other picks, like the Cotopaxi) a disqualifying factor. Simply after years of testing, traveling with, and occasionally checking our purse, we haven't had an consequence. Personally, it withal makes me nervous to run into the Tortuga traveling on the baggage belt toward mysterious machines and conveyors below the airport—all of which, in my imagination, are waiting to tear the hip belt from the handbag or slice open the sailcloth outside. But the Tortuga appears to shrug information technology all off with ease. However, if these mysteries beneath the airport also brand you nervous, you lot might prefer one of our picks with piece of cake-to-stow straps, like the Peak Pattern Travel Backpack. Nosotros've too fielded complaints from some testers that this bag was too heavy for them to carry, fifty-fifty with the padded hip belt and adjustable straps. The additional padding does add a lot of weight. At 5.1 pounds, the Outbreaker is 2 pounds heavier than most of its closest competitors. If you lot feel like you would struggle carrying a full-size travel backpack like this model, we strenuously encourage you to consider one of our more-manageable picks, similar the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L.
Capacity: 45 liters
Weight: five.1 pounds
Master compartment access: clamshell opening
Style: minimal, with a rigid construction
Color: Blackness
Best affordable big backpack: eBags TLS Mother Lode Weekender
Also great
eBags TLS Female parent Lode Weekender
Affordable chapters and organisation
The Mother Lode offers the organizational features most travelers want, at an affordable cost. However, information technology's not as comfortable every bit pricier options, and it can expand well by the limits of most overhead bins.
Ownership Options
*At the time of publishing, the toll was $105 .
Get this if: You lot want an affordable handbag with a traditional look, to carry as much as y'all can—potentially more than y'all're allowed by airlines.
If you like the concept of the large Tortuga Outbreaker but not its cost, the eBags TLS Mother Lode Weekender is a great option for infrequent travelers who are willing to surrender some features, such equally a decent hip belt. It's not comfortable enough for trekking long distances on foot, just there are plenty of external pockets for organisation, a laptop sleeve that holds the weight of your estimator loftier upwardly on your shoulders, and an easy-to-admission primary compartment. This bag likewise has the largest capacity of any of those we tested, expanding to 65 liters—well beyond any airline'due south regulated 45-liter limit. Even so, the pocketbook's more-casual looks might not be to everyone's taste.
The Mother Lode is a good suitcase built around a bones (if slightly underwhelming) haversack. That's the tradeoff y'all make for its low price, which is less than half that of other models. Unlike our other picks, the Mother Lode is non for carrying over long distances, especially when it'southward full. If yous know you're going to be walking long distances (say, over a mile or then) with your pack on, yous might want to consider one of our other picks. That said, if y'all're carrying your bag but from a taxi to the aerodrome security line but yous want to avoid checked-item fees, the Female parent Lode might exist the handbag for you.
The best part of the Mother Lode is the interior layout: It is easy to pack, and it's smartly organized but still adaptable enough to mold to your preferred style of packing (meaning you can detect what you lot demand when you need it). Yet, the intense blueprint focus that's evident in the interior of the purse seems to take slipped a flake when it came to the exterior. It's not an uncomfortable haversack, but compared with several of our other picks in this size, this bag'south slim straps and barely there hip belt are noticeably lacking.
The clamshell opening of the Mother Lode is like to the Tortuga'south or the Cotopaxi Allpa's . This space is augmented by a separate front end compartment and organisation panel for quick access to mid-size items like a toiletry kit; a top compartment for keys, small books, or sunglasses; and a front pocket organizer for smaller flat items, like travel documents and wallets. The laptop pocket is large and well protected, and it has a strap to aid secure and position your laptop's weight in a higher place your back if you wish.
Flaws but non dealbreakers
There are enough of flaws with this purse, if you choose to run into them as flaws instead of the necessary consequences of the Mother Lode'southward ridiculously inexpensive toll. During testing, we packed every bit much into the Mother Lode as we did in the Tortuga (more, if nosotros expanded the Female parent Lode past strict carry-on dimensions). The problem with that much chapters? Information technology becomes an absolute comport to carry. And the flimsy waist belt is almost useless at distributing weight across your hips. Several times during testing I considered simply cut it away. This is a shame, since the bag could go from "decent for the price" to "fantastic, particularly at this toll" with just a few upgrades.
