Review topics: ["straps","color","looks","bag","pockets","padding","zippers","feels","sleeve","pack","cover","jacket","capacity","backpack","compartments"].
Reviews
Less than 40L capacity
"I already own a 36L bag that I use for 3-4 day trips. Purchased this 40-45L bag for trips of a week or longer. To test it, I filled my 36L bag and then transferred the contents to the 40L and I couldn’t even close it without expanding it to 45L. Disappointing."
— Lance B. (3/5)
Best bag ever
"Eagle creek gets my highest mark. I travel weekly. These bags are as lightweight and tough as they come. Eagle creek honors their warranty. after 3+ years of flawless weekly use It took the airlines conveyor belt machinery and brute force to cause damage to my bag. And eagle creek quickly replaced the bag with no hassle. I’m a lifelong customer."
— Patrick D. (5/5)
Great pack bought a second one
"Great pack fit all we needed for 10 day trip. I bought mine a year ago and liked it so much bought one for my husband"
— Denise B. (5/5)
Great travel bag
"Both my husband and I love this travel bag. It's comfortable, we can carry it on the plane rather than checking it. I like the built-in rain fly. The laptop compartment is handy. Overall, we've enjoyed traveling with it."
— Michelle B. (5/5)
Best travel backpack among many I researched
"Of all the travel backpacks I researched, this one is by far the best. My intended purpose is to use the bag for travel, where I walk extensively (urban and rural), take various forms of crowded transportation, and sometimes need to carry everything as I tour because I'm in between destinations. E.g., I'm not taking taxis door to door, nor am I mountaineering. Also, I tend to pack light, as a disciple of Rick Steves. What I like: - The design is sleek and premium. The zips hide away. It doesn't look like you are carrying a suitcase on your back or like you just reached the top of Half Dome. - I was able to pack a lot into it, using a full 40 liters of capacity. Yet the bag still feels compact. That's really important to me for walking easily through packed areas, and so I don't stand out like I just stepped out of a space capsule. - In non-expanded mode, the bag is even more compact, meaning I can take it out as a day bag when I need to carry more or walk greater distances. (Usually I use a very lightweight compressible pack for the day to just carry a jacket, water bottle, sunscreen, and guide book.) - I like the method of stowing away the straps - you wrap/zip over them. Other bags make you tuck the straps in. I prefer the wrap/over method because it optimizes speed of conversion-to-duffle rather than conversion-to-backpack. That fits my use-case: most of the time I'll be in backpack mode, until the last minute when I'm going to board a plane/train. That's the moment when I'm in a rush. I'm not as time pressed when disembarking because there isn't a conductor blowing a whistle. - I like the front pockets. (Some bags don't have them.) While I'll have nearly everything packed and compressed in the main compartment, when I get on to transportation I want to be able to access just a few things - book, snack, airpods, charger. I'll use the lower pocket for that. Upper pocket for sunglasses and tissue. Some bags have too many pockets (which for me adds confusion or they go unused which adds weight). This bag strikes me as having the goldilox amount. - Straps have a band in the right place to hold sunglasses. - Side bottle holder (some bags lack that) fits even wide bottles. - Security features (to slow down a thief). While I won't rely on them (anything of value I stuff down my pants in a waist wallet), the security zippers at least should dissuade a pick pocket from digging around and tossing my tissues on the floor (happened to a friend). - It's easy to access the main compartment, especially from the top. That's where I usually keep a jacket or hat. - Comfort. The straps are trekker-level in thickness and adjustability, and the back area has enough rigidity to distribute the weight. But the bag remains lightweight. What could be better: - Side pockets open downward when bag is in duffel mode. I intend that mode to be used only when boarding a plane/train, in which case I'll have everything secured down anyway, so it's not a big deal. - Waist belt is thin and relatively skinny in the front. It does the job though. Personally, I prefer a minimal belt (I dislike the travel bags that look like you are wearing a hip helmet), so it's probably the right tradeoff to keep things light. I did feel like it was working to distribute weight, it was comfortable to wear, and doesn't look like I just won a boxing match. - Zips don't look rugged, like a mountain gear bag's might. They seem high quality, but I haven't tested them over several weeks of use. - I'd like a security feature on the side/laptop zip. I can easily add a loop that I wrap around the compression strap though. Note, the other large carry-on travel bags I considered were by Patagonia, Tortuga, Peak Design, Cotopaxi, and Osprey, as well as others that I ruled out. All are very fine bags, but what I think is important is to evaluate in terms of use cases and how the bag's feature serves them, rather than looking just at the feature. E.g., organization features with pen loops, phone pockets, etc look cool to me, but I know I'll never actually use them in the wild. Whereas I know what does matter is how quickly I can stow the straps before the train departs, or how quickly I can fetch out a jacket from the top when the wind kicks up. All in all, I think this is the perfect travel backpack. If the sign of great design is that it feels 99% invisible to the observer, I think this bag will feel invisible to me -- something I don't think about because everything I need it to do "just works". I'll focus all of my energy on experiencing adventure and discovery."
