Well designed
"I so far love my new backpack. I purchased a few of the cubes and compression packs as well, which helps. The design is well taught. I traveled across the pond already with it and it sits well on your back, quite comfortable. The only reason I am not giving it a 5 stars YET, is bevause I want to see how it holds in time."
— Lena V. (4/5)
Almost perfect
"After searching hard for the "perfect" travel backpack for 6 weeks, I begrudgingly settled on this pack, and I was pleasantly surprised! I didn't find a single "travel youtuber" mention this bag, and it's not even in the Reddit OneBag comparison spreadsheet, so I didn't have high hopes. But most backpacks are too tall for my short torso and the ubiquitous Osprey Fairview 40 is wide and LOOKS massive on me. Plus I think it is a full pound heavier. Anyway, I used this pack for a 3. 5 week trip to Hainan Island in China (tropical-ish), Beijing (COLD), Prague, Dresden, Southampton (UK), Turin, Copenhagen (SUPER COLD), and Amsterdam. We were on a budget and one of our airlines had an 8kg carry-on bag limit -- which is one reason I was unwilling to use one of those trendy 2-2. 25kg bags. I struggle to be a minimalist, but managed to start with trip with the pack under 8kg. Coming home last week, I packed my boots instead of wearing them, and had some turron & pocket coffee from Italy (food is the best souvenir), and my pack was close to 10kg with my purse just under 2kg. And I was very proud of myself for not expanding the bag to the 45L size. The pack was definitely less comfortable at 10kg than 8kg, but still manageable, especially using the hip belt & sternum strap, which I didn't need at all when it was only 8kg. The pack was comfortable when walking around airports and train stations, and for the 15-20 min walks from the train/bus stations to our hotels. I didn't wear it for hours at a time, so can't comment on that aspect. I used my purse to carry water bottles, so I used the water bottle pocket on the backpack for my rain jacket, which was perfect. Of the two outer zipper pockets, the bottom one was the perfect size for my "liquids bag" and the top one was perfect for holding my luggage lock when it wasn't in use so I always knew where it was and could quickly lock my bag without having to first unlock the lock. (I need reading glasses to see the numbers on the luggage lock so unlocking it is a pain. ) I was going to give this bag only 4 stars because stowing the strap/rain cover is AWKWARD (I'm still not sure I did it "as designed" since there are no instructions/ pictures of how to store it) and the laptop pocket doesn't lock easily. That's a ding on most travel backpacks, by the way. A laptop is usually the most expensive thing people are traveling with, and these packs rarely have an easy way to lock that compartment. It makes no sense. But I changed my rating to 5 stars because my complaints are minor compared to how well the bag performed and I have not encountered any other bag in my research at this weight and size, with a useful hip belt, at ANY price point, that I was even willing to TRY to travel with. The pack doesn't seem to have a frame, but the back harness has enough rigidity that I thought it was framed, and the hip belt was able to take load off my shoulders - at least at 10kg. YMMV if you load it up beyond 10kg. The Eagle Creek website shows all sizes of this bag as out of stock, so I hope they aren't discontinuing it. It's an underrated, versatile travel pack that would probably be hugely popular if they did a little marketing of it. If you have a short torso, want to travel light, have scoured Reddit and Youtube for pack recommendations, and are frustrated because it seems like you'll never find a "decent" travel backpack, let alone the "perfect" one, then give this pack a try. Seriously. I took this pack because I ran out of time to keep searching, and was really happy with it. I won't be searching for a replacement any time soon and am planning to take it with me on a month-long trip later this year."
— Jen (5/5)
Versatile backpack/duffle bag
"I bought this during my recent visit to the US for the flight back to the UK. I know that Eagle Creek makes good quality products, I use an Eagle Creek roller for many years and it is still perfect after many long distance travels. This 40L backpack is made of very good quality material including the zips and is light . For my flight I used it as a check in because the straps can be covered, I used it as a backpack on the way to the airport and from the airport to my house ( including a two hour train journey ). There is rain cover. Very comfortable as a backpack. The minus is the fact that the front pocket is not practical for me ."
— Paulus W. (5/5)
Just what I was looking for
"I spend months and months searching for my perfect travel backpack. While there are a few quirks (would love the water bottle and handle to be on the other side and the rain cover to be detachable) this bag has everything I was looking for. Though definitely not as popular as all the others one baggers talk about online, this is up there with the rest of them."
— Bethany D. (5/5)
Decent bag. Satisfied
"So far I like the bag a lot. It’s really good size and packs put nicely. I brought this on a mission trip where I needed pack a lot of heavy things and the weight of the bag distributed pretty well onto my hips and off my back. Only down side is that the zipper pulls that are attached seem a little weak. One of them broke on my first trip with the bag."
— Shiloh L. (4/5)
Disappointing
"Initially I was impressed with the bag, but after just one trip to the UK, and one trip on the London Tube, the water bottle pocket has a massive hole in it. It really should be a more durable from what was basically a fairly light non-technical travel route. Not sure whether I can even use it again, but I will try and stitch it somehow. In the meantime, duct tape is hopefully my slightly more reliable friend than this bag has turned out to be."
— Victoria B. (3/5)