What attributes are important to you?
After going through way too many backpacks that just end up falling apart, I bit the bullet and bought an Aer City Pack Pro and I couldn’t be happier. It’s rugged, durable, and most importantly: it stands upright on its own!!! Every other pack I’ve had just falls right over when setting it down. I also love that I can walk through pouring rain and none of my stuff gets wet.
Link for the lazy: https://aersf.com/products/city-pack-pro
That sounds perfect and there is nothing that lasts longer than Cordura fabric. My 20 year old Brenthaven business case with should strap still looks brand new but it’s killing my shoulder. The Day Pack 2 looks like it would fit my 15” laptop, etc nicely. Thanks for the rec.
LTT backpack. It does what they say it does - holds a metric ton of stuff, fits under an airplane seat, comfortable even when loaded. Bought it to use for work, and I can fit all my work gear for trips as well as clothes.
Ditto. I’ve had mine for over a year now with daily use and it’s been great. Good room for tools, and a dedicated outside pocket for glasses. Inner pocket keeps water bottle in place. Organized device storage that holds 2 laptops, an iPad, Steam Deck, Kindle and travel router. The fact that it fits the exact dimensions under most airplane seats has been clutch for travel.
I had to make a warranty claim this week when some of the zipper teeth separated from the bag for some reason. For all the hubbub around the “trust me bro” warranty, support responded within 2 hours and is sending a completely new bag as a replacement. Top notch support.
I really liked the look of this and the organization, but it was not long after spending a good bit on the Oakley Kitchen Sink, so I didn’t get it. For me, straight up capacity (with some protection) is a meaningful deciding factor, and it’s big and holds a lot, and has a decent number of options on the outside for storage.
I still do kind of want the LTT bag, though.
Totally understand. I also have a Rush 5.11, which I love because I can change the pockets on the outside to match whatever I’m doing, thanks to MOLLE. But that bag sucks for travel. Not because it can’t hold anything, but because I got profiled hardcore. Every single time I traveled with that backpack, I got extra security screenings. I got tired of having to dump my bag out every time I flew, so I switched.
Fjällräven Konten 17 liter backpack for 16 inch laptop computer.
Good:
- Minimalist appearance.
- Quickly and easily adjustable shoulder straps with detachable chest strap.
- Soft, padded shoulder straps and back wall.
- Semi-hard exterior, same shape empty or full.
- When empty, stands upright for loading groceries that can’t be tilted.
- Hatch stays open without holding.
- Carry handle on top. Always vertical.
- Zippered pocket inside. (Should have more.)
- Many pockets of various sizes inside. Three pen pockets high up in the safest corner.
- Two stretchy pockets outside.
- Retroreflector for traffic safety.
Bad:
- Discontinued - no idea why.
- Not raintight, but close.
- Mediocre ventilation --> sweaty back.
- Outside pockets not stretchy enough for a 0.5 liter bottle.
Silva Lap 25L. Waterproof with basically one big compartment and an inner sleeve to hold a laptop in place.
I live in the rainiest city in Europe and hate lots of pockets. It goes everywhere with me.
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I got this one a number of years ago. It’s been great–I’ve packed multiple laptops and some tools, and it’s held up. And converts to a backpack for longer treks.
I have an older Osprey Nebula. I also use it for week trips. Can usually do a Monday-Friday trip without any issues.
Wenger Synergy Pro 16”. My backpack is basically my office, so it Carrie’s quite a bit, and this one holds up really well. Also, it has a 10-year warranty.
I’ve had this one from Rickshaw Bags for almost 10 years and the only issue I’ve had was one of the clasps broke, so I just bought another clasp piece and easily replaced it.
You can customize these bags with colors and fabric types (mine is water-resistant, even the zippers).
They make lots of other bags, but this one is great.
Features: Sutro Backpack Main Compartment: 17"H x 11"W x 5"D Volume: 935 cubic inches (15.8 liters) Weight: 1.9 lb
Vecro-free flap closure
Optional Fidlock® magnetic buckle upgrade
Rugged YKK #8 zippers
Optional YKK #8 AquaGuard® zipper upgrade
Side zipper for quick access to main storage compartment
Exterior bottle pocket fits bottles up to 3.5" diameter
Front zipper pocket
Optional Velcro loop patch on front pocket (for velcro-backed patch attachment)
Padded straps with sternum clasp
Ultra lightweight
Built-in padded laptop slip (up to 15")
Made in USA, in our own SF factory
I’ve been using an old Timbuk2 for years now. Lots of space and I find messenger bags comfy.
No bag, just a Scottevest jacket with 26 pockets. Had it for a decade. It even fits a water bottle and a laptop(!) without the being visible.
Only reason I’m not buying more/new is because they only come in black and don’t have any reflective seams or anything - bad for winter use.
I have a maxpedition Kodiak gearslinger
I’m not in love with the military styling, that used to be more my thing, but not so much these days.
I initially got it for when I was more involved as a scout leader. The key selling points for me were that it’s pretty rugged, and I could swing it around to easily pull paperwork, first aid kits, etc. out without needing to take it off or find somewhere to put it down to rifle through it. It has a water bottle holder and provisions for a hydration bladder should I need even more water, a laptop pocket for when I needed that, and a decent selection of various sized pockets that I think do a good job of keeping your stuff organized and accessible. It worked well for it’s intended purpose, wouldn’t be something I’d recommend for a hiking backpack, but if you need something to lug around some notebooks, and a laptop, some small tools, and such while working outside it’s a pretty good bag.
It’s overkill for what I need it for these days, all I bring with me to work everyday is
- my work headset
- a little pouch with some pens and such
- a notebook
- a small personal first aid kit
- whatever book I’m currently reading
- my water bottle
- sometimes my switch
- a phone charger
My phone, wallet, keys, and usually a pocket knife get carried on my person, and that’s all I have with me 99% of the time when I’m not at work.
And that’s really it. Lots of empty space in my bag, and having that extra space kind of leads to me frequently throwing some junk into it and not bothering to clean it out. I think I still have a birthday card from my coworkers in there from last summer.
So it seems like all categories of bags have already been posted and they narrow the problem down by 0%. Just to add another option for a specific use case: Ortlieb has these neat bags that you can just stick to a bike and they are quite robust as well.
35l pack from local company that makes hiking bags and boat bags.
It is pretty much bomb proof, beafy zippers, quality fabric… Some of my friends have bags from this company for 20 years.
I’m currently using some unbranded bag that has “Google Cloud” written in front of it, it’s a gift I got from doing some kind of GCP competition.
For a generic backpack it really got the job done. It’s been two years and it hasn’t completely broken so it’s an improvement compared to my previous backpacks.
But honestly, I wish it was waterproof
