Best Backpacks for Travel
For most trips, start with the Osprey Farpoint 40: $200, 40 liters, 3.27 lbs, a 16-inch laptop sleeve, and a real backpacking harness wrapped around a compartment that opens like a suitcase. On a tight budget, the tomtoc Navigator-T66 holds the same 40 liters for $89.99 and weighs 1200 g, though its back is a padded panel rather than a load-carrying frame.
Past those two, the twelve packs here split on two things. One is how they carry: the Tortuga Pro and the Osprey have hip belts and adjustable harnesses built for a loaded walk, while the Patagonia Black Hole MLC and Away Active Convertible are soft bags with straps, better for a dash through a station than a long day on foot. The other is size against the usual 22 x 14 x 9 carry-on box. The Matador Global runs over it at 23 x 14.5 x 10.5 in, and the Nomatic Navigator starts at 32 liters precisely so it stays inside.
Our picks
- Lowest price: tomtoc Navigator-T66 Travel Backpack 40L. $89.99 for 40 liters at 1200 g, with a clamshell opening and a sleeve for a 17.3-inch laptop.
- Carrying 30-plus pounds on foot: Tortuga Pro Backpack 40L. Height-adjustable harness, load lifters and a padded hip belt, in a 22 x 14 x 8 inch shape that makes all 40 liters usable.
- Work trips with a laptop: Aer Travel Pack 4 35L. A suspended 16-inch laptop pocket you reach without opening the bag, lockable zippers, and 1680D CORDURA ballistic nylon.
- A pack that passes for a city bag: Thule Aion Travel Backpack 40L. Waxed canvas over a 40L clamshell at 3.19 lb, and it takes a 17-inch laptop.
- Packing it like a suitcase: Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack. The main compartment unzips all the way around into mesh-topped halves, at 2 lb 15 oz.
At a glance
| Option | Price | Capacity | Weight | Dimensions | Laptop Fit | Material |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200source | 40source | 3.27 lbssource | 21.7H x 13.8W x 9.1D in.source | 16source | Recycled nylonsource | |
| $230source | 35source | 2 lb 15 ozsource | 22" x 12" x 10"source | 15source | Recycled nylonsource | |
| $299.95source | 45source | 4.5 lbsource | 22" x 13" x 9.5" (standard)source | 16source | Recycled nylonsource | |
| $209.95source | 40source | 3.19 lbsource | 13 x 9.1 x 20.5 in (LxWxH)source | 17source | Waxed canvassource | |
| $350source | 40source | 4.4 lbsource | 22 x 14 x 8 inchessource | 16source | Sailclothsource | |
| $259source | 35source | 3.90 lbssource | 21.5" x 13.5" x 9"source | 16source | Ballistic nylonsource | |
| $299source | 45source | 3 lb 15 ozsource | 23 x 14.5 x 10.5 insource | Recycled nylonsource | ||
| $419.99source | 32source | 5.16 lbssource | 22" H x 14" W x 9" Dsource | 17source | Polyester and nylon blendsource | |
| $249source | 40source | 3 lb. 4 oz.source | 21 x 13 x 9 in.source | 15source | Recycled nylonsource | |
| $89.99source | 40source | 1200 gsource | 20.47" x 12.99" x 9"source | 17.3source | ||
| $249source | 45source | 3 lb 9.7 ozsource | 22" x 14.5" x 7.6"source | Recycled polyestersource | ||
| $220source | 45source | 3.32 lbssource | 21.7" x 13.6" x 9.5"source | 16source | Recycled polyestersource |
Will it fit the 22 x 14 x 9 carry-on box?
Read the Dimensions column against your airline's limit rather than trusting the liters. Tortuga built the Pro to exactly 22 x 14 x 8 inches, and the Eagle Creek Tour (21 x 13 x 9 in.) and Aer Travel Pack 4 (21.5 x 13.5 x 9 inches) sit inside the usual box as well. The Matador Global Travel Pack misses on every measure at 23 x 14.5 x 10.5 in, so plan on checking it with strict airlines. Thule prints its numbers length first, so the Aion's height is the 20.5 at the end.
Three packs change size, and the Capacity cell shows only one number for each. The Peak Design reads 45, its expanded setting: standard it is 35L and carry-on legal, cinched it is a 30L daypack. The Nomatic Navigator starts at 32L and unzips to 41L, and the Eagle Creek Tour goes from 40L to 44L. The Peak Design and Nomatic are both meant to fly out small and come home expanded.
