REASONS TO BUY
Incredibly tough fabric
Generous laptop sleeve
Easy-packing main compartment
Cushy shoulder straps
REASONS TO AVOID
Must buy hip belt separately
Smaller capacity options
Aer Travel Pack 4 Review
The go-anywhere travel backpack for mundane work commutes or international sightseeing
Credit: Zach Lovell
By Zach Lovell ⋅ Review Editor ⋅ November 4, 2026
RELATED: Best Travel Backpacks
Our Verdict
Travel luggage can take up a ton of room at home when you aren't “living the dream” flying around the world. But bags like the Aer Travel Pack 4 35L are small enough to be used as a daily backpack for coffee shop visits or work commutes, and it still has plenty of space/organization for when you do decide to hit the road again. In a nearly flawless backpack, our biggest gripe is that the hip belt is sold separately, and without it, all the weight falls on your shoulders. Besides this gripe, the Travel Pack 4 is lighter and easier to keep track of your junk (or, as some might say, "your essentials") than past versions, and its exterior fabric can literally handle getting poked with a knife.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Aer Travel Pack 4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Crossover for Travel and Daily Use |  Best Overall Travel Backpack | Most Comfortable Carry for Heavy Loads | Best for the Overpacker |  Best Travel Backpack Under $100 |
| Price | $259 List Check Price at REI | $230 List Check Price at REI | $200 List Check Price at REI | $249 List Check Price at REI | $96 List Check Price at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | Use this bag as a work commuter or as a travel backpack, it'll keep up either way | A travel backpack designed for easy packing and usability on trips of any length | For weight capacity and comfort, this outdoors-oriented model is unparalleled in the travel backpack class | If you need to bring as many clothes and belongings as possible without losing organization perks, travel with this backpack | This affordable travel backpack is comfy, spacious, and easy to stay organized with |
| Rating Categories | Aer Pack 4 | Cotopaxi Allpa 35L | Osprey Farpoint 40 | Patagonia Black Hole... | tomtoc Navigator T-6... |
| Organization & Protection (30%) | |||||
| Carry Comfort (30%) | |||||
| Travel Access & Livability (30%) | |||||
| Versatility (10%) | |||||
| Specifications | Aer Pack 4 | Cotopaxi Allpa 35L | Osprey Farpoint 40 | Patagonia Black Hole... | tomtoc Navigator T-6... |
| Carry-On Friendly | Yes. All dimensions are at/under the common U.S. carry-on maximum, so it should fit comfortably overhead. | Tight fit. Length and width are within most airlines requirements, but depth is 2 inches over many airline dimensions. | Yes. Fits the exact size of most airline bag dimensions requirements. | Tight fit/No. This bag exceeds the common limits in length and width. However, it is a soft-sided bag and may still be allowed on some airlines. | Yes. All dimensions are at/under the common U.S. carry-on maximum, so it should fit comfortably overhead. |
| Max Dimensions | 21.5" × 13" × 9" (35L) | 22" x 12" x 11" (35L) | 22" x 14" x 9" (40L) | 23" x 15" x 9" (45L) | 21.5" × 14" × 9" (40L) |
| Measured Weight | 3.9 lb (35L) | 2.96 lb (35L) | 3.5 lb (40L) | 3.6 lb (45L) | 2.43 lb (40L) |
| Laptop Compartment | Yes: 16" padded and fleece-lined | Yes: 16", padded and fleece-lined | Yes; 16", padded | Yes; 15", padded | Yes; 17" padded |
| Anti-Theft Features | Lockable zippers on main compartment and tech compartment, hidden smart tracker pocket | Lockable zippers on main compartment, fabric loops to secure zipper pulls of laptop pocket, main compartment, and larger external pocket | Lockable zippers on main compartment | External compression straps cover main zipper | Lockable zippers |
| Carry-On Sizes Available | 28L, 35L | 35L, 42L | 40L | 30L, 45L | 28L, 40L |
| Carrying Options | 4 grab handles, luggage pass-through loop | Removable hip belt, 4 grab handles, luggage pass-through loop | Permanant hip belt, 2 grab handles | Removable hip belt, cross body strap conversion, 3 grab handles, luggage pass-through loop | 2 grab handles, luggage pass-through loop |
