Expect to pay $100-400 for thoughtful designs + legit materials.
Click on the bags you like below to watch the video and get an informed look.
Note which bags interest you and what you like/dislike to help you make your final decision.
The Travel Bag from Peak Designs is an extremely well designed, quality bag for modern carry-on adventure, business travel and large camera carry.
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Really lovely and thoughtfully crafted bag. Tons of organization, excellent comfort (super cushy straps), large enough for bigger EDC and travel needs but designed in a way that doesn’t make it look funky when it’s not packed out. Looks excellent, in fact. Super unique in its “softness.” Watch the vid to get a sense of what I mean.
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One of the internet’s most beloved backpacks due to its accessibility, organization, build quality and capacity. Dad-bag looks tho.
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These Nomatic bags are chock full of pockets. There are 2 different bags here: the Travel Pack expands up to about 30L, perfect for short trips and minimal travel. The Backpack is 20-24L daily carry. Both are sleek, totally organized, and rocking the “jetpack” look.
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The 28L Transit Backpack from Bellroy is nicely sized and well organized for big commutes, business travel and regular ol’ adventure travel. Innovative and classy bag.
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Made in the USA and built to last forever. The Bixi is one of those bags that somehow fits more than its 32L capacity suggests, with excellent organization and all-day comfort.
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Super lightweight without feeling stripped down. The pocketing and access are dialed, the carry comfort is excellent, and it somehow manages to work as both a serious travel bag and a daily carry once you arrive.
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HOLY SH*T this thing is light. At around 2 pounds, it completely changes how a travel backpack feels in use. The Ultra fabric is dreamy, the organization stays simple, and 34L hits a sweet spot between travel bag and daily carry.
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An indie one-bag-travel brand built around a single obsession: keeping weight down. At 855g it’s dramatically lighter than most comparable travel backpacks, without giving up structure or organization.
This is the bag that started it all for me. The Carry On backpack from Minaal is one of the professional traveler’s best friends with its sleek design, killer materials and medium sized capacity for minimal travel.
A functional everyday bag for both urban and outdoor use with solid durability, rolltop expandability, decent organization and side-access for optional camera cube integration.
Expensive, but it’s got an amazing warranty. A simple, understated, powerful bag that will gladly see you through anything in life.
A very solid backpack for business environments that expands for travel and larger loads. The updated Series 2 design is even better than the first.
The Forge from Black Ember is a convertible backpack-briefcase-messenger with expandability from 20-30L.
Soft sided and nicely organized. Great laptop pocket. A capable, feature rich bag with lovely materials and just enough capacity for daily carry and minimal travel.
The ATD1 is an expandable backpack you can use for both travel and daily carry. Looks pretty damn good too. One of the best in this category for sure.
A really solid feeling bag with lots of pockets both inside and outside the bag and enough capacity for the minimal traveler.
Aer has since replaced the Duffel Pack 2 with the Duffel Pack 3 — same gym/work hybrid concept, updated build.
A very functional eco-friendly bag, the Wayks One expands and compresses into multiple different functions, making it a great bag for daily and travel use.
Rolltop expansion plus a zip-out bottom expansion make this simple looking bag perform quite well for one-bag travel.
At first glance it looked weird. Then I used it for a couple days. Good god does this bag do it all well. Seriously, so much organization, so well built.
Perfect pro minimalist travel backpack with excellent materials and pocketing.
A weekend-sized carry-on that expands 20% when you need it. 630D CORDURA nylon, full hip belt included, best suited to shorter torsos (17-19 in) and smaller frames.