— Alex (5/5)
Decent Tour Pack
"I bought a 40L M/L Tour Travel Pack for a 7 day trip to Spain. At first it seemed like it couldn't hold a lot of stuff but I was able to pack a lot of clothes for the trip. I carried 4 lightweight polos, 3 T-shirts, 2 pairs of hiking pants, 3 pairs of shorts, toiletries, underwear for 7 days, and a 15 in. laptop. I used a couple of small packing cubes to keep the smaller stuff organized. I had packed a pair of shoes but I removed them to keep the weight manageable. The pack weighed around 18 lbs when full and fit easily in the plane overhead bins. The straps took a bit of experimentation to find the right fit and comfort level. After adjustments, I was able to carry it around without any discomfort. Apart from walking in the airport and train stations, I didn't carry around the pack for long hikes. This pack is not meant for serious hiking - the straps don't have enough padding for extended carrying. Overall, a pretty decent tour pack for 5-7 day travel. Also, the available 15% discount code on the website makes it a good buy."
— G. R. (4/5)
Poorly designed
"So poorly designed I don’t understand why there are so many good reviews. The padding and non removable waterproof cover take up about 3/4 inches of the depth of the bag. There is a ridiculous amount of straps and padding in the back that you don’t need and my suitcase looks full without anything in it yet. Takes up so much space that could be used for clothes. In the pictures you can see how much space the back compartment takes up and everything is sewn in so you can’t remove it."
— Blair (1/5)
Versatile, durable, go-anywhere pack
"Got this pack as my only bag for 2 weeks across Europe--5 airplanes, 6 trains, a couple local buses, and miles of city walking--and it was exactly what I needed. I fit over a week's worth of clothes plus a pair of shoes into it without even fully expanding the bag. It then packed down using internal & external compression straps to fit into a variety of overhead compartments (planes, trains, buses). Even on smaller planes (major airlines like Icelandair, Alaska Airlines, Lufthansa) it could be comfortably stowed in any direction. - Sturdy shoulder pads with load lifters, sternum strap, and waist belt help it feel decently comfortable even after an hour of carrying ~20 lbs of stuff - all the zippers feel durable and secure. YKK zippers on the main pocket, all others either hidden close to your back or tucked in to slow down potential thieves - the bag stands up on its own if packed well (tends to be front-heavy when fully expanded) Things I would change: - waist belt strap has pretty minimal padding, so the thin strap isn't super comfortable - the bag's expandability means excess fabric when you tighten all compression straps which makes both handles a bit saggy. Not a huge problem, the handles just don't feel as sturdy as some other travel bags - very few built-in compartments--it's essentially 1 large front-loading compartment with an internal mesh zipper pocket, plus 1 slim laptop pocket. You'll probably need packing cubes My spouse carried my second choice, the Osprey Porter 46L (side by side with this bag in one of my photos). Honestly this 40L bag is a better deal, easier to fit in small spaces, and more sustainable materials. Couldn't be happier with it!"
— Mackenzie G. (5/5)
This was a gift for
"This was a gift for my son. He says it’s very sleek and packs a whole lot."
— Roberta K. (5/5)
Two weeks in Italy with this bag!
"I really focused on not checking a bag when I packed for summer time Italy. Packed 4 short sleeve and 3 long sleeve button ups, two pair of pants, three pair of shorts, two bathing suits, two running shorts, two belts, four t shirts, two pair of shoes, one pair of flip flops, charging cables bag and a Bluetooth speaker in this bag. Even had room for a couple of extra pieces of clothing I bought while in country. I loved the built in cover for peace of mind against pick pockets/theft. Also used a small packable back pack for the rest of my stuff (toiletry kit/sleep mask/travel pillow/wind breaker). I didn’t think it would be big enough. But it was perfect."
— Alec F. (5/5)