Laptop sleeves from 15 to 17.3 inches
A big laptop narrows this list fast. Only three packs are made for more than 16 inches: the tomtoc at 17.3, and the Thule Aion and Nomatic Navigator at 17. Five sit at 16 (Osprey, Peak Design, Tortuga, Aer and Away). The Cotopaxi Allpa and Eagle Creek Tour stop at 15, so a 16-inch machine is a problem in either. Matador and Patagonia publish no laptop size at all, and Matador says only that its sleeve fits all laptop sizes.
Where the sleeve opens matters at security. The Aer's pocket is reachable without opening the bag, the Away's and the Matador's open from the outside, and the tomtoc's compartment lies flat.
Empty weight against a real hip belt
Empty weight runs from 1200 g for the tomtoc (about 2.6 lb) to 5.16 lbs for the Nomatic, and every ounce comes out of what an airline will let you carry. The heavy end mostly buys something. The Tortuga Pro's 4.4 lb goes into stiff, waterproof ECOPAK sailcloth and a harness that puts the load on your hips. The Peak Design weighs 4.5 lb for a bag that opens from the top, both sides, the front and the back. The Nomatic carries a dedicated cord and accessory panel.
At the light end, the Away Active Convertible gets 45 liters down to 3.32 lbs by skipping the hip belt and the full clamshell, and the Patagonia Black Hole MLC's straps are a convenience rather than a harness. Both are easy through a city and a poor match for a heavy load. The Aer is the odd one out: 3.90 lbs for 35 liters, with the hip belt sold separately.
The options in detail
Osprey Farpoint 40 Travel Pack
The pack most one-bag travelers land on first. It borrows a real backpacking harness (adjustable torso length, load-lifting frame, zip-away hipbelt) and wraps it around a 40L compartment that opens flat like a suitcase, so you pack a carry-on rather than dig down a top-loader. At 3.27 lb it is lighter than most of the boutique packs here and $150 less than several of them. Organization is deliberately plain: one big compartment, a toiletry pocket and a 16-inch laptop sleeve, so anyone who wants a wall of admin pockets should look at the Aer or Nomatic instead.
Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack
The lightest full-featured pack in this table at 2 lb 15 oz, and the one that packs most like luggage: the main compartment unzips all the way around and splits into mesh-topped halves, so you can see everything without unpacking it. The shell is a TPU-coated recycled nylon with a water-resistant finish, and Cotopaxi backs it with a lifetime repair warranty. It is also the loudest looking, and at 35L with a 15-inch sleeve it is the smaller, less laptop-friendly choice next to the 40L packs here.
Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L
A pack that changes size with the trip: cinched down it is a 30L daypack, standard it is 35L and carry-on legal, and unzipped it expands to 45L for the trip home. You get into it from the top, both sides, the front and the back, which is why photographers pair it with Peak Design's camera cubes. The trade-off is weight: 4.5 lb empty, near the top of this table, and the expanded 45L setting is bigger than most airlines' carry-on rules allow.
Thule Aion Travel Backpack 40L
The one that does not look like travel gear: a waxed canvas shell over a 40L clamshell, so it reads as a city bag while carrying a week of clothes. It takes the biggest laptop here, 17 inches, and ships with a removable roll-top bag for wet or dirty laundry. At 3.19 lb it is among the lighter picks, and the waxed finish sheds rain, but the harness is simpler than the Osprey or Tortuga, so it is happier on a shoulder-to-gate walk than a mile with 30 lb in it.
Tortuga Pro Backpack 40L
Built to the maximum carry-on box, 22 x 14 x 8 inches, and shaped so the whole 40 liters is usable rectangle rather than a tapered pack. It carries the best of anything here with a full load: a height-adjustable harness, load lifters and a padded hip belt that moves the weight onto your hips. The shell is ECOPAK sailcloth, waterproof and stiff, which is part of why it is the second-heaviest at 4.4 lb and the second most expensive at $350. If you fly with 30-plus pounds on your back, this is the one; for short hops it is more pack than you need.
