The 9 Best Travel Backpacks for Any Budget in 2024

Free your hands and the mind will follow—or so say devotees of travel backpacks. Similar to traditional suitcases, these bags organize clothes, electronics, and other trip essentials and come in a range of sizes to support short jaunts or long expeditions. But travel backpacks also liberate your arms for other tasks. And without wheels that bounce and jam on cobblestones or gravel, they let travelers cruise easily across any terrain.

No longer reserved exclusively for adventure travel, some of these backpacks feature chic styling that works just as well in San Francisco or Buenos Aires as they do during travel; others are too big for daily use but are perfect for longer outdoor adventures like hiking the Appalachian Trail. The best travel backpacks take a page from sporty, mountaineering models: They feature weight-support structures built into the back panel that make 50 pounds of clothes and gear feel like 20. Below are our top picks for travel backpacks, as well as tips for finding the right one for you.

What to look for in a travel backpack

The best travel backpack for you depends on the kind of trip you’re taking and how long you’ll be away. Here are features to consider when shopping for a new backpack:

• Material: Look for durable and lightweight materials like nylon and polyester with additional waterproof coatings to make your bag last as long as possible.
• Dimensions: If you plan on using your backpack as a carry-on, make sure it’s less than 22 x 14 x 9 inches, or 45 linear inches, which is the total of the length, width, and height of the bag. This will fit most (not all) airline carry-on restrictions.
• Capacity: You’ll often see numbers like “60L” or “45L” alongside backpacks. This refers to its carrying capacity in liters. Generally, carry-on-size bags will be 45L or less, while anything larger may have to be checked.
• Additional features: Some travel backpacks have hip straps to make carrying more comfortable. Others have built-in packing cubes, water bottle pockets, or laptop sleeves to keep you organized.

If your travel backpack will be doubling as a hiking backpack, Maggie Peikon of the American Hiking Society says, “When finding the right fit, whether you’re in a store or choosing to order online and try on your pack at home, load it up! Many stores will have weight bags that you can put into your pack during try-on so you can get a feel for the adjustments you may need to make to ensure comfort when your pack is full.”

If you’re not sure where to start, our guide to the best travel backpacks will help you find one with a price point that matches your budget and features that fit your style of traveling.

Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L

• Buy now: $300, peakdesign.com
• Capacity: 35 liters (up to 45 liters when expanded)
• Dimensions: 22 x 13 x 9.5 inches (up to 22 x 13 x 11 inches when expanded)
• Weight: 4.5 lbs.

The pinnacle of versatility, Peak Design’s Travel Backpack (pictured above) adapts to your every whim. Want to tuck away the shoulder straps and turn it into a handled tote? No problem. Shrink it to a daypack? Snaps elegantly compress the top. Enlarge it to accommodate the souvenirs you bought? Zippered expansion panels add 10 liters of space to the pack’s default 35 liters. (Keep in mind that once it’s fully expanded, the backpack is slightly over most airlines’ carry-on bag size requirements.) And for people with smaller frames or who might also be rolling with a suitcase, there’s the 30L version ($230).

Peak Design also offers an array of packing cubes (sold separately) for specialized storage. The Tech Pouch ($60) pleases digital nomads and business travelers who carry multiple phones, tablets, battery packs, and Wi-Fi extenders. The Wash Pouch ($60) does the same for toiletries. Camera cubes in various sizes ($50–$110) let photographers safely carry a DSLR and lenses. Multiple access points provide quick entry to the main compartment, and the Travel Backpack can be easily swung around to the front of the body so you don’t have to take it off to change lenses or hunt for a charging cord. Two stretchy side pockets hold a tripod or water bottle.

As standard luggage, the Travel Backpack is best for light packers, but it carries that weight comfortably and provides systematic storage for a range of needs. That’s both a pro and a con: Getting full functionality out of this pack requires investing some time to understand its options, but if there’s a pack that does a better job of marrying elegance and efficiency, we haven’t found it. —Kelly Bastone, Afar contributor

Mystery Ranch Mission Rover 45

• Buy now: $249, mysteryranch.com
• Capacity: 45 liters
• Dimensions: 22 x 13 x 11 inches
• Weight: 3.5 lbs.

If you like the structure and organization of a suitcase, but prefer to carry a travel backpack, consider the Mystery Ranch Mission Rover. Constructed with a sleek-looking Cordura nylon, this durable pack can stand up to outdoor adventures but won’t look out of place in urban settings.

