A good travel backpack is arguably the single most useful piece of kit you can own. It slips into the cabin, survives a weekend city break, doubles as a day bag on sightseeing marathons, and saves you baggage fees entirely if you commit to the one-bag approach. The catch: the market is flooded, and plenty of bags look the part but fall apart or wreck your shoulders by day two. A new round-up from Condé Nast Traveller UK put hundreds through their paces and narrowed things down to a shortlist judged on weight, capacity, price, comfort and durability.
At the top of the pile: the Carl Friedrik 72-Hour Backpack for weekends away, the Stubble & Co Travel Backpack as the most versatile all-rounder, and Osprey's Farpoint 40 for hiking-inclined travellers. If volume is your priority, the Lululemon 2-in-1 Travel Duffle Backpack offers a huge 45 litres and converts between duffle and backpack thanks to stowable straps — plus an external pocket that keeps dirty shoes away from clean clothes. Over-packers and long-haul flyers take note.
Business travellers get their own pick: the Troubadour Apex 2.0 pairs a waterproof finish and padded 17-inch laptop compartment with a look sharp enough for meetings, and a trolley sleeve so it rides neatly on your carry-on. On the commuter end, the Dickies Lisbon is the budget-friendly standout — a 21-litre recycled polyester bag with a 15-inch laptop sleeve, key leash and plenty of pockets, praised by testers for being capacious without the bulk of heavier work rucksacks.
For style-first travellers, the options get more interesting. Harber London's Roll Top, handmade in Spain from grain leather, is the splurge pick: YKK zips, a detachable front pouch, magnetic chest strap and a suitcase passthrough. One editor took it through Japan on long-haul flights, trains, buses and metro for a week and it came home unscathed — just expect it to be heavy at 1.5kg. The Antler Icon (19L, water-resistant recycled polyester, matching the brand's hard-shell cases) works as day bag or carry-on companion, while Kapten & Son's Fyn brings a minimalist courier-flap design that won't clash with your outfits around European capitals.
Two more worth a look: Monos' Metro backpack comes with a genuinely clever detachable 'Metro Kit' pouch for passports and essentials, ideal when you're hopping up mid-flight or wandering duty free. And Tumi's Alpha Bravo Navigation, in recycled ballistic nylon with free monogramming, somehow swallowed a full weekend's clothes, toiletries and spare sandals despite its compact look.
Who is this for? Anyone tired of dragging a wheelie case onto trains, or planning a trip where you move often enough that packing light stops being a chore. Match the bag to the trip: around 15-20L for city days, 35-45L if you're going full one-bag, and check laptop dimensions if it's doubling as a work bag. Your shoulders and your boarding gate will thank you. — Condé Nast Traveller UK
