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Oct 20, 2024

The 6 Best Carry-On Travel Backpacks for 2024 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Kit Dillon Kit Dillon is a writer focused on bags and travel gear. He has worked for Wirecutter for a decade and lost count of the number of bags he has tested. We looked at the updated Cotopaxi

By Kit Dillon

Kit Dillon is a writer focused on bags and travel gear. He has worked for Wirecutter for a decade and lost count of the number of bags he has tested.

We looked at the updated Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack Del Dia and found that it improved on an already great bag: It’s a bit lighter, a bit more comfortable, and a bit easier to use.

When you open your favorite carry-on travel backpack, it should feel like you’re opening the door to a well-organized closet or sitting down at a clean desk, with everything in the right place and easy to reach.

This is your moment to center yourself, no matter how chaotic the journey.

The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack Del Dia and the larger Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L offer the best combination of features, quality, and durability. Both bags are exemplary carry-on travel backpacks that are designed for comfort, durability, and organization. Though these backpacks are great as companion bags for any trip, they’re designed to replace all of your other luggage and become your exclusive bag as you travel.

This style of packing is not for everyone, but once some people try it, they’re forever hooked. Finding the right bag is a personal choice, though, and no single bag appeals to everyone. That’s why we also have picks that are great for people who travel for work, others that are designed to be carried over long distances, and a bag that’s basically luggage on your back.

A 45-liter bag maximizes overhead space but can get heavy when fully packed; a 35-liter bag tends to be more manageable.

A bag with a clamshell design opens like a book and is easier to pack, but a bag that opens traditionally usually has more structure.

Ideally, a travel backpack has handles on all sides—especially the bottom—so you can pull it out of overhead bins or from under seats.

Some internal pockets are useful, but major organizing is better managed with packing cubes.

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I've been covering aspects of luggage and travel bag design for Wirecutter for nearly a decade, and I have personally researched, tested, and compared hundreds of bags in that time. I try to do most of my travel with a single backpack, whenever possible. I spent nine months roaming around Hawaii with not much more than that, and I spent another six months nomadically couch-surfing in New York City.

Over the years, for this guide:

I researched and tested bags designed for people who want to travel light and stay flexible while flying, without the burden of checking luggage. For some travelers, the challenge of cutting down a packing list is intimidating. But if you can get past that initial hurdle, traveling with a single bag is a revelation: With fewer items, you have more time to concentrate on and appreciate the journey.

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For the most part, carry-on travel backpacks come in two standard sizes: the allowable-overhead-space-maximizing 45 liters and the slightly more diminutive but (for many people) more practical 35 liters. I selected picks in both sizes, as well as one that expands when necessary.

I personally choose a 35-liter bag for most trips lasting around a week, but for heavier packers or people making longer trips, a 45-liter bag may be preferable.

This durable bag’s clamshell design makes organizing your stuff easy. And its strap design allows you to wear it on your back or carry it in your hand while you’re on the move.

The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack Del Dia is an easy-to-organize, comfortable-to-carry bag for getaways lasting just a few days or a whole week.

It’s one bag that can do it all. This is a great all-around bag for any traveler who’s dedicated to packing light, or for a smaller person who wants less to carry. This bag has handles on three sides, so it’s easy to grab no matter where you’ve stowed it; a handle pass-through lets you attach it to carry-on luggage, as well. It’s also protected by a full lifetime warranty, and it has the build quality to back that up. After more than six years of testing, I’ve found that this single backpack (plus a personal item) has replaced nearly every travel bag or piece of luggage I use.

It comes in various sizes, but the middle-of-the-road version is the best. Cotopaxi also makes the Allpa in 28-liter and 42-liter sizes. But for us, the 35-liter bag is the best option. The 42-liter version became heavy for our testers to carry when fully packed, and we’d prefer to see a more-robust hip belt on that bag. The 28-liter bag was a touch small for our testers, and its internal organization seemed a little much for shorter trips, such as an overnight jaunt. Cotopaxi also makes a hip pack that’s designed to fit snugly into the Allpa bag’s front top compartment. It’s a neat little addition to the bag, and it’s worth getting if you like wearing fanny packs while you travel.

Its materials are strong. The Allpa pack is made with 100% recycled 840-denier ripstop nylon. (Denier is a measure of a fabric’s fiber thickness.) The material feels similar to a strong canvas, but it has a more prominent weave. This is the type of bag that’s as easy to slide into an overhead compartment as it is to toss into the back of a rusty pickup truck. It also comes with a rain fly, a unique feature in this category.

