Ask HN: Which backpack do you use for work and work travel?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21604451

by oumua_don17 • 7 years ago

33 40 7 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I have been using this for almost 7 years now [1], has really served me well.

Wanted to know from fellow HNers if they have any recommendations for a backpack usable for work, work travel (2-3 day travel) and as a backpack usable otherwise on leisure travel as well.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XANKVO/

Risse• 7 years ago

I have been using this Samsonite backpack: https://www.samsonite.co.uk/guardit-2.0-laptop-backpack-17.3... for pretty much daily for the past couple of years.

It has been excellent, looks and feels like new, really big pockets and fits a ton of accessories.

clarkey252• 7 years ago

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004LSBYR0 I have used this for a few years as my everything backpack, originally bought it to cycle in to work because I showered at the gym (so was carrying everything I needed for the morning in there including work clothes, toiletries etc.)

- Super cheap

- Hard wearing (just about breaking after 3.5 years)

- Very large capacity (just about get away with it as a cabin bag)

- Nice little laptop sized pocket in the middle

jonnismash• 7 years ago

I have the same exact bag, had it for about 3 years. Still great. Got inspired by Mr. Robot and had to get one.

signa11• 7 years ago

have been using a goruck-gr0 for a while now. slightly pricey, but quite good imho.

mattcdrake• 7 years ago

Seconding Goruck. I've got an older version of the GR1 and I can't speak highly enough of this bag. Had it for 5 years or so, used it almost every day, it's in near-perfect shape and looks/feels great.

davismwfl• 7 years ago

Yea, my primary bag is the original goruck gr1 and I love it. Literally 10's of thousands of miles of travel, rucking and work have been using nothing but it.

nickthemagicman• 7 years ago

Been using a go-ruck as my everyday carry, since 2012 or so. Pricey but the thing is bombproof.

Also have an Osprey Farpoint 40 for travel on a plane.

runjake• 7 years ago

Fourthing GORUCK. I have the original G1. Way overpriced, not enough pockets, no exterior pocket for a hydro bottle but I try other packs and always come back to my GORUCK.

It’s been up alpine mountains, been covered in mud, been through SCARS once and still looks good as new. It’s also my office backpack.

I can pack a bunch of crap into it, toss it on the ground and rip it open and get to what I need quickly. It’s my life’s one bag.

I have everything broken into kits so I can quickly pack for work or hiking or travel pretty quickly.

kejaed2• 7 years ago

Goruck GR1 here. I got it 2.5 years ago before the prices went up, love it. It’s not too far on the tacticool side of things, but close.

phaus2• 7 years ago

The people that sell goruck claim that it doesn't look like a "tacticool" backpack but honestly they aren't fooling anyone.

I have one too and I love it, but it screams tactical backpack and you can spot a goruck a mile away.

altacc• 7 years ago

The OnePlus Travel Backpack. Comfortable padded straps, padded & firm back, enough internal & external pockets and pouches. Doesn't extend much outwards, so the weight stays in the right place, it looks good and fits easily in overhead compartments sideways or under a plane/train seat. If I pack light I can take enough for an overnight trip.

apress• 7 years ago

Love the all-black Aer Fit Pack, which they've since updated to the Fit 2 https://www.aersf.com/fit-pack-2-black. Lots of room, super durable and did I mention all black?

losthobbies2• 7 years ago

I will link you to the backpack/EDC rabbit hole that is: http://www.carryology.com/

The Bellroy backpacks look very nice: https://bellroy.com/

The_DaveG3• 7 years ago

I'd imagine if you've gone down that rabbit hole, you know Chase Reeves and his reviews? https://youtu.be/-jYZYKJaqq0

losthobbies2• 7 years ago

Yea! Chase is a character. Bo Ismono is another guy who does good reviews.