Aer Travel Pack 4 35L
The business-travel answer: 1680D CORDURA ballistic nylon, lockable zippers, a suspended 16-inch laptop pocket you can reach without opening the bag, and a lay-flat main compartment. It looks like a work backpack rather than a trekking pack, which is the point. At 3.90 lb it is heavy for 35 liters, the hip belt is a separate purchase, and the boxy shape means it is best carried on rather than stuffed under a seat.
Matador Global Travel Pack 45L
The biggest bag here at 45 liters and still under 4 lb, in a waterproof 420D recycled nylon with sealing zippers. The straps and hip belt stow away behind panels so you can hand it over as checked luggage without anything catching, and the laptop sleeve opens from the outside for security lines. Matador does not publish a laptop size for it, and at 23 x 14.5 x 10.5 inches it is over the usual carry-on box, so treat it as a bag you may have to check on strict airlines.
Nomatic Navigator Travel Pack 32L
A 32L pack that unzips to 41L, so it starts inside strict carry-on rules and grows for the trip home. It holds the most tech of anything here, a 17-inch laptop plus a dedicated cord and accessory panel, and the waist straps come off when you do not want them. It is also the heaviest at 5.16 lb and the most expensive at $419.99, and that empty weight eats into what an airline will let you carry.
Eagle Creek Tour Travel Pack 40L
A 40L pack made entirely from recycled fabrics that expands to 44L when you need it, with a padded harness that tucks behind the lumbar pad so the bag can be checked or slid into an overhead. At 3 lb 4 oz it is one of the lighter picks, and Eagle Creek's No Matter What warranty covers defects for the life of the bag. The laptop sleeve tops out at 15 inches, the smallest here apart from the Cotopaxi, so a 16-inch machine is a problem.
tomtoc Navigator-T66 Travel Backpack 40L
The budget entry, and the lightest bag in the table: 40 liters and 1200 g, about 2.6 lb, for under a hundred dollars. It is built to the IATA carry-on box, opens clamshell, and its laptop compartment lies flat at security and swallows a 17.3-inch machine, the biggest here. What you give up is the harness and the fabric story: tomtoc only says the shell is recycled fabric, the suspension is a padded back panel rather than a load-carrying frame, and the warranty is one year, two if you register it.
Patagonia Black Hole MLC Pack 45L
Less backpack than soft suitcase with straps: a 45L box, only 7.6 inches deep, that carries as a shoulder bag most of the time and as a pack when you have stairs or cobblestones. The body, lining and webbing are all recycled, with a recycled TPU laminate that shrugs off weather, and it weighs 3 lb 9.7 oz. Patagonia does not publish a laptop size for the tech compartment, and the straps are a convenience rather than a real harness, so this suits city trips more than a month on the road.
Away Active Convertible Backpack 45L
A 45L bag that works as a duffel or, with the padded straps clipped on, as a backpack, in a light recycled polyester rather than the heavy coated fabrics most packs here use: 3.32 lb for 45 liters. The laptop compartment sits on the outside so it comes out at security, and there is a chest strap for the backpack mode. It is the least structured option in this table, with no hip belt and a drawcord top rather than a full clamshell, which is what keeps it light and what makes it a poorer choice for a heavy load.
How we researched this
Each pack's row quotes the brand that makes it, never a retailer listing or a roundup, and Price is full retail before any sale. That matters for two rows: as of September 2026 Away was showing its $220 pack at 15% off, $187, and Eagle Creek its $249 pack at $174.30. Weight keeps each maker's own units, which is why the tomtoc reads 1200 g, and Dimensions keep each maker's own order.
Twelve packs made the list out of twenty considered, picked to span the price range and both shapes people mean by a travel backpack: the carry-on clamshell and the soft suitcase with straps. The Bellroy Transit Backpack Plus was dropped because Bellroy's own page says it won't be returning. The Osprey Fairview 40 (the Farpoint in a women's fit), the Tortuga Lite 40L, the Aer Travel Pack 3 and Peak Design's smaller sizes were left out as near-copies of packs already here. The REI Co-op Ruckpack 40, Gregory Border Carry On 40 and Deuter Aviant Carry On Pro 36 were left out because no maker page for them could be read, and nothing went in without one. The three blank cells are figures the maker doesn't state: the Matador and Patagonia laptop sizes, and the tomtoc's fabric, which tomtoc calls only recycled. Sale prices come and go, so check the maker's page on the day you buy, and measure against your own airline's carry-on rule.