Cotopaxi makes the Allpa pack with either a TPU (nylon bonded with a water-resistant polyurethane membrane) or classic nylon construction on the back of the bag. We’ve tested both styles over the years. Although TPU provides additional water resistance, we found over time that the original TPU-coated fabric that Cotopaxi used had a tendency to break down. When we tested the updated version in 2024, Cotopaxi had changed the fabric to address this issue. We’re continuing to test the new bags to see how they last.

After more than six years of testing, I’ve found that this single backpack (plus a personal item) has replaced nearly every travel bag or piece of luggage I use.

It’s organized. The Allpa bag has a clamshell design, so it opens like a hard-sided suitcase—a large YKK zipper (the industry leader) runs around three sides of the bag, allowing it to fall open into two halves when you unzip it. On the right side is a deep compartment that’s spacious enough for two large packing cubes or half a suitcase’s worth of clothing, which you access through a mesh zippered flap. On the left, you’ll find space for one more medium-size packing cube behind a zippered flap. Above that are two smaller pockets with high-visibility backing—useful when you’re looking for hard-to-differentiate personal items. Cotopaxi has added a stretch mesh pocket for a water bottle up to 1 liter.

It’s secure but still accessible. The Allpa pack has two side-access zippers, which are great for on-the-go access, especially when the bag is hanging from your shoulder. One of them reveals a flat computer pocket with a padded false bottom, so if you drop the bag, it won’t land on the corner of your computer. The other reveals a “secret” pocket with a hidden zipper and access to the main compartment. All of the main-compartment zippers are protected by security loops, which you thread the zipper through at the end of its run; doing so prevents anyone from subtly or quickly grabbing a zipper and opening your bag when you aren’t paying attention.

It’s comfortable to carry. The Allpa bag’s hip belt—which you can stow while the bag is on your back—is good enough that it’s comfortable to wear when you need it. With or without the hip belt, the Allpa bag is comfortable to carry over long distances. However, folks who have longer torsos (over 19 inches) may find that the waist belt sits a little high off the hips, unless you fully extend the shoulder straps. Speaking of shoulder straps, unlike the ones on our other picks, the Allpa bag’s straps are contoured to fit both people who have large chests and those with small chests. It isn’t a specifically gendered design, but our female tester noticed the improvement right away.

Capacity: 35 litersWeight: 2 pounds 7 ouncesMain-compartment access: clamshell openingColors: assorted

Struggling to pack for your weekend away? The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L fits so much more than you’d expect.

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This bag was built with photographers in mind, yet most travelers will appreciate its easy accessibility, its clever tuck-away straps, and the elegant way it expands and contracts. The accessory cubes cost extra, though.

The Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L is a good choice if you carry more or have expensive gear—especially camera gear.

One bag provides many configurations. Some bags in this category are built to do one thing extremely well: be carried on your back. But the Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L is built to adapt. It’s the Swiss Army knife of backpacks—it’s adjustable, customizable, and (if you spring for the extra cubes and organizers) an almost perfect system for a photographer or gearhead on the move. Most bags’ expanding mechanisms aren’t worth the extra zipper they’re built on, and they look about as attractive as a boiled ham splitting out of its plastic packaging. That’s not the case with this Peak Design bag, which looks just as good fully packed at 45 liters as it does compressed to a 30-liter daypack.

It’s expandable, with clever folds and zippers. You can access the bag through a back panel, which doubles as a computer and tablet pouch, as well as a front one (if you unzip the pass-through divider). You can also get into the main compartment via two wing-like trapezoidal flaps, which run along each side of the pack. In its natural shape, the Travel Backpack holds 35 liters, but an expansion zipper allows the bag to swell to 45 liters. If you want to use the bag as a daypack, you fold in the top corners and snap them down, reducing the bag’s volume to a slim 30 liters; in this configuration, it still feels larger than a normal daypack, but we think that’s a small compromise for the ability to use one backpack as both your travel bag and your daily explorer. The bag itself consists of 400-denier nylon and polyester fabrics. It feels tough but not as tough as some other bags we’ve tested, such as the Cotopaxi Allpa pack.

It has fold-away straps for easier storage. You can tuck the shoulder and hip straps away when you’re not using them. But unlike any other bag we’ve ever tested, this pack has magnetic flaps on the back panel that open and close with an almost magical snap. Once you’ve played with them, you’ll wonder why every backpack doesn’t have something similar. (A small, childish part of me still gets excited about tucking away the straps when I put the Peak Design bag into an overhead bin.) Although the straps are thin, they’re still comfortable. The hip belt isn’t quite as plush as the one on the Tortuga pack; still, even when the Peak Design bag is fully loaded, the belt doesn’t pinch or dig into the body.

