Outdoors & Fitness
The Best Travel Backpacks: 4 Compared (and One to Skip)
We compared four carry-on travel backpacks on published litres, external dimensions, empty weight, how they open, whether the hip belt and frame actually carry load, laptop sleeve size and warranty terms.
The short version
The Tortuga Pro Backpack 40L is the best overall: 40 L in a 22 x 14 x 8 in shell, a height-adjustable harness, load lifters and an included padded hip belt that Tortuga describes as weight-bearing, at the cost of a 4.4 lb empty weight. The Osprey Farpoint 40 is the value pick, with a wire frame and a padded hipbelt in a pack-style harness for clearly less money. The Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L suits photographers and people who want one bag that changes size, but note that it is a 35 L bag in its carry-on configuration and weighs 4.5 lb. Skip the Nomatic Travel Duffel Bag 40L as a backpack: it is priced with the premium bags, yet Nomatic publishes no frame, no torso adjustment and only removable waist straps, and the warranty is a five-year limited one. Best for: travellers who want to skip the suitcase and the baggage carousel for trips of a few days to a few weeks.
Our picks at a glance
- Tortuga Pro Backpack 40L - Buy. A full 40 L clamshell bag with a height-adjustable harness and an included weight-bearing hip belt, in the slimmest shell of the four.
- Osprey Farpoint 40 - Buy. A 40 L travel pack with a wire frame and a padded hipbelt, closer to a hiking pack than the luggage-style bags here.
- Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L - It depends. An expandable bag with access from the top, both sides, front and rear, built around camera and packing cubes, that is 35 L in its carry-on shape.
- Nomatic Travel Duffel Bag 40L - Skip. A well-organised 40 L duffel that converts to backpack carry, sold at a premium price without the suspension of a real travel pack.
The verdict in 30 seconds
What mattered most
- Published capacity
- External dimensions
- Empty weight
- Main opening
- Hip belt
- Frame and fit
A carry-on travel backpack is a suitcase you wear, and the 35 to 45 litre class is where one bag can replace a roller for a week or more. The trouble is that a litre figure tells you very little: makers measure volume differently, and a bag that is comfortable at 5 kg can be miserable at 12 kg if the hip belt is only there for show. We compared four bags that are sold as carry-on backpacks and read each maker's own page for dimensions, weight, suspension, laptop fit and warranty. Three of them are built like packs; one is a duffel with shoulder straps and a premium price.
A full 40 L clamshell bag with a height-adjustable harness and an included weight-bearing hip belt, in the slimmest shell of the four.
Best for: One-bag travellers who carry a laptop and want suitcase-style packing with a harness that can be fitted to their torso.
- Published at 22 x 14 x 8 in (55 x 35 x 20 cm) for 40 L, which is the shallowest depth in this group.
- The suspension is specified in full: height-adjustable shoulder straps, load lifters, a sternum strap, a frame sheet and a padded hip belt that Tortuga sizes for 23 to 68 inch hips.
- Front-loading clamshell opening plus a separate electronics compartment with suspended, fleece-lined sleeves for a 16 inch laptop and a 12.9 inch tablet.
- At 4.4 lb (2 kg) empty it is one of the heavier bags here, which matters on airlines that weigh cabin bags.
- It is one of the most expensive bags here.
- The warranty covers defects for what Tortuga calls the practical lifetime of the product, and excludes wear and tear, airline damage and secondhand purchases.
- The claim that the hip belt moves 80% of the weight to the hips is Tortuga's own figure, with no test method published.
A 40 L travel pack with a wire frame and a padded hipbelt, closer to a hiking pack than the luggage-style bags here.
Best for: Travellers who will walk real distances with the bag and want pack-grade suspension without paying premium money.
- Built around Osprey's LightWire frame and a padded hipbelt that ties into it, the most hiking-pack carry system in this group.
- The harness and hipbelt zip away behind a panel when the bag is checked or lifted into a bin.
- Covered by Osprey's All Mighty Guarantee, which is built around repair of damage as well as defects.
- It is a deeper bag than the Tortuga, so check its published dimensions against stricter international and low-cost carry-on limits.
- Organisation is basic: one large front-panel compartment with compression straps and a laptop sleeve, so plan on packing cubes.
- The fabric is lighter cloth than the coated sailcloth on the Tortuga and the 400D shell on the Peak Design.
- The Farpoint is the men's fit in one size; the Fairview is the companion series for a women's fit.
An expandable bag with access from the top, both sides, front and rear, built around camera and packing cubes, that is 35 L in its carry-on shape.