Capacity: 45 liters (expandable to 65 liters)
Weight: 4 pounds
Master compartment access: clamshell opening
Fashion: casual
Colors: ten solid colors
Who should get this
For some people, the claiming of cutting downwardly a packing list is intimidating. But if y'all can go past that initial hurdle, traveling with a single bag is a revelation. With fewer items, yous have more fourth dimension to concentrate on and appreciate the journey. It's easy to remain more than mobile when yous're non loaded downwardly by heavy luggage and easier notwithstanding to conform your plans mid-trip. If you're willing to do laundry on the road, then one bag is all you need to travel indefinitely. And as airlines accuse more than and more than for checking baggage, traveling with just a carry-on handbag (frequently referred to every bit one-bag travel) is becoming less of a lifestyle choice and more than of a survival skill. At its centre, ane-handbag travel allows you to discover more than—not just about the places you're going but about yourself and what you lot really need mean solar day to day.
If you want more creature comforts or more gear, or if you programme to be abroad for a long time beyond multiple climates, you'll want a bigger travel haversack. These larger bags are not carry-on-friendly, though, especially in Europe, and then exist prepared to check them. We besides accept a guide to wheeled carry-on bags, which are designed to agree a lot of stuff while remaining piece of cake to maneuver effectually airports. Withal, wheels, retractable handles, and frames subtract from precious packing space and add weight, and can make a bag hard to manage on busy urban center streets.
In that location's no unmarried haversack that is perfect for everyone. Before y'all make any purchase, consider some bones points. How much can y'all carry? And where do you usually visit: city or outback? Travel gear should experience like a welcome companion—there to support you when you need information technology, but unobtrusive when you lot do not. The best bags are congenital to survive a lifetime of use and, if cared for properly, should be something you develop a bond with over fourth dimension.
How we picked and tested
To compile our list of possible models, we scoured the world of travel blogs and product reviews (most driven by a similar affiliate revenue model to ours), including The Savvy Backpacker, Snarky Nomad, The Travel Hack, Nomadic Matt, The Travel Tester, Where'south Sharon?, Y Travel Blog, Lengthy Travel, and GearLab. Additionally, nosotros lurked on Reddit's r/onebag and r/heronebag forums, and emailed and had telephone interviews with the moderators of those subreddits, Addison Ryan and Lindsay Lorraine Calderón, respectively. Additionally, we spoke with the prolific travel bag reviewer Chase Reeves to get his thoughts on what most great bags take in common. We ended upward with a listing of 60 candidates and so narrowed this list down to 22 finalists using the following criteria: capacity, compartment design, aesthetics, reviews, and reported comfort.
In that location isn't 1 perfect pocketbook to please everyone, merely in that location are tools you can use to find what's best for you. We did a lot of our own research to compare models of travel numberless, but r/onebag moderator /u/-Nepherim created one of the best product-comparing spreadsheets we've seen. If yous want to keep researching your own pick, this spreadsheet is a great place to first.
Even if you aren't convinced by our picks, nosotros practise think nosotros tin help you figure out what parameters are best for travel bags of any size. Nosotros've narrowed downwards our specifications to the following list of features, ordered from most to least relevant.
- Panel-loading or clamshell opening for the main compartment: As with any adept slice of luggage, with these bags, y'all want to exist able to open them and meet everything you lot've packed. A panel-loading or clamshell blueprint—rather than a traditional meridian-opening design—lets you lot pack and unpack these bags just as yous would a suitcase.
- Backpack strap comfort and design: You never know when you'll be walking further with your bag than yous'd intended. The more comfy and well designed the straps, the easier traveling will exist. "Ideally, you desire a pocketbook's shoulder straps to adapt to the angle of your shoulders," said Eytan Levy of Snarky Nomad. "Expert shoulder straps are the difference between an like shooting fish in a barrel trip and a difficult trip."
- Hip belt condolement and design: A hip belt transfers heavy loads from your back and shoulders onto your hips, letting your legs—not your back—bear the burden of the weight. Just having a waist belt is a plus, but having a padded and sculpted 1—particularly on bags with over 40 liters of volume—makes a world of difference.
- Style: This is purely subjective. Nosotros preferred bags that had a minimalist exterior mode, but not all of our picks will please everyone. Well-nigh of the people we spoke with, however, preferred not to stick out like a tourist wearing a big, colorful backpack, if they could avert information technology.
- Cloth quality: Durability is disquisitional for any type of luggage, merely especially for a backpack that will exist your just bag. Well-nigh bags worth considering are made of nylon, which resists chafe more than polyester fabrics of similar density. Spending more, nevertheless, can become you such exotic, lite, and strong materials as Dyneema or sailcloth.