It’s great for carrying expensive gear. If you travel with a camera, you don’t have to use Peak Design’s Camera Cubes, but they do make carrying that gear a whole lot easier. The cubes come in five sizes, and if you situate them properly in the bag with the provided clips, they line up with the Travel Backpack’s side-access flaps for quick access. Caleigh Waldman (a photographer for this guide and, full disclosure, my spouse) took this bag across the country for a wedding shoot. “I want this backpack,” she said after three weeks of travel. “I want to travel with it everywhere. With my cameras. Without my cameras. It doesn’t matter. I want to travel with it.”

Capacity: 45 litersWeight: 4 pounds 8 ouncesMain-compartment access: back-panel loaderColor: black, sage

This bag’s split interior makes organizing easy. If you travel for work, you’ll appreciate this bag’s dedicated panels for organizing tech, books, papers, and assorted miscellaneous items.

If you travel often for business and prefer a bag that’s much easier to work out of than most of our other picks, you may like the Patagonia Black Hole MLC 45L. This bag has a front panel and assorted pockets that make it feel like a small traveling office.

It’s built like luggage but organized like your office. Of all the bags we recommend, the Black Hole MLC (short for Maximum Legal Carry) comes closest to being a suitcase on your back, due to its large size, simple interior, and minimal external features. The Black Hole MLC is also one of the simplest bags we tested, divided into two (imagine a book with only one page), with a main compartment for packing and a second compartment for document organization and tech storage. The Black Hole MLC has a built-in laptop compartment that fits 17-inch laptops and is situated close to your back to protect the computer and keep its weight closer to your body.

Despite its size, it’s comfortable enough to carry. Most carry-on backpacks of this size, without frames, become somewhat unwieldy when fully packed. Thankfully, the Black Hole MLC, like the Cotopaxi Allpa, is a welcome exception to this rule. The Black Hole MLC has two shoulder straps, a hip belt, and an optional shoulder strap for easy carrying. When the straps are not in use, or when you’re checking your bag, you can stow them away easily. In my experience, when the bag was fully loaded, it was pleasant to carry—not as comfortable as the Peak Design bag or the Osprey pack, but decent enough. I wouldn’t want to carry it all day across a city, but I wouldn’t mind carrying it through an airport to a car and to a hotel.

It’s built from high-quality materials, with durability in mind. This pack is made from recycled polyester, and the fabric is woven in a cross-weave that’s similar to what Patagonia uses in its long-lasting Black Hole series of duffle bags. This is a material I’ve come across a bunch with Patagonia gear, and I’ve tested it thoroughly; it’s very tough. The front of the bag is coated in a weather-resistant TPU for extra protection from the elements. The bag has large YKK zippers and smaller YKK zippers throughout. Unlike the Cotopaxi Allpa pack, this Patagonia bag has no security loops.

It comes with one of the best repair programs and a lifetime warranty. Similar to our other picks, the Black Hole MLC is backed by an excellent lifetime warranty. And we’ve always found that Patagonia’s repair program goes above and beyond those of other, comparable companies.

Capacity: 45 litersWeight: 3 pounds 10 ouncesMain-compartment access: clamshellColors: tan, black, olive, green

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A great starter option for one-bag travel, this bag is easy to pack, adaptable to most situations, and sturdy enough to take with you as you travel the world.

A scaled-down version of the Farpoint, this bag has shoulder straps that are slightly lower to keep the bag’s bulk more aligned with smaller torsos.

Updated in 2023, the Osprey Farpoint 40 and Osprey Fairview 40 packs are both built around a hiking backpack frame that’s easy to carry over long distances. (For simplicity’s sake, everything we say here about the Farpoint bag also applies to the Fairview bag.)

It’s built for travel but designed for hiking. The Farpoint bag is well made, easy to pack, and comfortable to carry over most midlength distances, such as when you’re walking across a city for an afternoon. Osprey makes excellent backpacks for hauling around, and its lifetime warranty is renowned within the industry. The pack also has an optional messenger-bag-style strap, which offers some flexibility when you’re maneuvering tight spaces like subways or crowded city centers.

It’s simple to pack, but not as spacious as it seems. Opening the bag reveals a clamshell design; it’s deep enough to accommodate most large items, yet you won’t have to fumble awkwardly with zippers once you need to close up the bag. The experience is not unlike when you’re packing a bit of sturdy luggage, and that’s something we love about bags like this one—especially when you use packing cubes. Osprey says that this bag, fully packed, can carry 40 liters. But after using the Farpoint pack for a few years, we’ve decided that its rounded shape seems to cut into that theoretical packable space more than in other bags; in practice, the Farpoint’s available space is closer to, but still less than, that of the Cotopaxi Allpa.

