If you’re in a swirling airport terminal with a broken shoulder strap, you know you never learned how to choose the right travel backpack. It’s an awful, stinky rite of passage, and it spoils vacations. There’s no need for fancy marketing jargon or pretty pastel shells that tear on the first flight. It is just a travel backpack that makes it through the real road.
The Front-Loading Clamshell Pack
Imagine you have a large pair of shoes and you are trying to fit them in your regular backpack. Everything has to be pushed in and piled up into creases in your clean shirts and you have to pray that you don’t need anything from the center of the bag later. That’s why clamshell opening mechanism is created. They unfold completely flat like a suitcase and you can put your hands into them to get at any one of the many items without causing any mess. Some brands, such as Osprey and Nomatic, have mastered this arrangement and it alters your packing method.
This is one very convenient arrangement, but with a significant drawback. When over stuffed, a clamshell bag will tighten and cease to be flexible. This leaves the exterior pocket quick-access pockets virtually useless as there is no room for a passport or phone. Then you have a heavy, inflexible brick which is very hard to put in a cramped overhead compartment.
The Minimalist One-Bag Carry-On
The freedom of not having to endure the airport baggage inspection is a joy experience by every traveller. The minimalist carry-on is made particularly for the minimal quantity of space that major airlines allow, typically about 40 litres. Such bags as the Aer Travel Pack or the Minaal Carry-on have a clean square or rectangular design to maximize space. This style is ideal for travelers that want to get to their destination quickly and need to move around, without having to pay a checked bag fee.
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The one bag travel lifestyle, though, is a commitment of discipline that not many people find appalling. There aren’t any extras of shoes or heavy winter coats for you to make a mistake packing. Purchasing souvenirs may become a logistical conundrum as there is no room for souvenirs in your backpack. This is a style that will cause you to quickly go nuts if you are the type of person that would like to wear a different outfit each night or wants to bring back a gift.
The Rugged Adventure Hiking Hybrid
You don’t always end up in a city, in the middle of a sidewalk, but sometimes your travels include a dusty trailhead or a mountain pass and not a paved city side alley or an airport escalator. When hiking hybrid bags like Gregory or Deuter come in handy, a bag of this kind is unbeatable for such trips.
These packs have very advanced harness systems that spread the weight throughout your body, so the twenty pounds doesn’t seem like much. They are engineered for extended mileage by hikers and are the perfect option for hikers traveling to more extreme outdoor adventures.
The trade-off is these bags are top-loaded, which is extremely fussy when you’re travelling every day. To find a new shirt at the bottom of a deep, narrow pack will involve dumping your entire shirt collection on a dusty floor. Moreover, due to the multitude of dangling straps, buckles and hip pads, they are a liability at the airport check-in counter. The loose straps are often caught up in conveyor belt machines and can tear apart your costly bag before you even get there.
The Tech-Heavy Digital Nomad Pack
The protection that backpacks provide is not enough for expensive electronics. Travel packs for tech lovers feature dozens of pockets for items, lots of heavy padding and false bottoms to shield the laptop from drops.
Companies such as Peak Design have amassed huge customer bases because they have come up with bags that secure the camera, tablet and tangled charging cords at all times. For those who use a laptop as a means of making a living, it’s crucial to have this sort of security to have peace of mind.
All this protective structural padding, though, comes at an extremely high cost in weight. These bags are extremely heavy, sometimes as much as 5 lbs, before you even throw anything into them. That’s also a significant amount of weight that will quickly use up the luggage limits on budget carriers, which don’t usually allow as much. Also, the shoulder straps are typically slim and firm in these packs to keep them looking sleek and modern, potentially leading to the muscles’ becoming sore and fatigued during extended hikes.