- Weight: One time the bags arrived, we weighed each ane ourselves. Most of the bags weighed inside a few pounds of 1 some other. But unless y'all're very strict with yourself, by the time you're packed for a two-week journey, all bags are going to feel every bit massive, even if 1 is just 2 pounds heavier than another when empty.
- Stowable straps: These are prissy to have but aren't absolutely necessary. "The more often you lot need to cheque a purse, the more than frequently yous need to hide away the straps," Levy said. "Merely if the straps are tough enough, it doesn't matter."
- Accompaniment pocket layout and design: Some people volition dearest an accessory pocket that has a specific space for everything, while others may find that feature constricting and unadaptable. Nosotros prioritized elementary designs that guided our packing without constraining us.
During testing, we flew with these bags across the country, took weekend trips to nearby cities, lived out of them on extended trips, and tried them locally in our daily routines. We likewise packed and unpacked each bag, using a standardized gear up of weeklong travel necessities and accessories, to run into how well the internal organizational features (or lack thereof) aided or got in the way of efficient packing.
Other practiced behave-on travel backpacks
If you lot want to travel like a backpacker just fit in at a board meeting (and have the upkeep to do and then):
consider the Tom Bihn Aeronaut—its reputation for durability, adaptability, and a low-key aesthetic make information technology a favorite among many dedicated ane-bag travelers. Afterwards testing, we retrieve it'due south a smashing purse besides. That said, for the bag to really stand out against other backpacks, and to take full reward of its conveying adaptability, you demand to buy the $30 internal frame, the $30 hip chugalug, and (if you're traveling with a arrange or jacket) the $30 shoulder strap (all prices at the fourth dimension of writing). This all adds upward on a pocketbook that already costs $300. Even though everything near the Tom Bihn (the fabric, the zippers, the quality of construction) feels like an upgrade from other bags, information technology'southward simply too pricey, and its design is too rarified and specific for most people. The biggest flaw, from our perspective—apart from the cost—is that the Tom Bihn lacks a dedicated laptop pocket. In its identify, the company sells laptop sleeves (a fine version if you don't have ane) that clip into the bag's central compartment. Not everyone needs a dedicated laptop pocket, but nosotros adopt the more than secure feeling of numberless that practice.
The rest
Minor bags
Eagle Creek Global Companion 40L: This isn't a bad handbag. It's protected past a decent lifetime warranty—though Hawkeye Creek stresses this ways the projected lifetime of the bag, non the lifetime of the owner. There are pregnant improvements if yous pay slightly more for our pick, the Cotopaxi Allpa. The Allpa'due south materials and construction are better. Its clamshell blueprint is deeper, and information technology'due south easier to pack. And the Allpa is more than comfortable on your dorsum. Best of all, Cotopaxi backs its bags with a true lifetime warranty.
Hawkeye Creek Wayfinder 40L: The lack of any kind of clamshell or other full openings on this bag fabricated it something of a large school backpack and knocked it out of the running fairly quickly. There are tons of better backpacks than this for travel. Most all of the bags on this competition list—and certainly our height picks—would be ameliorate choices.
Goruck GR2: I'one thousand a big fan of Goruck bags, and I use the GR1 regularly every bit my daily work and travel pocketbook. These bags volition last a lifetime. Nonetheless, the GR2 is also expensive and too large (a true 40L) for many people, especially since information technology doesn't come up with a hip belt. We wish the GR2 had a removable hip belt, something similar to what'due south on the GR3. That said, this pocketbook is simple, sturdy, and stoic. At that place is a lot to dear about information technology. And if you don't mind the high price, this handbag volition probably outlive your corporeal cocky.
Minaal Behave-on 2.0: This bag was designed to exist the absolute best travel backpack for business people. Only if you lot're a concern person, you're probably wearing at to the lowest degree a blazer, so you lot wouldn't employ a backpack in any instance. Only if you're a concern traveler who falls more on the coincidental terminate of the business-casual spectrum and you're non on a budget, you should know that many travel writers have spoken well of this bag, despite its loftier toll. This does look to be a well-thought-out pack, but we call up our picks are more versatile for world travel.
North Face Overhaul 40: There's still a devoted online following for this handbag, but the Overhaul twoscore appears to be plagued by production issues. It'due south simply not reliably in stock. Even if it were, I'm not sure information technology would brand the cut. The bag opens in an unusual mode, following the shape of something like a cobra caput—in one case opened, the bag is splayed and difficult to pack. It's probably decent at keeping rain off the zippers, but it felt finicky to us.