Like a regular suitcase, this travel backpack has a main clamshell opening with two large zippered compartments to stash your clothes and dopp kit. But unlike hardshell roller bags, the Mission Rover has a series of pockets built into the front of the pack that help keep your tech and small items organized. In addition to a shoe compartment at the bottom of the pack, there’s also a padded laptop sleeve at the top of the bag, plus another small zippered pocket on the front to keep your passport, phone, and other small items within reach.

Sized to fit most airlines’ carry-on restrictions, the sleek Mission Rover can be carried like a traditional backpack or a duffle—simply stash the backpack straps into the back panel of the bag and clip on the single shoulder strap. —Lyndsey Matthews, Afar contributor

Osprey Farpoint® 55 Travel Pack (We usually don’t mark trademarks for anything except credit cards; I’d delete this)

• Buy now: $220, osprey.com
• Capacity: 55 liters
• Dimensions: 22 x 14 x 9 inches
• Weight: 4.2 lbs.

Most backpacks with detachable daypacks fix the smaller unit to the outside, farthest from the wearer’s back. But when Osprey’s veteran pack designer Mike Pfotenhauer set out to create the perfect backpack for his business-and-leisure trips to Vietnam, he flipped the arrangement: With the Ozone Duplex, the base is a compact backpack designed for comfort that holds a laptop, earphones, water bottle (in easy-to-reach side pockets), and passport (in a hidden zippered pocket).

Items like clothes and shoes fit into a larger “cargo bag” that clips to the daypack and can be chucked in the overhead bin while your valuables sit at your feet. Unlike other piggyback styles, the Ozone Duplex makes the daypack—which most travelers carry more often than the full pack—the keystone element rather than a tack-on.

There are additional benefits to this arrangement. Valuables are placed closer to your body, protecting them from theft. And because heavy items (like your computer) ride close to your back, their weight feels minimal. A sturdy hip belt and a weight-supporting internal suspension also help make big loads feel lighter.

Unclipped from the daypack and rigged with a removable strap, the cargo bag can serve as a shoulder tote. The two parts fit together without preventing access to zippers or pockets on either component and conform to carry-on dimensions. When both parts are stuffed to capacity, clipping the two together becomes trickier—but we managed fine, even when fogged by jet lag. —K.B.

Tortuga Travel Backpack Pro 40L

• Buy now: $350, tortugabackpacks.com
• Capacity: 40 liters
• Dimensions: 21.7 x 13.8 x 7.9 inches
• Weight: 3.5 lbs.

Tortuga has long been my go-to for travel-friendly backpacks thanks to its thoughtful, high-quality, and carry-on-friendly designs. Its latest model, the Tortuga Pro 40L, continues to deliver on all these fronts. As with past iterations, it combines the portability of a backpack with the practicality of a suitcase. Unlike a traditional top-opening backpack, the backpack has a clamshell opening that allows easy suitcase-like access. In the back, there’s a separate zippered pocket for your tech, including separate sleeves for your laptop and iPad to help you keep everything organized and easily access your laptop during security screenings. Multiple pockets on the front help keep small items organized and important items (such as your passport) easy to reach.

Made with a durable polyester fabric constructed from recycled water bottles, the Tortuga Pro is also protected with a water-resistant, durable water-repellent (DWR) coating. In addition to being durable and sustainable, it’s also a very comfortable bag to carry thanks to breathable, injection-molded foam and air mesh padding, plus removable hip belts. I’ve only used it on a few trips so far but if it’s anything like the past models, it’ll last for many years and adventures to come. —Jessie Beck, associate director, SEO

Eagle Creek Migrate Duffel 40L

• Buy now: $119, eaglecreek.com
• Capacity: 40 liters (up to 44 liters when expanded)
• Dimensions: 10.25 x 18.5 x 9.5 inches (up to 10.25 x 28.25 x 9.5 inches when expanded)
• Weight: 2 lbs. 1 oz.

The top of the Migrate Duffel 40L hides two padded straps that, when removed from their streamlined sleeves, clip into buckles to transform your hand luggage into a backpack. With cushioned straps, it’s a reasonably comfortable carry on your back, even without internal engineering to support heavy loads (in this form, it’s best-suited to light, bulky items such as workout clothes or a bike helmet); the central zipper rests on your back, where pickpockets can’t reach it.

When worn as a backpack, the Migrate Duffel meets carry-on dimensions. But if you end up buying one too many souvenirs, you can tuck away the backpack straps and unfurl the tote bag handles to expand the bag to 44 liters.

Waterproofed with a shiny coating of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), the tough, puncture-resistant polyester fabric makes this tote tough enough for rugged adventures. Handles on the top, side, and ends serve as convenient tie-down points. And although the zipper isn’t waterproof, a storm flap beneath it keeps rain from soaking inside. Water can’t seep in through the seamless bottom either—so when an errant wave soaked this bag on a beach, our books and towels stayed dry inside.