Best for: Photographers and gear carriers who want side and rear access and a bag that can grow for the trip home.
- Three published capacities in one bag: 30 L compressed, 35 L standard and 45 L expanded.
- Access from the rear, both sides, the front panel and the top, with clip-in points for Peak Design Camera Cubes.
- Laptop sleeve is published with actual maximum dimensions, 40.6 x 28 x 2.5 cm, and the bag carries Peak Design's lifetime warranty.
- At 2.05 kg (4.5 lb) it is the heaviest bag here, and in standard carry-on form it holds 35 L, five litres less than the Osprey.
- Standard external depth is published as 9.5 in, and it grows to 11 in when expanded to 45 L, so the 45 litre figure is not a carry-on figure.
- Peak Design describes padded shoulder and waist straps that tuck away, and publishes no frame sheet, torso adjustment or load range.
- The product description says it collapses to a 35 L day bag while the spec block lists 30 L compressed and 35 L standard, so the maker's own numbers do not line up.
A well-organised 40 L duffel that converts to backpack carry, sold at a premium price without the suspension of a real travel pack.
Best for: Short hotel-to-hotel trips where the bag is carried by hand or on a roller handle far more than on the back.
- Twelve internal pockets, including shoe storage, a laptop and tablet sleeve and an internal water bottle pocket with a waterproof lining.
- Published at 3.42 lb for 40 L, lighter than the Tortuga and the Peak Design.
- Laptop compartment is published with real limits: devices up to 16 x 10.5 x 1.5 in.
- Nomatic lists removable waist straps for added comfort and publishes no frame, frame sheet, torso adjustment, load lifters or load range.
- Nomatic itself now names it a Travel Duffel Bag; the backpack carry is a conversion, not the design brief.
- The Life Well Lived Warranty is a limited five-year warranty for manufacturing defects only and for the original purchaser, which is shorter than the cover on the other three bags.
- Exterior fabric is published only as 90% polyester and 10% nylon, with no denier or coating detail, and it sits in the premium tier.
| Criteria | Pro Backpack 40L Top pick | Farpoint 40 | Travel Backpack 45L | Travel Duffel Bag 40L |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Buy it | Buy it | It depends | Skip it |
| Best for | One-bag travellers who carry a laptop and want suitcase-style packing with a harness that can be fitted to their torso. | Travellers who will walk real distances with the bag and want pack-grade suspension without paying premium money. | Photographers and gear carriers who want side and rear access and a bag that can grow for the trip home. | Short hotel-to-hotel trips where the bag is carried by hand or on a roller handle far more than on the back. |
| Price tier | $$ · premium | $ · mid-range | $$ · premium | $$ · premium |
| Published capacity | 40 L | 40 L | 35 L standard, 30 L compressed, 45 L expanded | 40 L |
| External dimensions | 22 x 14 x 8 in | Check Osprey's current listing | 22 x 13 x 9.5 in (11 in deep expanded) | 21 x 14 x 9 in |
| Empty weight | 4.4 lb (2 kg) | Not confirmed | 4.5 lb (2.05 kg) | 3.42 lb |
| Main opening | Front-loading clamshell | Large front panel | Rear panel, plus side, front and top access | Wide duffel-style opening |
| Hip belt | Padded, weight-bearing, removable, included | Padded hipbelt, stows away | Padded waist straps, tuck away | Removable waist straps |
| Frame and fit | Frame sheet, height-adjustable harness, load lifters | LightWire frame, pack-style harness | No frame sheet published | Not published |
| Laptop sleeve | 16 in laptop plus 12.9 in tablet | Laptop sleeve | 16 in laptop (max 40.6 x 28 x 2.5 cm) | Up to 16 x 10.5 x 1.5 in |
| Warranty | Defects, practical lifetime of product, original owner | All Mighty Guarantee, damage and defects | Lifetime, functional failures and defects | Limited five-year, manufacturing defects |
Which one is right for you?
- One-bag travellers who carry a laptop and want suitcase-style packing with a harness that can be fitted to their torso. Buy it Tortuga Pro Backpack 40L
- Travellers who will walk real distances with the bag and want pack-grade suspension without paying premium money. Buy it Osprey Farpoint 40
- Photographers and gear carriers who want side and rear access and a bag that can grow for the trip home. It depends Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L
- Short hotel-to-hotel trips where the bag is carried by hand or on a roller handle far more than on the back. Skip it Nomatic Travel Duffel Bag 40L
How we judged the field
Five things decide whether a travel backpack works. First, external dimensions, because airlines measure the outside of the bag and not its litres. Second, empty weight, since every pound of bag is a pound you cannot pack on a weighed cabin allowance. Third, the suspension: a padded hip belt tied into a frame or frame sheet carries load, while a waist strap on an unframed bag does not. Fourth, how it opens, because a clamshell or panel lets you live out of the bag without unpacking it. Fifth, the laptop sleeve and the warranty, which are where makers differ most in what they will put in writing. We took every figure from the maker’s own product page and say so where a number is missing.