| Pockets with Exterior Access | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Features | Lockable zippers, exterior passport pocket, load lifters, magnetic compression straps, lay-flat main compartment, compression straps, felt sunglasses pocket, large laptop pocket | Wrap around suitcase-style zipper, 3 internal mesh pockets, stretchy water bottle pocket, front accessory pocket, key clip, side/top/bottom grab handles, pass-through suitcase strap, webbing loops, stow-away shoulder straps and hip belt | Adjustable torso fit, internal and external compression straps, stowaway backpanel, harness and hipbelt, daypack compatible, internal suspension frame | Three carrying options, stowable hip and shoulder straps, passthrough suitcase strap, internal mesh organization pockets | Spacious laptop compartment that also fits tablet, dual access to main compartment, padded back panel, compression straps on both sides |
| Materials | 1680D Cordura® ballistic nylon exterior (bluesign® approved) | Shell 1: 100% recycled 840D TPU-coated nylon Shell 2: 100% recycled 840D ballistic ripstop nylon Lining: 100% recycled ripstop polyester |
Main: bluesign approved 450D recycled twist dobby polyester, PFAS-free DWR Bottom: bluesign approved 450D recycled twist dobby polyester, PFAS-free DWR |
300-denier 100% postconsumer recycled polyester ripstop with a postindustrial recycled TPU-film laminate | 1680D abrasion-resistant polyester on bottom of bag, 400D ripstop polyester for rest of exterior |
Our Analysis and Test Results
This 35-liter bag has one large main compartment with a couple of zippered pockets in the lid. The sleeve against the bottom can be used for clothes or shoes. Credit: Zach Lovell
Organization & Protection
The Travel Pack 4 35L is a great improvement, in our opinion, from the Travel Pack 3, particularly in organization. Our gear-intensive electronics friends appreciated the insane number of dividers the Travel Pack 3 had in its front tech compartment, but we found all the extra pockets and sleeves made it hard to keep track of cords or pens. The Travel Pack 4 has a clean and simple tech compartment that helped even our most squirrel-brained testers find what they were looking for.
The main compartment has a primary “cavern” to dump your clothes into, and the sleeve at the bottom can be used however you see fit, whether slipping some shirts or a pair of shoes in there. It took a bit of wrestling to zip shut, but we even squeezed a suit and suit bag in the main compartment.
The Travel Pack 4 has a spacious main compartment that was easy enough to keep clothing categories separated.
On the lid of the main compartment, there are two zippered pockets for your dirty laundry, T-shirts, or extra electronics.
We appreciated the two pockets for sunglasses, a travel sound machine, and some extra cords that didn't fit in the tech compartment. Credit: Zach Lovell
The front of the bag has the aforementioned tech pocket that's been dramatically simplified. Spend your travel time enjoying the sights or doom-scrolling on your phone rather than rummaging around the admin pocket for your charging cord. The top pocket on the Travel Pack 4 fits a passport and headphones, which is nice when we inevitably forget to take that passport out going through customs. If you've ever experienced the soul-piercing stare of a customs agent as you rifle through your bag for your travel papers, you know how important it is to have a pocket like this.
The front pocket of the Travel Pack 4 has been completely redesigned into a much simpler compartment, and the top pocket fits a passport and other quick-access items. Credit: Zach Lovell
The exterior of the Pack 4 also has excellent abrasion resistance. Why is that helpful? You don't have to be as careful about where you store it, whether sliding it into an overhead bin next to someone's umbrella or setting it by your feet on a bumpy shuttle.
The Aer Travel Pack 4 35L is impressively durable, handling knife scrapes better than most backpacks. Credit: Zach Lovell
Carry Comfort
The Travel Pack 4 is generously padded in the back panel and has a slightly more cushioned shoulder strap design than the Travel Pack 3. Like the ex you just can't get over, we're still pretty hung up on the hip belt not being included, but Aer does make one specific to the Travel Pack 4, and it is affordable. Whether you're huffing across the airport cause the tram is under repair or just commuting from home to the office, the Travel Pack 4 will reduce the chances of you arriving sore at your next destination.
This bag has two load lifters on the shoulder straps that were much needed with a bigger load. While the weight capacity of a bag largely depends on the person and how one packs it, the Travel Pack 4 kept our shoulders, neck, and back happy up to about 35 pounds without the hip belt.