Raed667• 7 years ago

I have switched to a basic Fjallraven backpack. Its very durable, no gimmicks, and fits way more than it looks like.

pxhb• 7 years ago

I bought an Osprey Quasar backpack at the start of my PhD program, and I am still using it now for work. It has held up great, all things considered.

andriussev• 7 years ago

I use the Wenger Carbon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001LA57ZQ

It's not the cheapest one but certainly not luxury. Has a nice padded slot for a laptop (I use a 15 inch laptop) and plenty of space for other stuff.

I use it both for carrying my laptop and I can also fit enough clothes for a week-long vacation.

aosaigh• 7 years ago

DSPTCH Daypack:

https://www.dsptch.com/products/daypack-ballistic-nylon

diehunde2• 7 years ago

I've been using the North Face resistor[1] for about two years.

Pros:

- Sturdy and great quality

- A lot of space

- Comes with a charger

- Nice design

Cons

- Expensive

- I don't think it fits well under the seat when you take it with you on the plane. It uses a lot of space

[1] https://www.thenorthface.com/shop/resistor-charged-nf0a3kxj

tudelo• 7 years ago

A Jansport standard backpack

gt565k• 7 years ago

Thule Crossover 32L

https://www.amazon.com/Thule-Crossover-32L-Backpack-Black/dp...

has lifetime warranty, documents and sunglasses pocket. fits a macbook pro, tablet, has a zipper on the bottom for your charger.

It's awesome.

jugjug• 7 years ago

A huge fan of Tactical 5.11 Rush72 [1] here. My favorite features:

- large in volume (55L), yet I can board a plane with it

- side pockets can be easily opened even if the main compartment is fully packed

- easily accessible and large front admin panel

- waist straps can be folded and hidden inside the bag

- the zip around the main compartment goes around all three sides, which allows very easy access for packing, unpacking or activities like having a picnic

- space between admin panel and the main compartment allows for extra external storage. for example, today I was carrying a small carpet bought in IKEA in there.

- wide straps which feel comfortable also with heavier loads

- looks ok also in a city, especially darker versions

- plenty of internal pockets everywhere

- dedicated back pocket for a laptop.

The only downside is that I'm not sure if a 15" laptop would fit into the back pocket. I'm using a 13" laptop and it fits. However, the backpack is so feature-rich that it's ok for me to put the potential 15" laptop to the main compartment - there's a half-pocket that can be used for that purpose.

All in all, this is by far the best backpack I have ever used.

[1] https://www.511tactical.com/rush-72-backpack.html

The_DaveG3• 7 years ago

I've used and love the Peak Design Everyday Backpack 30L for the past two years and absolutely love it. https://www.amazon.com/Peak-Design-Everyday-Backpack-Camera/...

Originally I was on the fence because it's an expensive purchase ($289). Honestly wish I purchased this sooner.

One of the major reasons I purchased this was for work/work travel so I could carry a camera with me. It's my entire mobile office as I've worked remotely. It's lived through ~100k airline miles, 60k driving miles, and the last 6 months living out of a van.

I typically am hard on my gear, but all the Peak Design gear holds up really well. It actually looks better with age.

From the top of a mountain shooting pictures to walking down any street in a major city. It's not out of place, which is really nice.

It's very modular and with a pouch or two, it fits everything I could ask to fit in with room for more.

awwstn• 7 years ago

Seconding this! I LOVE the Peak Design Everyday Backpack.

I wrote a series of Tweets a few months ago sharing what I love about it: https://twitter.com/awwstn/status/1156969712850366464

The_DaveG3• 7 years ago

All of these things! I'm not sure if I would have purchased if not for the camera specific need, but I know more people than not who carry this without a camera.

The dividers are great to separate things including gym clothes. My cousin loves hers for the daily commute in DC.

wikibob• 7 years ago

Ahh a topic for me!

I spent WAY too many hours looking at all the backpacks recently.

If you use public transit or travel, I highly recommend the Timbuk2 Never Check Backpack.

I had my previous Timbuk2 for over 10 years and it was terrific.

I looked at Ebags, Peak Design, etc. I found the Peak Design are too fiddly. Too many pockets and dividers. The eBags laptop bag is too heavy for what it is.

