10 Tips to Pick the Perfect Travel Backpack
Checked bags are for suckers. Just kidding. Am I though?
My packing philosophy is to imagine everything I’d want to take and then cull until I have a carryon worth of items. Next, cull some more until I can fit them comfortably into a backpack.
There is untold joy in carrying every item on your back handsfree. But sometimes the most challenging thing can be finding a bag that fits your need in a market saturated with so many great backpacks.
Every bag is not appropriate for every traveler, but here are the 10 features you need to look for when backpack shopping.
In This Article:
Clamshell Opening
Good Handles
External Pockets
Cushioned Straps
Hip Straps
Water Resistant Fabric
Multifaceted Zippers
Water Bottle Pocket
External Carrying Capability
Clean Aesthetic
1. Clamshell Opening
The last time that you should have to load a backpack from a top opening pocket is in high school. If you’re looking for a travel backpack, look for one with a zipper that allows you to pack your bag like a traditional suitcase. This keeps you organized, in a traditional top loading backpack, the items at the bottom often go unused because that are difficult to access.
2. Good Handles
A great travel bag needs great handles, and lots of them. You won’t be grabbing your bag by the same handle every time, so the best bags have a handle at the top making it easy to pull out of an overhead bin. But what if the overhead bin is shallow and you have to stow it sideways. It needs a sturdy side handle too. A thin nylon handle is not going to hold up to years of grab and go. Look for a thick handle with padding that sits slightly away from the bag. Handles that sit flat on the bag are sleek, but they are not friendly for when you’re in a rush and grabbing blindly at your bag.
3. External Pockets
At some point, you’ll need to get to something quick. Going through border control and you need quick access to your passport. Walking out of an airport in broad daylight, your sunglasses should be a quick reach away. It gets a little chilly, a pocket large enough to hold a light sweater will be make or break.
Before picking a bag, consider those items that you reach for frequently when traveling. Make sure that your bag choice has external pockets to accommodate what you need the most.
4. Cushioned Straps
No matter how good the straps, at some point, you’re going to feel the weight of a fully packed backpack. But a cushioned, adjustable strap that holds the bag high on your body will go a long way a decreasing back paining shoulder fatigue. Look for straps wit curve that will mold to your body.
5. Hip Straps
Relying on just the cushioned shoulder straps is a fools errand. You need quality, padded hip flaps. These will place the bag’s weight on your hip and take the weight off your shoulder.
If you’re breaking out the hip flaps, don’t back down from using the sternum strap too. Quality hip and sternum straps will removal all the weight from your shoulder and make for an easy travel time.
6. Water Resistant Fabric
Even the luckiest among us will get caught in rain be it a drizzle or a downpour. A quality bag needs to be able to stand up to the elements. Whether the bag has a stowable rainfly or water resistant fabric (and zippers!), make sure you’re protected from the elements. And speaking of zippers…
7. Multifaceted Zippers
A backpack is only as good as it’s zippers. The main compartment needs a meaty zipper that smoothly closes the bag, make sure it rounds the curves with no problems. No one wants to be the person at TSA fighting with a zipper that won’t budge.
Look for water resistant coated zippers. It doesn’t matter how water resistant the fabric of the bag is if the zipper leaks.
Last but certainly not least, zippers need to provide some protection from theft. Whether they are lockable, come with a protective flap, make sure that you are protected from fast hands on a crowded train.
8. Water Bottle Pocket
One water bottle pocket is great (and necessary). Two are even better. Hold a liter of water on one side with an umbrella or tripod on the other side.
Look for a deep external water bottle pocket that doesn’t eat into your bag’s stowing capacity and secures your Hydroflask from toppling out every time you take the bag off.
9. External Carrying Capability
Lash straps, bungee straps, external clasps, pick your poison. Traveling from a warm weather to cold weather destination means carrying a sizable coat.
It’s a waste of space to stuff this in your limited liters of bag space, instead, make sure your bag has some means to attach additional items to the bag to ensure that you maximize your carrying capacity.
10. Clean Aesthetic
A simple, neutral colored bag is crucial to blending in when you touch ground in a new country.
A sleek bag will leave you looking more like an expat or possibly local than a tourist fresh off the plane. Look for something with clean lines, a dirt wicking nylon, and minimal branding.
I’ve currently been using the Peak Design Travel Backpack (pictured above). Check out my full review on the bag here. If you’re in the market for the bag, check out the Peak Design website here.
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