This is a comfy bag, even without the hip belt, and the Travel Pack 4 has a slightly thicker cushion in the shoulder straps. Credit: Zach Lovell
The back panel of the Travel Pack 4 uses a 4-pad design with one vertical air channel and one horizontal channel. It breathes fairly well, which was a lifesaver when walking to a meeting with this bag in fancy clothes. Showing up in a boardroom with a sweat-stained shirt? Good-bye promotion.
The back panel of the Travel Pack 4 is well-laid out for support and some airflow. Credit: Zach Lovell
Three of the four grab handles were also comfy with the Travel Pack 4, with a padded and rounded design feeling great in the fingers and palm, even with a heavy load. The bottom side of the bag has a flat webbing handle that was more painful, but we didn't use that handle often.
There are three of these rounded handles on the top and sides of the Travel Pack 4 that made it comfy to hand-carry. Credit: Zach Lovell
Travel Access & Livability
If you need to quickly get to headphones, a cell phone charger, or your travel papers, the Travel Pack 4 has got you covered. It has 6 external pockets across the top, front, and sides, with the front pocket being large enough to even fit a book inside if you have to find out what happens at the end of your page-turning novel, even on a bumpy train. We packed and unpacked this bag several times, and whether on the road or at home, we never lost anything inside the bag. Now…did we lose stuff outside the bag at a hotel or on a plane? Maybe once or twice, but it wasn't the bag's fault.
Unlike its predecessor, the Travel Pack 4 makes it easy to find the specific charging cord you need, depending on how intentionally the bag is packed. The main compartment doesn't have as much organization as some would like, and may require you to snag some storage cubes, but we were able to find our next outfit relatively easily. Depending on the trip, we used the zippered pockets of the main compartment for socks and T-shirts or extra electronics and sunglasses.
The lid of the main compartment has two zippered pockets that can be nice for clothes or additional electronics organization. Credit: Zach Lovell
The Travel Pack 3 had a full-length tech pocket, but we loved the improved ease of use of the Travel Pack 4's half-length tech pocket. It was smooth-sailing loading it up or emptying it, and we could snag a memory card or our wireless headphones in a cramped airplane seat.
The front tech compartment of the Aer Travel Pack 4 35L is much simpler than the Travel Pack 3, and for some, is a huge improvement in ease of use. Credit: Zach Lovell
Versatility
Take the Travel Pack 4 with you on your Monday-Friday commutes to work, take it on a European vacation, or use it for a coffee shop “work” day when you need to get away from the cubicle. This is one of the better go-anywhere backpacks for urban or travel use, though it is not a hiking bag. Can you technically hike with the Travel Pack 4? Sure, it's just not as comfy to carry and doesn't have as much weight capacity as a hiking-minded model.
The Travel Pack 4 has smaller dimensions, making it much less cumbersome to drag around the plane or vacation town, but still has enough room for clothing and your key electronics. The aforementioned durability and abrasion resistance also make this easier to trust on a rough trip, and if you need a bit of peace of mind, the laptop compartment and main compartment have lockable zippers.
While less necessary when walking to your coffee shop, the Travel Pack 4 has lockable zippers in the laptop compartment and the primary compartment. Credit: Zach Lovell
This bag is also easy to bring as a carry-on for most major US airlines, and includes a pass-through handle if you're also traveling with a roller bag.
We didn't have an issue fitting the Aer Travel Pack in any of the overhead bins during our testing process. Credit: Zach Lovell
Should You Buy the Aer Travel Pack 4 35L?
Yes, if you know what's good for you. This is a highly capable backpack that only left us whining about the separately sold hip belt. Whether you've caught the travel adventure bug and want to hit the road using one-way tickets, or you need a single backpack for weekend trips and work commutes, the Travel Pack 4 will keep up and keep you from losing your favorite outfit or hard-to-replace laptop charger.
Quit fussing over your next travel backpack; this is worthy of your purchase if you want something that can do it all. Credit: Zach Lovell
What Other Travel Backpacks Should You Consider?
We've found the Travel Pack 4 much simpler in certain respects than the Travel Pack 3, but the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L is even easier to use than either version. It has built-in organization throughout the entire bag and even includes a hip belt. Before you start carrying on about “why did I even read about the Travel Pack 4?”, just remember, the Allpa doesn't have as much organization for your tech gear.
—Zach Lovell
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