A great carry-on travel and adventure backpack revolutionizes packing. Whether you use it alone on short trips or carry it with other luggage on long trips, the best option includes plenty of storage space for clothes and easy storage for water bottles, laptops, and other personal items. There are a number of accessible protective pockets.
Having spent many days on planes crisscrossing continents and oceans for work and play, we've tested and recommend the best carry-on travel and adventure bags in the 35-55 liter size range. To do.
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Peak Design 45L Travel Backpack
Best overall
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Tortuga Travel Backpack Pro 40L
Best Rollerboard Alternative
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air travel pack 3
best bargain
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Yeti Crossroad Backpack 35L
best versatile
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Matador Globe Rider 45L Travel Backpack
The smartest feature set
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Cotopaxi Alpa 42L Travel Pack
The most distinctive option
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GORUCK GR3 45L USA
Made in America
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Osprey Farpoint 55 Travel Pack
most versatile
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Patagonia Cragsmith Pack 45L
Perfect for awkwardly sized gear
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How we test travel & adventure backpacks
Our testers traveled far and wide on planes, trains, and cars multiple times with these backpacks loaded with apparel, gadgets, and gear to see how they handle stress. They were loaded and unloaded alike into luggage racks, trunks, and back seats, carried on long walks to and from terminals and destinations, and flopped around in closets between trips.
For many of our tests, we loaded it with typical clothing and equipment needed for a multi-day business or personal trip. Extra jeans or slacks, 2-3 T-shirts, and 1-2. Overshirt or button-down, sneakers, gym shorts and shirt, DSLR camera, iPhone charger and Apple Watch charger, and of course a few extra pairs of underwear.
Want to learn more about how we test and evaluate our products? I'm heading here.