Just as impressive: The Migrate’s materials are all bluesign approved, meaning that they’re sustainably made and safe for people and the environment. The extra-durable fabric on the bottom of the duffel incorporates recycled polyester, and the water-repellent coating is made from upcycled plastic windshields. —K.B.

Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack

• Buy now: $225, cotopaxi.com
• Capacity: 35 liters
• Dimensions: 22 x 12 x 10 inches
• Weight: 2 lbs. 15 oz.

A carry-on, duffel, and backpack all in one, the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack is an organized traveler’s dream with zippered compartments for laptops, passports, keys, and clothes. Mario Ordoñez-Calderón, director of NGO Un Mar De Colores—which offers surf therapy and environmental education to underserved youth—used this bag on a 10-day trip to Oaxaca and called it “a game-changer.” Other notable design features include “theft-proof webbing,” which lets you tuck in the bag’s zippers so it can’t be opened without you noticing, and four carabiner lash loops that allow you to clip on a water bottle or thread through a scarf you want to have handy.

This carry-on-size bag can easily fit in the overhead bin of an airplane, but can often go underneath the seat in front of you (unless you have a full week’s worth of clothing crammed in there). If you’ve packed heavy and want to take some of the stress off your back, you can also use the bag’s removable hip belt for more stability.

Although the bag’s polyester shell is coated with thermoplastic polyurethane—making it completely waterproof—it also comes with a removable rain cover for an extra layer of protection for the whole backpack. —Katherine LaGrave, deputy editor

Thule AllTrail 45L

• Buy now: $190, thule.com
• Capacity: 45 liters
• Dimensions: 11.8 x 14.2 x 27.6 in
• Weight: 3.52 lbs.

When you need a backpack for hiking the Inca Trail or trekking among Himalayan teahouses, this should be your pick. The Thule AllTrail fits bulky gear like a sleeping bag and pads—and adeptly supports their mass. Sturdy aluminum struts reinforce the backpanel and transfer weight to your hips (keeping it off your shoulders). The thickly padded hip belt makes loads feel comfortable over many miles and hours of walking. And when properly packed, the AllTrail 45L kept us feeling balanced as we hiked rough paths and hopped over creeks.

This is a men’s model, but the hip belt can be adjusted and even swapped out. The shoulder straps also move up or down as much as four inches to suit a wide range of torso lengths.

A built-in rain cover keeps contents dry—as tested on New Zealand’s notoriously rainy Milford Track. Pockets on the hip belt let us store snacks and a phone within easy reach (one of those pockets is, conveniently, waterproof). —K.B.

Matador SEG28 Segmented Backpack

• Buy now: $250, matadorequipment.com
• Capacity: 28 liters
• Dimensions: 20 H x 12 W x 9.5 D in
• Weight: 2 lbs. 5 oz.

The Matador SEG28 Backpack provides maximum organization without having to buy extra packing cubes or other accessories. Essentially a backpack with packing cubes built in, the SEG28 is divided into four zippered segments accessed from the front of the bag, allowing you to keep your gear organized by type, day, or item size.

Additionally, the bag has a full clamshell undercarriage, allowing you to keep boots or dirty laundry separate from your clean clothes. Since there’s no such thing as too many pockets, you’ll find an external access laptop sleeve and another small pocket at the top of the bag for tiny essentials.

Carry-on compliant, the SEG28 is built for short trips (or day trips that require lots of stuff). For longer trips, the SEG45 ($200) offers 45 liters of packing space. —L.M.

Dakine Split Adventure 38L

At a small 38L, the Split Adventure doesn’t overwhelm its wearer: It never looks like you’ve grown an enormous turtle shell. Still, it manages to fit the necessities for short trips, because this backpack opens like a suitcase.

On one side of the main compartment, you’ll find elastic bands that clip together to secure clothing or packing cubes; the other side contains two mesh pockets big enough for a toiletry kit and a pair of shoes. That’s one pair of shoes. If you’re a chronic overpacker or you’re taking an extended trip, you’ll wish this pack were bigger. More than a couple of outfits will max out the 38L capacity.

Yet its tidy size manages to organize a surprising array of goods. A 17-inch laptop fits into the padded sleeve behind the shoulder straps, charging cords and other valuables slide into a zippered exterior organizer pocket, and tuck-away buckles secure bulky stuff (like a yoga mat or winter jacket) to the outside. Even sunglasses find their own safe haven in the fleece-lined pocket on top. —K.B.

This article was originally published in 2019 and most recently updated on August 8, 2024, with current information. Sophie Friedman contributed to the reporting of this story.