How to Choose the Right Travel Backpack Capacity
Size is the most common mistake travellers make, typically choosing a bag that’s too large for what they really need. Always consider the backpack’s capacity (in liters) when deciding on the best backpack size for travel, not the length. If you are travelling internationally, the ideal bag size for carry-on is around 40 litres, which is the standard for most airlines. Any bigger than that, say fifty-five or sixty liters, will almost certainly mean that you have to check your bag at the gate, which will cost you more time and money.
Rebuilding a pack to a smaller size, such as a thirty litter bag, will require you to take a smarter approach to your packing. You soon discover you only pack clothes that are versatile and learn to wash clothes on the road. IMO it’s a very frightening change for chronic overpackers but the freedom of carrying the light bag is totally worth the initial terror.
Harness Systems and Wearable Ergonomics
If after 10 minutes of walking the bag looks like it is a torture device, it is actually a torture device! If it looks like a torture device after 10 minutes of walking, then it is a torture device! The shoulder straps, sternum strap and hip belt are the real soul of a good travel pack. Check for shoulder straps that contour to the human shoulder and have a back panel that is breathable to avoid sweat build-up. A good suspension system will distribute most of the weight of the pack from your back to your bigger leg muscles.
If you’re carrying heavy loads, you don’t want to purchase a pack that does not have a good hip belt. These belts are not included in many sleek, urban bags to make them look more stylish, but they will cost you dearly in the shoulders. The longer a woman is wearing something, the thicker and padded the belt should be, although even a tuck-away hip strap is better than nothing for more than fifteen pounds.
Material Durability and Weatherproofing Realities
Most travelers aren’t concerned with the fabric of their bag until it suddenly rains in the tropics or they see a baggage handler toss their bag on concrete. The expensive bags are made from a high-quality fabric, such as ballistic nylon fabric or X-Pac that has outstanding resistance to tears, abrasions and water. They’re intended for years of longevity to keep your high dollar equipment safe from the elements and rough handling. The knowledge of these differences in materials is a major component of being aware of what to look for in a rugged travel backpack.
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The problem is that they’re extremely hard and heavy due to the sturdiness and weather resistance they offer. Some of these fabrics also crinkle when you pull open the bag, something that can get quite annoying during a quiet hostel room. You don’t need to have a full-size waterproof bag, but you definitely want to have one that’s water-resistant enough to be used if you have to run to get to the train station during a rainstorm.
FAQs
What is the Ideal Size Backpack for a Carry-On Only Trip?
Target capacity of 35-40 liters. Most large airlines have an overhead that this fits into and with some good packing it can easily fit a week’s worth of clothing. If the vehicle is larger than forty-five litres, it will probably be marked at the vehicle boarding gate.
Are Expensive Travel Backpacks Really Worth the Money?
Of course, particularly if you travel twice or more each year. Heavy-duty zippers and tough fabrics are used in premium brands that will not split open when stuffed. Cheap bags may break on the way, and if they do, then your trip will be ruined, and you will have to pay more to replace them on the go.
Is There a Trick to How to Choose the Right Travel Backpack Size for Weekend Trips?
Take a close look at how you pack. A pack with a capacity of between 28 and 30 litres is ideal for a short 3-day trip. It fits in the front seat and you don’t have to pay any baggage fees, nor stand in line at the airport for the check-in staff.
Do I Really Need a Backpack with a Hip Belt?
If you have more than 15 pounds of gear, yes. Up to eighty percent of the weight of the bag is distributed to the hips by a padded hip belt. If you don’t have one, you will have really bad neck and lower back pain after 20 minutes of walking.
How Do I Protect My Backpack When Checking It?
If your pack has straps that can be pulled back into the pack, do so with all loose straps. If not, place the entire backpack in a simple duffle bag or protective flight cover. That helps prevent the loose buckles from snagging and breaking on airport conveyors.
Conclusion
The key to finding the right pack is experimentation, and an element of trial and error on the road. After you’ve discovered a bag that suits your body and your travel habits, you won’t want to ever consider packing again with suitcases. What is the one thing you can’t take on a trip?
