Best Travel Backpacks for 2025 | Tested & Reviewed

We've had our hands on thousands of backpacks since 2017. Today we're sharing some favorites we've discovered in the last year and our consistent go-to's year after year. We're gonna kick it off with a new lightweight bag that packs just like a suitcase. Bellroy's been releasing a lot of gear lately and the new Light Travel Pack is one of their most recent additions. They say it's their most travel backpack-y backpack yet and we have to agree. While this rectangular shape is a design a lot of brands employ, Bellroy's bags often have an irregular shape and peel-away front. Those are easy to pack, though we like the shape of the clamshell opening of the Light Travel Pack because it feels super roomy for 30 liters. The interior layout is like a suitcase with mesh zipper panels to hold your clothing in place on both sides of the bucket-style main compartment. That's great if you don't wanna use packing cubes. There's also a smaller section at the top for socks and underwear. Luckily, a lot of these pockets are liter-independent which means they won't fight for space when you're jamming this thing full. It includes a separate compartment for up to a 16-inch laptop with padding and a false bottom to protect your device from drops and spills, as well as a pocket to hold a packable jacket or your 311 bag for easy access at security. A smaller top pocket has a place to slip your passport and a pen, plus a key leash so you know where to find your house keys when you arrive home late at night. As you'd expect from something with light in the name, it only weighs just over two pounds thanks to the Ripstop material which isn't much for a 30-liter bag. And if you're pairing it with a larger check-in suitcase, you can stow the straps behind the back panel and slide it horizontally over the handle of your rolling luggage to breeze through the airport. If you'll be packing camera equipment inside of your travel backpack, then Peak Design is one of the best brands out there to consider. And their new Outdoor line targets travelers that want to explore more rugged terrain. The 45-liter Outdoor backpack weighs less than four pounds and includes water-resistant features like a roll-top opening, coated zippers, and 210D Ripstop nylon coated in TPU for extra water resistance and durability. Usually that can make a bag sound a bit crunchy, but this is quieter and smoother to the touch than other bags with similar technology. On top of the beefy materials, the harness system is super comfortable. The articulated shoulder straps feature dense padding in all the right places to hold the weight of your gear, specifically right on your shoulders where the bag tends to dig in. There's also a removable hip belt to add support, and each shoulder and hip strap includes pockets to hold your phone or connect to Peak Design capture clip to hold your camera. The dual sternum straps are much slimmer than what we've seen on other bags and help distribute weight along two different points. When it comes to storage, there are side and kangaroo pockets for bulky gear like water bottles, tripods, or hiking pools, as well as bungee-like ties to hold gear in place while you hike. The main compartment is an open space that perfectly fits the Peak Design camera cubes and has a pouch for a laptop or hydration pack. It's pretty massive, but you can tighten things down by cinching the roll-top or use the space for packing cubes, pouches, and toiletry kits for an outdoor trip. If you're more of an urban traveler looking for a lightweight bag, then check out this one from Tortuga. It takes what we love about the brand's 40 liter Pro travel backpack and cuts it down to the essentials most travelers need. That includes convenient features like a front zippered pocket to stow a tech pouch or organizer and a roomy top zippered pocket for your keys, wallet, and phone. The separate laptop compartment is easy to access at the top of the bag if you wanna pull out your device on the plane and it has enough space for a protective case if you'd like more cushion than the back panel provides. Like a lot of bags of this size, it opens up clamshell style to make for easy packing. It has plenty of space on the right for packing cubes and large mesh pockets on the left to organize smaller gear like tech and toiletries. Tortuga also slimmed down the light backpack's harness system, however you won't sacrifice comfort with it. The well padded and contoured shoulder straps include load lifters, length adjusters, and a sternum strap to help you find the best fit. Plus a removable hip belt if you need more support. The back panel and shoulder strap padding feel very soft and pliant and everything comes together to create a comfortable, locked down carry so you don't feel anything jostling around as you make your way to your gate. However, sometimes making your way through the airport can be easier with roller luggage. We've tried a lot of gear from Manos, this video's sponsor, and we know it's a brand we can count on. We've tested the expandable carry-on and the carry-on pro and we love the sleek design of these suitcases. I needed some extra space for a two and a half week trip to Minnesota because I had two weddings and a music festival to go to, and the Manos carry-on delivered. They have smooth YKK zippers, a comfortable handle, and 360 wheels that spin freely no matter the surface. Inside you'll find plenty