It’s the easiest bag to carry among our picks. Like all Osprey bags, the Farpoint 40 has notably comfortable shoulder straps. The years of design and consideration that Osprey has invested into its hiking backpacks are quite evident in the Farpoint 40. After more than seven years of long-term testing this bag, we’re still surprised by how great it feels to wear when fully packed. Crucially, the straps stow away neatly behind a zippered panel. However, when you’re using the shoulder straps, the design forces you to also use the hip straps. Though this isn’t a huge issue, if you prefer a sleeker look or would rather have the option of using shoulder straps without hip straps, the Cotopaxi Allpa is more flexible, and it lets you hide the waist straps while the bag is on your back.

The Fairview 40 has the same features, in a scaled-down size. Although the Farpoint 40 and the Fairview 40 basically have the same design, the Fairview pack is made for someone with a more-diminutive torso. It’s also slightly lighter. It has all the features and durability of the Farpoint bag, and it also has the same hip belt and adjustability. On both models, the chest-strap clip is equipped with a small security whistle that’s surprisingly loud; it’s a handy feature for anyone traveling in unfamiliar environments.

Capacity: 35 litersWeight, Farpoint: 3 pounds 3 ouncesWeight, Fairview: 3 pounds 2 ouncesMain-compartment access: front-panel loaderColors, Farpoint: green (Gopher), gray (Tunnel Vision), blue (Muted Space), blackColors, Fairview: blue (Winter Night), green-blue (Night Jungle), red (Zircon), black

For dedicated single-bag travelers, this water-resistant, durable bag is easy to pack and to travel with. And it’s comfortable to wear over endless miles—as long as you don’t mind the heavier weight.

The Tortuga Travel Backpack Pro 40L maximizes packing space in a bag that’s durable, water-resistant, and customizable to fit most torso lengths, with plenty of organizational features to suit any digital nomad.

It’s like a suitcase, with backpack straps. This Tortuga bag is a nearly perfect blend of backpack and luggage. On the outside, its tear-resistant sailcloth and sealed zippers provide ample protection from sharp objects and the elements. Opening the main clamshell zipper reveals a cavernous interior and a few organizational features that make the bag a cinch to pack. The front panel is a particular standout, great for keeping track of electronics and chargers. Of all the bags we tested, this Tortuga pack strikes the closest balance between the carrying comfort of a hiking backpack and the space and organization of a piece of luggage. (Tortuga also makes a lighter model called the Travel Backpack Lite 40L, but we prefer the robustness of the Travel Backpack Pro.)

It’s as easy to pack as luggage. When it comes to packing, the Tortuga pack has a soothingly minimal interior, as any good suitcase should. In addition to the bag’s cavernous main pocket, its interior lid has a large vented panel. The panel is too narrow to hold additional packing cubes, but it’s great for holding light jackets, say, or doubling as a dirty-laundry bag (if you’re especially committed to one-bag travel). This pack is available in a 40-liter version (the maximum capacity for a carry-on bag), which we tested; Tortuga also sells a 30-liter version, which is compliant with some intra-European flights. The more-diminutive version is a decent choice for weekend travel or for minimalist travelers—but for those situations, we prefer the space-saving profile and extra internal organization of the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L.

It’s very customizable. The Tortuga pack is the most adjustable model we tested, thanks to its adjustable torso length, shoulder straps, and waist-belt system. The adjustable strap system lets you manipulate the location of the shoulder straps (video) to fit a wider variety of body sizes, on both the 30- and 40-liter versions. Of the packs we’ve tested, this one (with its included load-adjuster straps at the top, to prevent the bag’s weight from sagging toward your lumbar region) is the best at distributing its weight (4.5 pounds when empty—roughly 1.5 pounds more than most of our other picks, except the Peak Design pack). You can remove the hip straps if you need to, but the shoulder straps are not stowable.

