With the amount of traveling I have done in 2017, you would think that I had my travel luggage down pat. While I know I travel with a carry on 95% of the time, my second carry on piece has varied throughout the year. I carried a durable Lululemon gym bag early in the year, then oversize suede YSL bag (not practical), then tried to streamline it to a very small crossbody purse.
On my most recent 2 week trip to the East Coast, I borrowed Mr. R’s foldable nylon backpack to stuff all of my tech, reading material and an airplane wrap into. It has now been almost one month since I arrived home from that trip and I am still using that backpack as the main carrier for all of my camera equipment, notebook, laptop and snacks when I head for a day of work. It’s worth noting that this bag isn’t particularly good looking. It was a gift from my husband’s work, so you can imagine it’s quite a bit more function than form, if you know what I mean.
But wait, isn’t that the point? Carrying a backpack, or any luggage, is  supposed to be functional, comfortable and practical. Which is why I can’t give it up. Traveling through the airport with my hands free is liberating, so I’m not sure I can give that feeling up any time soon. But now, I have to find a more aesthetically pleasing way to carry my tech than that nylon backpack. I’ve rounded up 15 of my favorite backpacks, that are a mix of suede, leather, nylon and canvas, all with useful large main compartments and smaller zip pockets to hold IDs/boarding passes and other small necessities.
While I strongly support trying one of these out for your next trip and, well, daily life- I do think it’s important to get to a store to try them on first. It’s always important to feel how a bag sits on your shoulders, whether it digs in or slides off, and if you can see yourself easily reaching in and out of it for your tech. Practicality is key here, and while I’ve narrowed down the aesthetic part for you, the next step is trying them on! Hopefully I will be buying one of these backpacks soon so I will let you know where I landed and which ones I tried before settling on the final one!
15 Backpacks Perfect for Travel
- Mackage Brook Backpack $450
- Loeffler Randall Drawstring Backpack $495
- Matt & Nat ‘Brave’ Faux Leather Backpack $145
- Deux Lux Deux Lux x Shopbop Backpack $50
- Boutonne All Leather Rucksack $295
- Tumi Daniella Small Backpack $395
- Ivan Vegan Drawstring Backpack $65
- H&M Vegan Leather Backpack $20
- West 57th Travel Backpack $428
- Sloane Leather Backpack $250
- Midnight Vegan Leather Flap Backpack $88
- Eastpak Padded Leather Backpack $226
- Herschel Supply Co. Settlement Medium Backpack $60
- Tumi Hanne Backpack $495
- WANT Les Essentiels Kastrup Backpack $495
