Choosing a travel backpack is more consequential than most people realise before they have made a bad choice. The wrong bag — too heavy, badly designed, poor hip belt, inadequate organisation — can make every moving day of a trip significantly more unpleasant than it needs to be. I have owned nine travel backpacks over fifteen years of serious travel and have strong opinions about what separates the excellent from the merely adequate.
What to Look For: The Key Criteria
Before looking at specific bags, here is how I evaluate any travel backpack:
- Weight empty: the bag itself should weigh as little as possible — you are adding it to everything else you carry
- Hip belt quality: a proper, padded hip belt transfers weight from your shoulders to your hips — essential for anything over 30 litres
- Access: clamshell opening (the bag opens flat like a suitcase) beats top-loading for travel; front-panel zip access to main compartment
- Laptop compartment: separate, padded, TSA-friendly if you travel to the US
- Organisation: enough pockets to find things without unpacking everything
- Carry-on compatibility: 40-45 litres fits most airline overhead bins
Best Overall: Osprey Farpoint 40
The Osprey Farpoint 40 has been the benchmark travel backpack for years and remains the bag I recommend most often to people asking for a single reliable recommendation. It has a proper suspension system and hip belt, a clamshell opening that makes it easy to pack and access, a separate laptop sleeve, and a zip-away harness that keeps the straps hidden when checking the bag. At 40 litres it fits in most overhead bins. It is not the lightest option but it is the most comfortable and the most durable I have found at the price.
Best for Carry-On Strict Compliance: Peak Design Travel Backpack 30L
If you travel primarily on budget airlines with strict size limits, the Peak Design Travel Backpack 30L is the finest small travel bag I have used. The organisation system is exceptional — internal dividers, a front panel that opens fully, excellent cable management, a camera cube that slots into the main compartment. It is expensive (around ) and worth every penny if you travel frequently and value organisation. The MagLatch closure is satisfying to use in a way that sounds ridiculous but is genuinely true.
Best Budget Option: Decathlon Forclaz Travel 40
If you want a capable travel backpack without spending a lot of money, Decathlon’s own-brand travel bags offer remarkable value. The Forclaz Travel 40 has most of the features of bags costing three times as much — clamshell opening, hip belt, lockable zips — at a price that makes it almost disposable. I lent mine to a friend for a year-long trip and she came back recommending it to everyone she met.
Best for Digital Nomads: Nomatic Travel Bag 40L
The Nomatic is designed specifically for people who work while they travel — extended laptop and tablet compartments, RFID-blocking pocket for passports and cards, water bottle pockets, and an organisation system that rivals Peak Design at a slightly lower price. If you are carrying a laptop, hard drives, cables and work equipment alongside your travel clothes, the Nomatic handles it better than any other bag I have used.
What I Actually Pack in My Travel Backpack
I currently use the Osprey Farpoint 40 for most trips. Here is how I organise it:
- Main compartment: clothing in two packing cubes (one for clothes, one for underwear/socks)
- Front panel: toiletries bag, first aid kit, snacks
- Laptop sleeve: 13-inch laptop and e-reader
- Hip belt pockets: phone, wallet, lip balm, earphones for easy access
- Top pocket: documents, sunglasses, guidebook
Want to travel carry-on only? Read our complete travel packing list guide — it pairs directly with choosing the right bag.
