Why Buy A Travel Backpack?
What makes a bag that you travel with a travel backpack? There are so many niche products in the pack market that it can get exhausting to comb through the nuances that separate a travel backpack from a commuter bag from a laptop bag. Truth be told, there is a lot of overlap between categories, and some have multiple uses.
For this review, we focus on bags with a fairly specialized purpose: serving as a replacement for traditional carry-on luggage for travelers who often stray off the beaten path and need luggage that can keep up. We stuck to a size range of 30-45 liters, which you can expect to be adequate for anything from an overnight trip up to a week of travel, depending on how minimally you pack. Packs in this size range will also fit within the size restrictions of most airlines (though we recommend double-checking with your specific airline before heading to the airport). Beyond size, the best travel backpacks have features that make life on the road a little more manageable, such as suitcase-like clamshell openings, padded carry handles, lockable zippers, lay-flat electronics and laptop sleeves, and hidden stuff pockets that zip up to protect shoulder straps from hungry airport luggage escalators.
Travel backpacks don't have the same internal structure as traditional backpacking bags and aren't well-suited to longer outdoor excursions or super-heavy loads. If you're planning a 10-day backpacking trip in the Alps during a three-week hostel-hopping European adventure, it may be wiser to purchase a dedicated hiking backpack. On the flip side, if your travels follow a more traditional beat, taking you from uber to airport to hotel lobby, you might not need or want to carry all your belongings on your back, and would be better off with the convenience of a roller bag.
The sweet spot for dedicated travel backpacks is a multi-destination, transit-heavy urban adventure. A trip that takes you off the pavement and onto cobblestone streets, dirt paths, winding staircases, and city buses. The classic examples are backpacking through Europe for a month, island-hopping in Southeast Asia, or working as a digital nomad in South America. In these cases, having a single bag that you can carry on your back gives you the agility and freedom to explore places where a roller bag would be a huge pain in the neck.
If this sounds like your style of travel, then you're in the right place. Read on as we discuss two of the most important aspects to consider when choosing your perfect pack.
A Note on Traveling Light
The more items you can pack, the heavier your bag, and the less comfortable it may be if the bag doesn't have the right support. If you're traveling to a destination with easy access to amenities like a pharmacy or a clothing store, consider holding off on “just-in-case” items or duplicates if you need to lighten your travel bag. Look at the weather forecast ahead of time to be more precise with your layering, and check out laundromats you can use mid-trip to bring fewer clothes.
What to Look For in a Travel Backpack
There are a dizzying number of considerations to make when shopping for a travel bag, but we've distilled the noise down to a few key aspects to think about before you hit the “order now” button.
Size & Airline Compliance
Carry-on size restrictions vary by airline, and how those requirements are enforced varies even more. We recommend reviewing the carry-on restrictions of your favorite airlines, writing down their exact dimensions, and confirming that your prospective backpack fits within them. While many airlines may not measure every person's bag, we recommend being conservative, as a last-minute gate check can be an expensive mistake. Luckily, most of these soft-sided backpacks have a bit of wiggle room and can be made to fit in the bag size checker if you don't stuff them all the way full. Looking for a bag with compression straps can also help in a pinch.
Design, Accessibility, & Organization
In a nutshell, how easy can a bag make life on the road? The features listed below make the biggest difference in liveability while you're hopping between hostels at night, cafes during the day, and public transit in between.
Clamshell vs Top-Access
Clamshell openings feature a zipper that wraps around three sides of the bag, so when you open it, you have a clear view of the interior split into two halves, much like the opening on a suitcase. This is the most common design for travel backpacks, and the most functional for most people. When open, the bag lies completely flat, making it easier to pack and allowing you to see all your stuff in the main compartment at the same time.
Top-access models, also known as top-loaders, are more common in the outdoors world, but they do still sometimes appear in travel backpacks, even if only for one of the bag's compartments. These can save weight with a shorter zipper, and can make for a cleaner exterior profile so it doesn't catch on a bus seat or airplane buckle, but they can be harder to put folded clothes inside or to rummage around in.
Internal Organization
Most backpacks stick to a tried-and-true organizational system, where the main compartment is wide open to better fit large items like clothes and shoes, while a separate “admin” pocket has lots of dividers and pockets for tech and travel docs. However, a few packs switch it up by adding dividers into the main compartment as well, creating a built-in packing-cube system that works well for keeping your socks separated from your shirts.
The best organization style depends on your reason for travel and what you typically pack. Digital nomads or business travellers will appreciate having a thoughtful and roomy admin panel to keep their tech separated from their clothing and shoes. For purely personal travel, you likely won't need all the pockets and pouches, and having more space in the main packing area will be more useful.
The number of additional external pockets varies greatly among the packs we tested, but in general, we prefer to keep it simple on the outside, as too many pockets can look messy and feel like a maze to sort through.
Tech Protection
In addition to the admin sleeve, most travel backpacks have a dependable laptop sleeve running against the back of the bag, where the back panel padding can be used as reinforcement, and it's furthest away from the ground when putting the bag down. These can be top-loading or side-loading. We prefer the top-loading option, since there is less chance that our laptop will take a spill if we accidentally open the wrong zipper. If you are packing a laptop, camera, or other tech, you'll want to check the water resistance of the outer material. Most options are water-resistant, but very few are fully waterproof. If the weather forecast looks like rain at your destination, you might want to invest in an extra rain cover.
Comfort and Fit
Travel can already feel somewhat cumbersome, and ending up with an uncomfortable pack only makes it more difficult. Even if you're only planning on traveling city-to-city, chances are high that at some point, you'll end up walking farther than planned to get to the nearest bus station or to track down your hostel. It is important to have a well-balanced and adequately padded strap and harness system to keep you happy on your travels.
First off, not every pack we tested comes with a hip belt, but adding this simple strap can greatly increase carry comfort, especially with heavier loads. If comfort is king, then we recommend seeking out a pack that comes with a hip belt included, or one that can be bought as an accessory afterward (most of them are removable). It's essential to make sure that the hip belt will cinch down tightly and that the padded hip belt rests along the top of the pelvis. Additionally, load lifters (on top of the shoulder straps) help pull the load closer to your body for increased stability and more efficient weight distribution.
Finally, we think it's also important to consider the shape of the pack. While personal opinions certainly vary, we think that taller, slimmer packs promote better pack awareness. Pack awareness is especially important when navigating in crowded areas or even hiking through a wooded or rocky wilderness. Imagine weaving your way through a crowded bus station during rush hour while wearing a pack that sticks out 15 inches off your back. You don't want to be that person who turns around and knocks out a little kid. Keeping your pack close to your body helps with theft and comfort, too.