The field splits into packs that borrowed from hiking and bags that borrowed from luggage. The Tortuga Pro 40L and the Osprey Farpoint 40 are the first kind, with frames, fitted harnesses and padded belts, and they are our two buys at different price levels. The Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L is a luggage-first design with unusual access and expansion, which is why it earns a depends. The Nomatic Travel Duffel Bag 40L is widely bought as a travel backpack, costs as much as the premium pair, and is a duffel underneath. For the cabin-size rules themselves, see our carry-on luggage guide; for the cubes that go inside, our packing cubes comparison.
Tortuga builds the Pro Backpack 40L to one brief: the largest bag that still sits inside 22 x 14 x 8 in (55 x 35 x 20 cm). That depth is an inch under the 9 in figure many carry-on limits use, which gives you margin when the bag is full. It opens front-loading like a suitcase, and a separate electronics compartment, holds a 16 inch laptop and a 12.9 inch tablet in suspended, fleece-lined sleeves. The carry is where it separates from luggage-style bags. Tortuga lists height-adjustable shoulder straps, load lifters, a sternum strap, a frame sheet it says was thickened for the current version, and an included padded hip belt sized for 23 to 68 inch hips. The shell is ECOPAK EPX200 sailcloth with YKK zippers. The cost is weight and money: 4.4 lb (2 kg) empty, close to the heaviest here, in the premium tier. The warranty covers defects for the practical lifetime of the product and excludes wear and airline damage. It is for the traveller who wants one bag for a week or more and will carry it properly.
The Osprey Farpoint 40 is the bag in this group with the most hiking pack in it. It is built around Osprey’s LightWire frame, which ties the harness to a padded hipbelt, and all of that zips away behind a panel when you check the bag or lift it into a bin. The main compartment opens through a large front panel with internal compression straps, and there is a laptop sleeve. The trade-offs are plain organisation and lighter fabric than the premium bags. It is deeper than the Tortuga, so measure the published dimensions against stricter airlines before you fly. Osprey’s All Mighty Guarantee is built around repair of damage as well as defects. We could not load Osprey’s product page for this update, so check its current weight and dimensions there before you buy. It is for people who will walk far with the bag and want to spend mid-range money.
The Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L is the clever one, and the name needs decoding. Peak Design publishes three capacities: 30 L compressed, 35 L standard, which it labels max carry-on, and 45 L expanded. Standard external size is 56 x 33 x 24 cm (22 x 13 x 9.5 in), growing to 11 in deep when expanded. So on the way out it is a 35 L bag that weighs 2.05 kg (4.5 lb), the heaviest here. What you get for that is access: a rear panel, both sides, a front panel and a top pocket, plus clip-in points for Peak Design Camera Cubes and space for three cube units. The laptop sleeve takes a 16 inch machine up to 40.6 x 28 x 2.5 cm. The shell is recycled 400D nylon over a 900D bottom liner. Peak Design describes padded shoulder and waist straps that tuck away, and publishes no frame sheet, torso adjustment or load range. Its lifetime warranty covers functional failures and defects, not cosmetic wear. It suits photographers and anyone who wants room to expand for the return leg.
The Nomatic Travel Duffel Bag 40L is a common buy for people searching for a carry-on backpack, and the product name tells you what it is. Nomatic describes a duffel that converts to backpack carry with a strap system, with twelve internal pockets, shoe storage, a sleeve for a 16 inch laptop and tablet, an internal bottle pocket with a waterproof lining and a laundry bag. Published specs are 3.42 lb, 40 L and 21 x 14 x 9 in, and Nomatic says it is carry-on compliant for most major airlines while advising you to check international limits. As organised luggage it is good. As a backpack, the page lists removable waist straps for added comfort and nothing else: no frame, no frame sheet, no torso adjustment, no load range. Fabric is given only as 90% polyester and 10% nylon. The Life Well Lived Warranty is a limited five-year warranty for manufacturing defects, for the original purchaser only. It sits in the same premium tier as the Tortuga. It makes sense only if the bag will rarely be on your back for long.
Tortuga Pro Backpack 40L vs Osprey Farpoint 40: which should you buy?
