Wanted to know from fellow HNers if they have any recommendations for a backpack usable for work, work travel (2-3 day travel) and as a backpack usable otherwise on leisure travel as well.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XANKVO/
The Bellroy backpacks look very nice: https://bellroy.com/
I considered a lot of options like the Peak Design offerings, Pinq Ponq, Wandrd, Boundary, Black Ember and Fstop.
I had a hard limit of 300 dollars, wanted something that had 30+ liters, wouldn't look dumb half empty and water resistant and ethically procuced. It should also have a water bottle mesh, internal organisation and pockets on the outside and straps to hang stuff onto.
I ended up choosing the Aevor Travel.
It expands from 38 to 45 liters and has straps so that you can tighten it up when it's empty so it looks good even when it's empty and isn't ridiculously big. Fills all of my other requirements and it's durable. it also has removable chest and waist straps (as I don't use them usually except when traveling and fully packed) so they're never in the way. I even spilt my full thermos of coffee with milk on it, by accident obviously, and it cleared right up with no stains.
Super happy, especially considering that I got it for under 100 dollars.
- large in volume (55L), yet I can board a plane with it
- side pockets can be easily opened even if the main compartment is fully packed
- easily accessible and large front admin panel
- waist straps can be folded and hidden inside the bag
- the zip around the main compartment goes around all three sides, which allows very easy access for packing, unpacking or activities like having a picnic
- space between admin panel and the main compartment allows for extra external storage. for example, today I was carrying a small carpet bought in IKEA in there.
- wide straps which feel comfortable also with heavier loads
- looks ok also in a city, especially darker versions
- plenty of internal pockets everywhere
- dedicated back pocket for a laptop.
The only downside is that I'm not sure if a 15" laptop would fit into the back pocket. I'm using a 13" laptop and it fits. However, the backpack is so feature-rich that it's ok for me to put the potential 15" laptop to the main compartment - there's a half-pocket that can be used for that purpose.
All in all, this is by far the best backpack I have ever used.
You might think it's not a backpack (and it's not) but after traveling for quite a while, I found that the comfort of the backpack is proportional to how much weight you are putting on your shoulders. So I decided that weight should be 0. So far, I have found success sneaking it even in cheap short flights.
Pros:
- No weight on your shoulders. This adds up quite a bit if you are standing up for many hours waiting for your flight, bus, etc...
- You can put more items in there.
- It looks nice and the material quality is good.
Cons:
- It's not good for a day-trip or going out.
To fix the con, I'd suggest you use a small very light bag that you can fit with no space on this backpack. This will force you to think what items you take out with you when you are going out and avoid taking a bunch of items that you'll probably won't need. (ps: this doesn't apply if you want to do hiking and stuff like that).
Originally I was on the fence because it's an expensive purchase ($289). Honestly wish I purchased this sooner.
One of the major reasons I purchased this was for work/work travel so I could carry a camera with me. It's my entire mobile office as I've worked remotely. It's lived through ~100k airline miles, 60k driving miles, and the last 6 months living out of a van.
I typically am hard on my gear, but all the Peak Design gear holds up really well. It actually looks better with age.
From the top of a mountain shooting pictures to walking down any street in a major city. It's not out of place, which is really nice.
It's very modular and with a pouch or two, it fits everything I could ask to fit in with room for more.
I wrote a series of Tweets a few months ago sharing what I love about it: https://twitter.com/awwstn/status/1156969712850366464
The dividers are great to separate things including gym clothes. My cousin loves hers for the daily commute in DC.
They are built very well. They are expensive but on patriotic holidays they usually have good sales. If you are a veteran sometimes you can get them for less than half of retail.
Pros:
- Sturdy and great quality
- A lot of space
- Comes with a charger
- Nice design
Cons
- Expensive
- I don't think it fits well under the seat when you take it with you on the plane. It uses a lot of space
[1] https://www.thenorthface.com/shop/resistor-charged-nf0a3kxj
Or Ortlieb [1], another very good brand
[0] https://www.homeofmillican.com/ [1] https://www.ortlieb.com/products/backpacks/active-backpacks
- Super cheap
- Hard wearing (just about breaking after 3.5 years)
- Very large capacity (just about get away with it as a cabin bag)
- Nice little laptop sized pocket in the middle
I spent WAY too many hours looking at all the backpacks recently.
If you use public transit or travel, I highly recommend the Timbuk2 Never Check Backpack.
I had my previous Timbuk2 for over 10 years and it was terrific.
I looked at Ebags, Peak Design, etc. I found the Peak Design are too fiddly. Too many pockets and dividers. The eBags laptop bag is too heavy for what it is.
If you want something smaller than the Never Check, I’d go for the Timbuk2 Division Pro (only the pro has the luggage strap)
https://www.amazon.com/Thule-Crossover-32L-Backpack-Black/dp...
has lifetime warranty, documents and sunglasses pocket. fits a macbook pro, tablet, has a zipper on the bottom for your charger.
It's awesome.
It's not the cheapest one but certainly not luxury. Has a nice padded slot for a laptop (I use a 15 inch laptop) and plenty of space for other stuff.
I use it both for carrying my laptop and I can also fit enough clothes for a week-long vacation.
It has been excellent, looks and feels like new, really big pockets and fits a ton of accessories.
Wide comfortable straps, padded back, sufficient pockets, enough room for light business or personal travel (change of basic clothes, etc), pretty robust.
Given the volume of them I see in airports, I'm surprised I'm the only one mentioning these.
I love the design, it's one of the most important thing I look at for a bag.
I use it for everything. Travelled around the world, went to my parent's place over weekend, for work, ...
I just use an Osprey daypack. It takes a MacBook, iPad, a notebook, bottle of water, a bag of nuts, and a small towel. I just can’t imagine carrying anything bigger.
Also have an Osprey Farpoint 40 for travel on a plane.
It’s been up alpine mountains, been covered in mud, been through SCARS once and still looks good as new. It’s also my office backpack.
I can pack a bunch of crap into it, toss it on the ground and rip it open and get to what I need quickly. It’s my life’s one bag.
I have everything broken into kits so I can quickly pack for work or hiking or travel pretty quickly.
I have one too and I love it, but it screams tactical backpack and you can spot a goruck a mile away.