Peak Design

Travel 45L Backpack

Very durable and stylish backpack

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

I really liked this backpack, it’s well made, all the details are well stitched. If you want a good backpack, don't hesitate to buy this one. Delivery is very fast, they promised 3-5 days, but delivered in 2 days.

Great Pack With A Few Niggles

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

Size Bought:

One Size

Height:

5' 10"

Weight:

165

Peak Design has done it again with product innovation in this great pack. It's beautifully constructed and a lot of the features, such as the magnetic flap and the pivoting hip belt to stow both away, are fantastic. That being said, they have innovated some things that simply did not need innovating, and some features found on other travel packs are missing. My biggest complaint are the webbing adjusters on the hip belt and shoulder straps. They're made of metal and the friction is so high that you can't simply tug on the lose end to tighten the strap, or pull on the other side to loosen them. You have to flip the buckle up and feed the strap through in the direction you desire to loosen or tighten them. Plastic buckles found on most travel and backpacks would have been sufficient. The method for joining the hip belt--a metal hool on one side which hooks through a loop on the other strap--is awkward. Again, unnecessary innovation. I also would have appreciated a removable, padded shoulder strap. You can use one of the backpack shoulder straps, but when you open it fully--again, having difficulties doing this because of the issue noted above--only the narrow portion of the strap will rest over your shoulder which could be uncomfortable with a lot of weight in the pack. Also missing is a rain cover which has become pretty much standard on packs these days. It would have been easy to add a small pocket with one in it on the bottom of the pack. There are also some hidden pockets--one along the seams of the, back panel, one in each of the side waterbottle pockets--that seem pointless. Not really an issue, just kind of unnecessary which adds to the cost of the pack which could have been better spent on the rain cover mentioned above. Oh, and the sage colored pack is definitely sage. It looks to be a much lighter green--almost a light grey with a hint of green--in almost all of the photos I've seen of it. None of these are deal breakers. It's still a fantastic pack that I highly recommend, and that I'm looking forward to using in on my next trip. They do, however, keep this from being 5-stars.

Amazing build quality and features!

Amazing build quality as always, the side access pockets are super useful to quickly grab something out of the bag without having to unzip the entire back access. I also really like the expanding front pocket. The divider and pockets are super useful especially being accessible from each side. Deep side pockets for tripods and long/large water bottles. Really the only downsides are the height of the bag, which makes it almost impossible to store under aircraft seat(although reducing this would reduce capacity), the fact that the laptop pocket seems like a bit of an afterthought, and unless you’re just throwing all your stuff in the large pocket, you do have to spend money on packing cubes, but as long as you are aware beforehand !

Best product

I bought this backpack a while ago and the truth is that I am very happy. The quality is excellent, you can barely feel it when you touch it. It is very comfortable to carry it on your back and with all the pockets. It is very wide. I use it on each of my trips.

Bye Bye Cobbles!

I travel a lot with work, often visiting places for 2-3 days at a time. I’ve always carried a backpack and a separate pull along carryon suitcase. A recent location had a cobbled street, and this was my tipping point. After dragging the wheelie suitcase over the cobbles, I dived straight into researching alternative travel systems. I like to be thorough in my research, so around a year later, lots of blog reviews and countless YouTube videos, I finally decided on this backpack. I could not be more pleased. Did it cost a lot? Yes, I went all in and got the medium, small and shoe packing cubes, plus the tech and wash pouches. But it all works wonderfully together. Having just one bag to deal with is a game changer. I mostly use the train for travel and it fits nicely overhead, and I’m not having to put a suitcase far away on a luggage rack or drag it through the aisle. I also recently used the backpack on an international trip, and I had what I can only describe as a smug feeling having just one bag to deal with on the flight as I didn’t have to check-in a case, and the bag was cabin bag sized, I actually felt like I’d forgotten to do something as it was all just a bit too easy. Was it worth it? I’ve only been using for a few weeks, but so far, I think so. Potential downsides to be aware of, the bag in itself is heavy, when fully loaded it’s obviously a lot heavier. For me, I’m not walking for hours with it on my back, it’s moving from planes, trains, busses, cars, offices and home with short walks in between, so it’s a non-issue. Another thing is that when in ‘compact’ mode, that is using the two press studs at the top to ‘pull it in a bit”, I’ve noticed if the main compartment is full/heavy, these buttons have popped back open. The only impact this has is looks. All the other features completely outweigh this for me, particularly the large bottle holders on both sides of the pack and after watching the product videos the ‘pro tips’ have come in useful too. If Peak Design read this. I’d love you to design / recommend a small laptop backpack that would fit inside this somewhere. So when reaching a destination I can pull this out to carry a laptop, notepad pen and charger around, without having to use the full backpack.

Finally a world exploration bag fit for the name!

I owned a Tortuga backpack prior to owning this bag. I decided to get a new travel back because my Tortuga bag (which is more expensive) had the webbing in the shoulder straps come apart. Tortuga's lifetime warranty doesn't actually cover the cost of a new bag nor are they able to repair it if it is an old model. So basically it turns out to be a garbage warranty. The warranty is much better worded with Peak Design! This bag exceeds my expectations in every single way! It is truly amazing. It has the ability to compress 5L, expand to hold I think 10 more L from its neutral state. You can cleverly tuck away the shoulder straps and hip straps. (Although I wish the magnets were a bit stronger). You can lash large and awkward items to the outside with hidden lash straps. You can get into the bag from every angle and you can also lock down the bag to make sure it is secure and no-one will be able to enter the bag without real effort. I wish this was the bag I had found years ago. When I travel, I do carry on only, overseas trips that last 2-3 weeks. This bag is my home away from home and it can handle every challenge that I would throw at it. Although I'm not an extreme traveller, I do utilize the bag to a pretty full extent and I'm happy with it on all of its fronts. Honestly, there is nothing I would change except for a desire of stronger magnets all around. Zippers are top notch, fabric is top notch, features are top notch. I can just go on and on. This bag is worth every single penny. Other named brands don't compete when you have the ability to hold them in your hands side by side.

Great

This backpack is awesome, it has tons of space and lots of storage space.

Great travel companion

Bought this as carry-on for longer trips and as travel backpack for shorter business trips, usually betwenn 1 and 5 days. Great companion with lots of thoughtful features and exeptionally well crafted piece.

One-bag travel in style

I bought the 45l travel backpack for one-bag travel for work. It easily handles 3-day trips and I can go up to a week in a pinch—even with a suit. Everything is well thought out and constructed and the shoulder/hip strap storage is genius. The compression snaps make it a usable day pack once I leave the clothes at my hotel, but I do recommend a packable tote for items you want at your seat on the plane I love the sage color with the wash bag and tech bag accessories. The bag has very clean lines and a professional look, despite being a backpack. I do wish the external top pouch was a bit bigger but it is a minor concern.

I'm satisfied

I'm satisfied. It's a really great backpack, everything is thoughtful, the quality is super