The 8 BEST Travel Backpacks We’ve Tried
The best travel backpack for most people is a 40–45 liter, clamshell-opening pack that fits in an airplane’s overhead bin. We’ve traveled full time for over a decade, and that size has become the sweet spot for us, from European city breaks to safaris to ski trips.
We didn’t start there. On our first trip around Europe, we carried traditional top-loading hiking packs. They were great on our backs and a pain everywhere else: you have to dig from the top to find anything, and they won’t stand up on a train platform. Since then we’ve moved to purpose-built travel backpacks and own several for different kinds of trips.
This list mixes the bags we’ve carried ourselves with the current standouts we’d buy today. Packs we’ve owned are marked in the table, and those reviews come from our own use.
Our picks at a glance
If you only buy one bag, get the Peak Design Travel Backpack. It’s the pack we reach for most. Prices are US list prices as of October 2026 and change often.
| Backpack | Best for | Capacity | Price (USD) | We’ve carried it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak Design Travel Backpack | Best overall | 35–45L | $300 | Yes |
| Osprey Farpoint / Fairview 40 | Best value, best fit | 40L | $240 | Yes |
| Tortuga Travel Backpack Pro | Premium carry-on | 34L or 40L | $350 | Its predecessor |
| Patagonia Black Hole MLC | Duffel-style carry-on | 45L | $249 | Yes |
| Cotopaxi Allpa | Organization with a real harness | 35L or 42L | $255 | Yes |
| REI Co-op Ruckpack 40 | Trips with hiking | 40L | $159 | Yes |
| Pacsafe Go Travel Pack | Security | 45L | $179 | No |
| Osprey Daylite Expandable 26+6 | Budget airlines | 26–32L | $110 | Yes |
The backpacks
Peak Design Travel Backpack
Best Overall
Capacity: 35L, expands to 45L, compresses to 30L · Weight: about 4.5 lb · Price: about $300
This is my most used travel bag, and if cost isn’t a concern, it’s my favorite. It sits at 35L for carry-on, unzips to 45L when you’re checking it, and compresses down when you’re carrying less.
The clamshell opening and side access mean you’re never digging from the top. It’s still the top pick in most 2026 testing. We’ve taken the bag on a wide variety of trips from ski trips in Japan to a safari in Africa or a beach vacay in Costa Rica.
Who it’s for: anyone who wants one bag for everything from a city break to a safari, and especially photographers, since it works with Peak Design’s camera cubes.
Downsides: It’s heavy for its size. The hip belt is thin, so it isn’t made for walking all day with a full load. Expanded to 45L, it can be over some airlines’ carry-on limits.
Osprey Farpoint / Fairview
Best Value & Best Fit
Capacity: 40L (also 55L and 70L with a detachable daypack) · Weight: about 3.5 lb · Price: about $200
I’ve owned a Farpoint for 15 years, and it’s still the bag I’d tell most people to start with. The Farpoint is the men’s fit; the Fairview is the same pack built for a shorter torso and narrower shoulders, which makes it the easiest bag here for couples to buy one each.
It’s suspension the best in its testing. If you want more room, the 55L version comes with a zip-off daypack, and I think it’s the best value in the range.
Downsides: It has little internal organization, so bring packing cubes. The 55L and 70L versions are too big for carry-on with the daypack attached. That said it’s still the go-to backpack for those backpacking on an adventure.
Tortuga Travel Backpack Pro
Best Premium Carry-on
Capacity: 34L or 40L · Weight: about 4.5 lb (40L) · Price: $350 (Lite version $250)
We traveled for years with Tortuga’s older Outbreaker 45L and never had a problem taking it as carry-on internationally. The Pro is its replacement. It features a comfortable harness, waterproof zippers and well-balanced organization. The cheaper Lite version keeps the same layout with lighter materials.
Downsides: It’s expensive, Tortuga sells mainly through its own website, and the hip belt can be fussy.
Patagonia Black Hole MLC 45L
Best Duffel-Style Carry-on
Capacity: 45L · Weight: about 3.6 lb · Price: about $239
This one carries as a backpack, a shoulder bag or by its handles, and it’s built to the maximum carry-on size. The coated fabric is tough, and it packs more like a suitcase than a pack.
I’ve owned a Black Hole for two years now and used it on multiple trips including a climbing trip to Greece and our last ski trip to Japan. It’s also my go-to for quick weekend trips around the Canadian Rockies.
Downsides: It carries poorly as a backpack for long stretches and has no hip belt. Choose it if most of your walking is from the taxi to the hotel.
Cotopaxi Allpa
Organization With a Real Harness
Capacity: 35L or 42L · Price: about $220–230
The Allpa has the best organization we’ve seen in a main compartment, with mesh-zippered sections on both sides. It’s still a favorite of ours and the gives the 35L is one of our favorite bags.
The tough 1000D shell shrugs off rough handling. We’ve had a couple bags from Cotopaxi and think their build quality and durability rivals the Black Hole above.
Downsides: The suspension isn’t as good as the Osprey’s, and the stiff shell can look baggy when the bag isn’t full.