Capacity: 40 litersWeight: 4 pounds 8 ouncesMain-compartment access: clamshell openingColor: black

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If you want to travel like a backpacker but also fit in at a board meeting (and you have the budget for it): Consider the Tom Bihn Aeronaut 45. This bag’s reputation for durability, adaptability, and a low-key aesthetic make it a favorite among many dedicated one-bag travelers. After testing it, we think it’s a great bag too. That said, for this bag to really stand out against other backpacks—and for you to take full advantage of its carrying adaptability—you need to buy the internal frame, the hip belt, and (if you’re traveling with a suit or jacket) the shoulder strap as well. For a bag that already costs $340 on its own, all of that adds up. Everything about the Tom Bihn bag (the fabric, the zippers, the quality of construction) feels like an upgrade from other bags, but it’s simply too pricey, and its design is too rarified and specific for most people. The biggest flaw—apart from the price—is that the Tom Bihn bag lacks a dedicated laptop pocket. In its place, the company sells a laptop sleeve (a fine version if you don’t have one) that clips into the bag’s central compartment. Not everyone needs a dedicated laptop pocket, but we prefer the more secure feeling of bags that do.

We’ve narrowed our specifications for a great carry-on travel backpack to the following list of features, ordered from most relevant to least:

Front- or back-panel loader or clamshell opening for the main compartment: As with any good piece of luggage, with this type of bag, you should be able to open it and see everything you’ve packed. When you have a bag with a panel-loading or clamshell design—rather than a traditional, top-opening design—you can pack it and unpack it just as you would a suitcase.

During testing, we flew across the country with these bags, took weekend trips to nearby cities, lived out of them on extended trips, and tried them locally in our daily routines. We also packed and unpacked each bag, using a standardized set of weeklong travel necessities and accessories, to see how well the internal organizational features (or lack thereof) aided or impeded efficient packing.

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This is not a comprehensive list of all of the carry-on travel backpacks we have tested. We have removed any models that have been discontinued or that no longer meet our criteria.

The Away Outdoor Convertible Backpack 45L is resoundingly average for the price. Although it’s made from excellent materials, the bag is let down by its overall design, which lacks any kind of structure or attention to comfort. You have better options.

The cheap, no-frills Cabin Max Metz bag is intriguing for the price. Any bag costing so little should almost be considered disposable. That said, if you need a simple bag that costs less than a seat upgrade, this model might be the way to go.

The GeniusPack Carry On Backpack is the only model we came across that was intended to fit a suit into a travel backpack. Though some people might need that, we think that anyone who has to travel with a suit (or any clothes that require pressing) would be better off with a piece of carry-on luggage. GeniusPack now offers a second version of this bag, but our conclusion hasn’t changed.

For certain people, the GoRuck GR3 is almost worth the steep cost. It’s strong and simple and covered by an iron-clad repair guarantee. The removable hip belt is comfortable to wear, and it’s good at displacing the weight of this 45-liter backpack. This is a decent bag. While testing it, however, we weren’t thrilled with the internal Velcro lining for compatible Velcro packing cubes. Velcro isn’t great: It wears out, it’s difficult to keep clean, and it clings to dirt. That might seem like a small thing, but for the price, this bag should feel perfect.

The Minaal Carry-On 2.0 was designed to be a backpack for businesspeople. But if you’re carrying it for business, you’re probably wearing at least a blazer, so you wouldn’t use a backpack in any case. If you’re a business traveler who falls more on the casual end of the business-casual spectrum, and you’re not on a budget, this is a well-thought-out pack. But our picks are more versatile for world travel, and they come at a better price. Minaal has since introduced a 3.0 version of this bag; our thoughts about it remain the same.

The Osprey Sojourn Porter 46L is a slightly larger sibling of the Farpoint and Fairview packs. The Sojourn Porter is about 2 inches longer, and it pushes right up to most airline limits. If you don’t mind possibly having to check your bag at the last minute, this model is an excellent alternative to the Farpoint pack.

We’ve added the Matador GlobeRider45 Travel Backpack to our testing list. Matador consistently makes interesting high-end gear, which is why we’ve included the company’s products in several of our other bag guides over the years. The GlobeRider45 seems thoughtfully laid out with decent organization and extra weather resistance, making it a possible choice for very rainy or rugged travel.

Salkan is a newer brand dedicated to making true “buy-it-for-life” gear with a sturdy warranty and repair program, such as The Carry-On 35L. It’s rare to see bags with these kinds of classic looks.

This article was edited by Ria Misra and Christine Ryan.

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Chase Reeves, Matterful.co, phone interview, October 10, 2018

Addison Ryan, moderator, r/onebag, email interview, September 8, 2018

Lindsay Lorraine Calderón, moderator, r/heronebag, phone interview, September 28, 2018

Kit Dillon

Kit Dillon is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter. He was previously an app developer, oil derrick inspector, public-radio archivist, and sandwich shop owner. He has written for Popular Science, The Awl, and the New York Observer, among others. When called on, he can still make a mean sandwich.

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