5 TRAVEL BACKPACKS THAT WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO DITCH YOUR ROLLING LUGGAGE
Trust us, they fit everything you need.
Trust us, they fit everything you need.
WHAT TO CONSIDER
Since “travel” can mean different things to different people, there is no one true “best travel backpack” above all others. A sojourn spelunking demands very different features than spending the weekend with the family, and there is no catch-all carry-on for all occasions. The questions to ask are less about the travel bag and more about the traveler: How do you like to travel? Where do you go? How do you get there? It’s about finding the right bag not for every place in the world but for every place you plan to go. Consider these factors when looking for your next travel bag:
Duration: How long do you plan to travel for? Will you need just enough space to weather a weekend, or will the contents of this bag have to hold you over through a week, a month, or more? A simple single-zipper bag can store your phone charger and enough toiletries to last a few days, but consider something with more space and storage options for intense travel times.
Durability: What’s the weather like where you may be going? What are the conditions? A car ride across state lines may not necessitate a bag that can take a beating, but your old high school book bag won’t survive the rough terrain of outdoor camping. Durability is about more than just the material: Keep an eye out for errant straps that can get snagged on branches and factors like strap width or weight distribution that may not work well with your body type or mode of carrying. After all, the last thing you want to do is cause injury.
Dimensions: How do you travel? If you have a car or van, sure — you can toss any bag in the trunk and barely give it a thought. But when you find yourself at an airport staring at that slender rectangle that determines whether you’re paying for a second checked bag? You’re going to wish you took better measurements. Knowing how much time this bag will spend stuffed under seats or overhead compartments should be weighed against how much room you’ll need for all your stuff to determine its ideal dimensions.
“Do you have room for this?”: Which is really a way of saying, do you travel alone or with a group? Maybe your sparse and Spartan solo travels mean you often leave with less than you’ve brought, but anyone who’s ever taken a family trip knows any empty spots in a bag can quickly fill up with souvenirs and other accouterments — most of which may not even be yours. Consider the cases when you’ll be carrying for more than just yourself, especially if there are little ones like babies or pets around who can’t quite carry bags of their own.
We’ve researched more than 30 different travel backpacks and even tested out some ourselves to help narrow down the choices for you. These are the best that will make traveling a breeze from start to finish.
Dimensions: 11.81 x 16.54 x 7.09 inches
Capacity: 20 liters
Materials: Nylon
Zomake makes a really affordable, lightweight travel backpack that comes with a lot of features. It’s water- and tear-resistant, has a front zippered pocket and mesh pouches on each side, and it comes in 13 different colors. It even folds into itself and zips up into a little pouch.
“These backpacks are the BEST ever,” one frequent traveler noted. “It is now 2022, and we have carried them on three cruises, Disney World, camping, and mountains. We use them to put an extra outfit, snacks, wallets, extra shoes, etc., and they are lightweight and comfortable on the back. They pack into themself and fold up so they are nice for suitcases because they will pack away tiny and fit in them easily.”
- Dimensions: 22 x 14 x 9 inches
- Capacity: 40 liters
- Materials: Nylon
This front-loading travel backpack from Osprey will fit in all the clothes you’d ever need for a weekend away. It has an organizer compartment for all your smaller items and even a lockable laptop compartment. The Farpoint 40 backpack also comes with a ventilated back panel, along with a harness and hip belt on the side to reduce chafing.
“Used this backpack for over a month while backpacking Europe, and it was well worth the price,” one traveler said in their review. “The pack was durable, and the front-loading capabilities proved vital when having to grab a specific item out. There is definitely some wear after using it heavily, but structurally it looks like it has a ton of miles left.”
- Dimensions: 17.7 x 11.8 x 4.3 inches
- Capacity: 20 liters
- Materials: Nylon
Our tech has become part of our lives, and despite what some dystopian sci-fi movies might tell us, that’s not inherently bad. Maybe you want peace of mind, knowing that you can be reached in an emergency. Maybe you’re traveling abroad where translation apps and GPS can be literal lifesavers. Or maybe you just want to have more entertainment options than the nine channels on the hotel TV.
Whatever the case, you’ll want a bag that’s not only designed with your tech in mind but one that can keep those valuable electronics safe. This backpack features a dual-layer, anti-puncture, lockable zipper to protect your laptops, tablets, and other devices.
Better still, the built-in USB port allows you to attach a portable charger inside the backpack and plug your charging cable into the external USB. This lets you charge your phone or other devices without ever having to open your bag.
“I ordered this bag because I wanted something with a sleek profile that held all my tech and was comfy to wear,” one tech-y traveler shared. “I don’t like big, bulky bags either, and I prefer to carry as little as possible when traveling. This was perfect for me! The bag is water-resistant and protected my things in a rain storm.”
- Dimensions: 22 x 14 x 9 inches
- Capacity: 54 liters
- Materials: Polyester
eBags has somewhat of a cult following, and once you get one, there’ll be no surprise why. For a more affordable price than other top products in the space, the Mother Lode Weekender has all you could ever want from a travel backpack. It has a 19-inch laptop sleeve, two exterior pockets for easy access, a water bottle pocket on the side, and four compression straps that ensure the bag will fit inside an overhead bin, no matter how much you stuff in it.
And if blue isn’t for you, the bag also comes in a slew of other colors.
“This bag is amazing! My boyfriend and I got these bags for our two-week trip to Europe,” noted one half of a traveling couple in their review. “It was clearly designed by someone who often travels with the different pockets and easy accessibility. We loved how easy it was to carry all over, and it fit all of the storage on planes, trains, buses, etc. We were so happy to have such a durable, comfortable bag on such a long trip.”
- Dimensions: 18.5 x 13.25 x 9 inches
- Capacity: 30.7 liters
- Materials: Polyester
Walk around any airport, and you’ll see a slew of SwissGear backpacks. They’re durable, water-resistant, TSA-friendly, and have multiple compartments to store all your gear. It’s the most classic pick on our list.
“Great construction backpack. I love having the TSA laptop zipper so I can just unzip and fold it in half, not making me take out my laptop,” one reviewer shared, singling out the bag’s durability as well. “My last one lasted me about 8 years. Totally worth the investment!”