Large bags
Cabin Max Metz (and the nearly identical AmazonBasics Deport-On): The cheap, no-frills pattern is enticing for the price. But afterward comparing these bags to the TLS Female parent Lode, we call back you're better off paying twice the cost for manner more than than twice the value. The Female parent Lode is more reliable, is built from stronger materials, and will hold more stuff comfortably than either of these numberless.
GeniusPack Travel Backpack: The GeniusPack is the but model nosotros came across that tried to fit a suit into a travel backpack. Though some people might need this, we recall those who have to travel with a suit (or clothes that crave pressing) would be amend off with a piece of acquit-on baggage.
Goruck GR3: The GR3 is virtually worth the toll for certain people. It'due south strong and unproblematic and covered by an iron-clad repair guarantee. The removable hip belt is comfortable to article of clothing and skilful at displacing the weight of a 45-liter haversack. It'southward a proficient handbag. Even so, after testing, we weren't thrilled with the internal Velcro lining for compatible Velcro packing cubes. Velcro isn't great: It wears out, is difficult to keep clean, and clings to dirt. That might seem like a small matter, only for the price, this bag should experience perfect.
Kelty Redwing 44: When nosotros got our easily on the Redwing, we realized that it was closer to a top-loading lite camping haversack than to the console-loading packs we tested. It didn't quite fit the scope of this review because of its design.
Hynes Hawkeye 40L Flight Approved Carry-on: This is a very similar pack to the eBags TLS Mother Lode and the Cabin Max Metz models. It might be useful as a weekend traveler, only we don't think it would hold up for longer trips.
MEI Voyageur: There'due south a lot to like nigh this bag, particularly for the price. Information technology features 1000D Cordura nylon and YKK zippers, and has a spacious blueprint and decent shoulder straps. Simply we're nevertheless on the fence most recommending it. The lack of recent reputable reviews gives us pause, along with the sparse Shopify website. Still, nosotros're impressed by the build quality and will go along to test this bag throughout the year. If the Tom Bihn Aeronaut is not in your budget but you want a sturdy shoulder bag, the Voyageur may be worth a try.
Osprey Porter 46: This is a slightly larger sibling of the Farpoint xl. Information technology's nearly ii inches longer and pushes correct upward to most airline limits. If you don't heed possibly having to gate-cheque your handbag at the last minute, this would be an excellent culling to the Farpoint 40.
Patagonia Black Pigsty MLC: The MLC used to set the standard for shoulder bags of this size. Just after years of testing and further comparing against dedicated travel backpacks and improved hybrids (such as the Tom Bihn), the MLC is simply outclassed. Compared with those of our summit picks, the MLC's straps are too slim and unsupported for the pocketbook's 45-liter capacity. And its lack of any framing gives the bag a soft and unsettling feeling if it's anything simply fully packed. Also, the lack of a hip belt (once a mere inconvenience when compared with the competition) is now glaring. That's not to say information technology'due south a bad bag. There are plenty of people who love this handbag, and with good reason. Just if you're ownership a new travel backpack this twelvemonth, there are lots of better options.
Tortuga Setout Divide: Nosotros're fans of the Tortuga Outbreaker and Setout travel bags, and we consider them both to be great maximum-size bear-on backpacks. But the Setout Separate doesn't quite live up to that legacy. The biggest flaw is that the chief compartment is too shallow to be very useful. There is an expansion zipper, but it'due south located on the front end console, which is less rigid and more hard to pack than the main compartment. This purse is well organized, and the straps were some of the most comfortable we tested. Merely for the bag's price, we retrieve yous'll be happier packing and carrying the Cotopaxi Allpa. With some minor revisions, though, the Split could possibly be 1 of our summit picks.
Trakke Storr Carryon: Travel-pocketbook enthusiast Hunt Reeves used to listing this handbag as one of his top picks, forth with the Minaal 2.0, every bit a medium-size carry-on bag, and information technology looks very well built. But information technology is simply also expensive for most people.
Sources
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Lyra Pierotti, The Best Travel Backpacks, GearLab , November 17, 2016
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Chase Reeves, Matterful.co, telephone interview , Oct 10, 2018
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Addison Ryan, moderator, r/onebag, email interview , September viii, 2018
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Lindsay Lorraine Calderón, moderator, r/heronebag, telephone interview , September 28, 2018
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