REI Co-op Ruckpack 40
Best for Trips With Hiking
Capacity: 40L · Weight: 2 lb 13 oz · Price: $159
This is the bag for trips where you’ll be on trails as much as in towns. I love the laptop compartment that doubles as a hydration sleeve, the included rain cover, and the straps for trekking poles.
The shoulder straps zip away for flights, and the full-zip opening packs like a suitcase. It comes in men’s and women’s versions with real hip belts and load lifters. It’d be a solid pick for hiking trip like the Camino de Santiago, Inca Trail, or the Cotswold Way. We’d still reach for a more hiking specific backpack for larger treks in the Andes, Himalayas, or Alps.
Downsides: It looks like a hiking pack, which matters if you’re spending most of the trip in cities.
Pacsafe GO 44L Travel Pack
Best for Security
Capacity: 45L · Price: $289
If theft worries you, this is the pack to get. Its zippers lock together with one lock, and the fabric has slash-resistant mesh built in. It’s a good fit for hostels, night trains, or even business travelers who need to protect their electronic devices and sate.
Downsides: There’s no quick-access pocket, and the laptop sits at the front of the bag.
Osprey Daylite Expandable 26+6
Best for Budget Airlines
Capacity: 26L, expands to 32L · Weight: 1.85 lb
For a short trip on Ryanair or another budget airline, a small bag that zips down to personal-item size saves you the cabin-bag fee. It’s the best value in its lightweight testing, with a comfortable harness and lockable zippers. We’ve used the Daylite extensively as a secondary bag to carry on planes.
Downsides: Expanded, it may be too big to count as a personal item, and it’s often out of stock.
Others we’ve carried
- Nomatic Travel Bag 40L. It’s superbly organized and we used it a lot for city trips, but at $330, now sold as the Travel Duffel Bag 40L, the bags above give you more for less.
- Tropicfeel Shell and Topo Designs Travel Bag. Both served us well a few years ago, but newer bags have overtaken them.
What we’d skip
- Top-loading hiking packs for city travel. We started out with them and found them a pain. You dig from the top and they won’t stand up. Our hiking backpack guide covers packs for multi-day treks.
- eBags Mother Lode. It’s cheap, but it’s ugly and the straps are flimsy. I wouldn’t spend more than a few minutes at a time with it on my back.
How to choose a travel backpack
Size: 40–45L is the sweet spot
For us, 40–45L is the right size for almost every trip. It holds a week or more of clothes with packing cubes, and it’s usually carry-on compliant. Go bigger, around 60L, only for long-term travel where you’ll check the bag anyway.
Carry-on limits vary, so check your airline before you fly:
- Most US airlines: about 22 x 14 x 9 inches.
- Ryanair: the free bag is a 40 x 30 x 20 cm personal item. A 55 x 40 x 20 cm cabin bag up to 10 kg needs a Priority or Plus fare.
A bag that expands, like the Peak Design, lets you stay inside the limit on the way out and unzip for souvenirs on the way home.
Opening: clamshell, not top-loading
A clamshell bag zips open like a suitcase, so you can see and reach everything. Top-loaders are lovely on your back on a trail, but in a hostel or hotel room you end up emptying the whole bag to find one shirt. They also can’t stand upright.
Fit: get the men’s or women’s version
Torso length matters more than anything else for comfort. Bags like the Osprey Farpoint and Fairview and the REI Ruckpack come in men’s and women’s versions with different strap shapes and torso lengths. Try one on with weight in it if you can.
Europe and city trips
For a trip that’s mostly cities and trains, choose a bag that doesn’t look like hiking gear and has side handles. Handles make it far easier to lift onto luggage racks and into overhead bins. The Peak Design and Patagonia Black Hole both suit this kind of trip.
Light beats packed full: it’s better to move fast with a small bag than be bogged down by a heavy one.
Security
Most travelers don’t need a dedicated anti-theft backpack like the Pacsafe. Look for lockable zippers (the Ruckpack and Peak Design have them), keep your passport and cards in an inside pocket, and lock the bag to something in a hostel.
Truthfully we haven’t stayed in a hostel in over a decade. However, we always found every hostel to have a locker to store personal items, including a backpack. Their best use is probably for those who travel with work computers that contain sensitive data.
Packing cubes
Use them. A travel backpack is one big space, and cubes turn it into drawers. They also compress clothes so a 40L bag goes further.
FAQ
What size backpack is best for travel? For most trips, 40–45L. It’s usually small enough for carry-on and big enough for a week or more with packing cubes.
Is a 40L backpack carry-on size? Usually, yes, on most full-service airlines. Budget airlines like Ryanair charge extra for anything bigger than a small personal item, so check the fare before you book.
Are men’s and women’s travel backpacks different? The good ones are. Women’s versions such as the Osprey Fairview have a shorter torso, narrower shoulder straps and a differently shaped hip belt. Unisex bags like the Peak Design fit a wide range of people, but try them on first.
Should I use a hiking backpack for travel? Only if the trip is mostly trekking. For cities, trains and hotels, a clamshell travel pack is much easier to live out of.
What’s the best travel backpack for Europe? A 40L carry-on bag that doesn’t look like hiking gear. We like the Peak Design for most trips, and the Osprey Daylite Expandable if you’re flying budget airlines.