of space to pack clothing, gear, and a laptop, as well as hold-down straps and a compressible pad to keep your belonging safe and organized while traveling. If you want more organization, the compressible packing cubes work for any travel situation. The larger sizes are great for hoodies, jeans, and sweaters, and the smaller ones can lock down enough tees or shorts for a week-long vacation. The set of six is enough for two carry-ons, or you can pick and choose what you need for each trip. So be sure to check out their website before your next vacation using the link down in the description below. Now let's get back to some more bags. Calling a 30 liter bag mini may seem odd. When you compare it to some of Patagonia's larger black hole duffels, though, we see where they're going with it. Whatever the size, we like the durability and water resistance of the black hole line because it can handle basically any trip. The black hole mini MLC 30 liter is carry-on compliant for most airlines, and its recycled polyester is not super stiff or crunchy, even though it's coated in TPU. This 30 liter bag weighs less than three pounds, which makes it something that we don't mind carrying through the airport. There are loops around the outside of the bag so you can hang a hat or a packable jacket that we find the main compartment has plenty of space. We're digging the massive water bottle pocket on the side since it has plenty of room to hold a 42 ounce Nalgene or a tripod. It's also adaptable to carry crossbody or over one shoulder like a duffel by moving the hip belt. That can be more convenient when pairing it with a smaller day pack or holding it more in front of you when making your way through tight spaces. There's a top quick access pocket for your phone and wallet and a laptop sleeve against the back panel that includes organization for your tech accessories. The main compartment packs more like rolling luggage with a few pockets against the lid for socks and underwear or small travel accessories and a mesh covered bucket for the rest of your clothing, travel shoes, and packing cubes. It's a nice feature to have so nothing comes rolling out of your bag when opening it up at your destination. Sometimes when you're taking these big bags on a trip, you'd like to have something smaller to carry around when you reach your destination. That's probably why the Osprey Farpoint 55 travel backpack is so popular. It combines a larger travel backpack with a smaller day pack for the best of both worlds. The 15 liter day pack also makes an excellent personal item bag on the plane since it includes a laptop sleeve, two bottle pockets, and a quick access compartment for smaller gear along with an amply sized main compartment. You can connect it to the front of the larger travel pack with pass through straps or carry it like a kangaroo's joey on your front by connecting the clips on the shoulder straps of the larger bag to matching straps in the day pack. The larger Farpoint travel pack packs more like a suitcase with a large main compartment that you can fill with packing cubes or clothing, travel shoes, and other gear like tech pouches and toiletry kits. It includes tie down straps to hold your gear in place along with a few zippered pockets where you can stow things like socks or a hat. We love the adjustable harness system of the Farpoint 55 travel pack, which includes densely padded shoulder straps, a sternum strap on a rail, load lifters, and a hip belt. The entire system is on a rail so you can adjust it to better fit your height. And if you're carrying it on a plane, that entire harness system is stowable behind a flap that unravels from the bottom of the pack and zips over the top of all the straps. The day packs harness system is equally as comfy with the breathable back panel and padded shoulder straps curved for comfort as you explore a new place. There aren't too many travel backpacks on our Pack Hacker pick list, but this is one of them. And it happens to be my daily driver for about the past three months. When we say we like the durable materials, thoughtful organization, and comfortable carry of the Evergood CTB 26, we mean it. When you're loading up a large bag, you want it to be comfortable to carry for a while. And the Evergood Civic Travel Bag is, thanks to the S-curve shoulder straps, a padded back panel lined with breathable 50D monofilament, and a removable plastic frame sheet that adds structure and helps with weight distribution. It's also really well organized so you don't have to scrounge around to the bottom of your bag for gear. The laptop compartment is accessible from the side of the bag and includes a bright red strap to hold your device inside even if you forget to zip it up. There's also space for other large flat items like a book or a tablet. The vertical front pocket allows you to access your gear like your phone, wallet, and keys on the go by swinging it to your front while carrying the bag. You can also stash those items or other travel accessories in the top pocket or in a yoke pocket. It's nice to have the option, right? I certainly like having a lot of top pocket options to dump gear into. The main compartment packs similarly to other travel backpacks with a mix of open space and a few mesh pockets where you can lock down gear that doesn't fit elsewhere. It also includes two sets of three-loop daisy chains to connect your gear to the bag, making it more versatile and adaptable