The Tortuga Pro 40L and the Osprey Farpoint 40 both publish 40 L and both back the hip belt with real structure, so the choice comes down to weight, organisation and price. The Osprey costs less, has the more hiking-style frame, and comes with a guarantee built around damage as well as defects. The Tortuga is slimmer at 8 in deep, opens fully like a suitcase, and gives a laptop and a tablet their own suspended compartment.
Pick the Osprey if weight limits, long walks or budget lead your list, and if you are happy to organise the inside yourself with cubes. Pick the Tortuga if you travel with a laptop, want the bag to behave like a tidy suitcase in a hotel room, and fly airlines strict enough that an inch of depth matters. If you mostly need a bag for the office that sometimes flies, our laptop backpacks comparison is the better place to start.
What to look for
- External dimensions first: compare height, width and depth on the maker’s page with your airline’s limit, because litres are measured inconsistently and airlines do not measure them at all.
- Empty weight: the confirmed weights here range from 3.42 lb to 4.5 lb, and on a weighed cabin allowance that difference comes straight out of what you can pack.
- A belt with something behind it: look for a padded hip belt plus a named frame or frame sheet, and treat a published load range as a strong sign the maker tested the carry.
- How it opens: a clamshell or large front panel lets you see and reach everything, which matters more on day six than on day one.
- Laptop sleeve limits: a stated maximum device size in inches or centimetres is worth more than the phrase fits most laptops.
- Warranty wording: check whether cover is for defects only or for damage too, how long it runs, and whether it applies only to the original buyer.
Our final take
If you want one bag to replace a suitcase, buy the one that is built like a pack. The Tortuga Pro Backpack 40L is the most complete: suitcase-style packing, a proper laptop compartment and a fitted, weight-bearing suspension inside 22 x 14 x 8 in, at 4.4 lb and a premium price. The Osprey Farpoint 40 carries just as seriously for less money, with fewer pockets. The Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L is the right call for camera gear and flexible capacity, as long as you read it as a 35 L carry-on. The Nomatic Travel Duffel Bag 40L is a good duffel and a weak backpack at the same price, so most one-bag travellers should pass.
Questions, answered
Will a 40 litre backpack count as a carry-on?
Usually on full-service airlines, but it depends on the external dimensions and not on the litres. Of the bags here, the Tortuga is published at 22 x 14 x 8 in and the Nomatic at 21 x 14 x 9 in, while the Peak Design is 9.5 in deep in its standard shape and the Osprey is deeper than the Tortuga. A soft bag that is not stuffed tight will often squash into a sizer, but that is tolerance and not a guarantee. Low-cost carriers set smaller limits and some weigh cabin bags. Our carry-on luggage guide covers the cabin-size rules in detail, so check your airline against the maker's published dimensions before you buy.
Do I really need a hip belt on a travel backpack?
If you only walk from the taxi to the check-in desk, no. If you walk across a city to find your room, or stand in long queues with 10 kg on your back, a padded belt connected to a frame or frame sheet moves a large share of the load off your shoulders. A strip of webbing around the waist only stops the bag swinging. The Tortuga and the Osprey both describe a padded belt tied into a frame structure. Peak Design and Nomatic describe waist straps and publish no frame sheet.
Clamshell or top-loading: which is better for travel?
For living out of a bag, a clamshell or large front panel is easier, because you can see everything at once and pack it flat like a suitcase. Top-loading hiking packs carry very well but make you dig for whatever is at the bottom. All four bags here open wide instead of loading from the top. The Tortuga opens like a suitcase, the Osprey has a large front panel, the Peak Design opens from the rear with extra side access, and the Nomatic opens like a duffel.
Why does a 45 litre bag claim to be carry-on size?
Because the headline litres can describe the bag at its largest, not at the size you can take on board. Peak Design publishes this clearly: its Travel Backpack is 35 L in the standard shape it labels max carry-on, and 45 L only once the expansion zip adds depth, taking it from 9.5 in to 11 in. Litre figures are also measured differently from maker to maker, with some counting every pocket. Compare external dimensions first and treat litres as a rough guide.
How heavy should an empty travel backpack be?
The three bags here with confirmed weights run from 3.42 lb to 4.5 lb empty. The heavier ones are not badly made; the extra weight is mostly coated fabric, padding, organisation and, on the Tortuga, an adjustable harness. It matters most on airlines with a low cabin weight allowance, where a 2 kg bag uses a meaningful share of the limit before you pack a sock. If your airlines do not weigh cabin bags, a better suspension is usually worth a few hundred grams.
Deciding between the top two? See our head-to-head: Tortuga Pro Backpack 40L vs Osprey Farpoint 40.
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