to your needs. It's all wrapped up in a flexible 420D nylon that holds its shape well, and Evergoods uses some of our favorite fasteners from YKK and Duraflex throughout the bag, too. The updated Cotopaxi Alpa 35 has updated materials, too, and they're all recycled. The Alpa is Cotopaxi's most popular pack, so the brand took some consideration when making improvements. We like the durability of the original's ballistic nylon and TPU coating, and we're happy to see it remain on the updated version. It has all recycled fabric from the TPU-coated nylon to the ballistic ripstop nylon in the ripstop polyester lining. It's still abrasion and water-resistant to protect your gear in bad weather, but they also added a side bottle pocket and front quick-access pocket so you have a place for your phone and wallet. There are big improvements to the harness system, too, with a breathable mesh back panel that now includes an air channel for more breathability and a luggage pass-through you can pair with a rolling suitcase. The shoulder straps also have a cushy mesh-lined padding, which is a big improvement from the previous iteration's thinner straps. We also dig the changes to the hip belt, which is broader toward your back and thinner where it buckles at your middle. That's more comfortable and fits taller users better than the OG. We like to use the three mesh compartments to organize our gear when packing. They're easy to fill with clothing or packing cubes and hold them in place when you open the bag. The large front compartment remains as well. It's big enough to hold the Alpa X hip pack or your toiletry bag so you have it easily accessible in the security line and includes extra pockets for small gear. You can slide your laptop and a tablet into a separate compartment with two padded fleece-lined sleeves for device protection. And while we think the 35 liter size is the best expression of the Alpa line, it's also available in 42, 28, and 20 liter versions. If you're just dipping your toes into the travel backpack waters, that means you might not have a lot of pouches and packing cubes lying around. If so, the Matador Seg 28 may be a great bag for you. The four horizontal AquaGuard YKK zippers down the front of this bag open to separate compartments that provide organization you'd otherwise need packing cubes or other pouches to get. They do a pretty good job, but we prefer to put lightweight gear inside to prevent it from getting saggy. While the liner is 100D aerobic nylon with waterproof coating to protect against spills or dampness, it's not padded to protect delicate gear from bumping up against each other in separate slots. The pockets have different capacities, just like the different size packing cubes, ranging from four liters at the top to 10 liters at the bottom. While these are quote unquote front pockets, filling them up is going to eat into the main compartment as well. However, you don't have to use all of them. You can put gear inside of the main compartment and strategically pack it out. Other features on the Seg 28 include a hidden passport pocket behind the luggage pass-through, a large laptop compartment, and a quick access pocket on the top of the bag. You can also get the Seg in a larger size, but we like the smaller one because we've found that the larger one can get a bit saggy when it's packed out, especially with heavy gear. As I mentioned earlier, we are very selective about giving bags our Pack Hacker Pick Awards, and these are some of our running favorites we talk about every time we bring up travel backpacks. The Manal Carrion 3.0 is great for long-term travel, especially if you're a digital nomad and need your tech to stay safe. The laptop compartment has a unique suspended sleeve for your device and opens completely flat for easy loading. As for other gear, the clamshell-style main compartment is simple to pack with extra organization, like a nylon pouch for shoes and a hideaway rain cover that you can quickly deploy when the skies open up. The 30-liter Peak Design Travel Backpack is also awesome for a trip, whether you're a photographer or not. It has structured sides and attachment points for camera gear, but it's also got a compression zipper that allows the 27-liter bag to expand to 33 liters when you need more space. And if you really need more capacity, check out the 45-liter version, which is another Pack Hacker Pick. We're also digging the lightweight Ultra version of the Air Travel Pack 3. The ATP3 is one of the highest-rated travel backpacks and Air launched a line of popular bags made with Challenge Ultra composite fabrics for its 10-year anniversary. It's lighter than X-Pack and smoother and more water-resistant than ballistic nylon, so we're digging this version of one of our favorite bags. Then there's the 34-liter Heimplanet Travel Backpack, with shoulder straps that tuck away behind the luggage pass-through to keep them out of the way when stowing it in an overhead bin. It's one of the sleekest-looking bags you've tried without a lot of zippers or pockets scattered around the front. You can customize the internal organization to best suit your needs. You can find full reviews for all of these bags and more over at our site. Plus, check out our travel backpack for more great options and leave us a comment down below with your favorite travel backpack. Thanks for keeping it here at Pack Hacker, your guide to smarter travel. We'll see you in the next video.