If you want something smaller than the Never Check, I’d go for the Timbuk2 Division Pro (only the pro has the luggage strap)

csomar• 7 years ago

I'm using this: https://www.amazon.com/Thule-Crossover-Rolling-Carry-Renewed...

You might think it's not a backpack (and it's not) but after traveling for quite a while, I found that the comfort of the backpack is proportional to how much weight you are putting on your shoulders. So I decided that weight should be 0. So far, I have found success sneaking it even in cheap short flights.

Pros:

- No weight on your shoulders. This adds up quite a bit if you are standing up for many hours waiting for your flight, bus, etc...

- You can put more items in there.

- It looks nice and the material quality is good.

Cons:

- It's not good for a day-trip or going out.

To fix the con, I'd suggest you use a small very light bag that you can fit with no space on this backpack. This will force you to think what items you take out with you when you are going out and avoid taking a bunch of items that you'll probably won't need. (ps: this doesn't apply if you want to do hiking and stuff like that).

lnalx• 7 years ago

The PRVKE [1] is one of my favorite. You can add extension if you travel or photography.

I love the design, it's one of the most important thing I look at for a bag.

[1] https://wandrd.com/products/prvke

akg_67• 7 years ago

After looking at posted backpacks, I wonder what you all are carrying in these huge bags.

I just use an Osprey daypack. It takes a MacBook, iPad, a notebook, bottle of water, a bag of nuts, and a small towel. I just can’t imagine carrying anything bigger.

diehunde2• 7 years ago

When you are in consulting it's not rare to have to carry 2 or even 3 laptops.

quickthrower2• 7 years ago

Since I drive to work, don’t use a laptop and don’t travel for work, a $1 shopping bag from Aldi suits me. Fits my lunch and anything else I want to quickly chuck in to take with me.

Antoninus• 7 years ago

I've used an Arcteryx Granville 20 for the past 3 years. Its waterproof and has a has a nice padded laptop sleeve inside it.

https://www.arcteryx.com/us/en/shop/granville-20-backpack

zhte415• 7 years ago

The backpack that came with my ThinkPad.

Wide comfortable straps, padded back, sufficient pockets, enough room for light business or personal travel (change of basic clothes, etc), pretty robust.

Given the volume of them I see in airports, I'm surprised I'm the only one mentioning these.

phaus2• 7 years ago

A lot of people recommended goruck. They are great, but they don't gave much in the way of organizational compartments.

They are built very well. They are expensive but on patriotic holidays they usually have good sales. If you are a veteran sometimes you can get them for less than half of retail.

dnh44• 7 years ago

I use an Amazon Basics backpack which I think is great. I also have a Briggs and Riley briefcase which is holding up extremely well too.

httpsterio• 7 years ago

I think I spent almost two years looking for the perfect backpack for myself and finally found it last spring.

I considered a lot of options like the Peak Design offerings, Pinq Ponq, Wandrd, Boundary, Black Ember and Fstop.

I had a hard limit of 300 dollars, wanted something that had 30+ liters, wouldn't look dumb half empty and water resistant and ethically procuced. It should also have a water bottle mesh, internal organisation and pockets on the outside and straps to hang stuff onto.

I ended up choosing the Aevor Travel.

It expands from 38 to 45 liters and has straps so that you can tighten it up when it's empty so it looks good even when it's empty and isn't ridiculously big. Fills all of my other requirements and it's durable. it also has removable chest and waist straps (as I don't use them usually except when traveling and fully packed) so they're never in the way. I even spilt my full thermos of coffee with milk on it, by accident obviously, and it cleared right up with no stains.

Super happy, especially considering that I got it for under 100 dollars.

ponyous• 7 years ago

I use one of the Dakine backpacks. I found them to be really good quality, decent price (<£100) and good looking.

I use it for everything. Travelled around the world, went to my parent's place over weekend, for work, ...

Down_n_Out• 7 years ago

I'm a fan of the Millican brand [0], I own a Smith The Roll 18L one, awesome backpack.

Or Ortlieb [1], another very good brand

[0] https://www.homeofmillican.com/ [1] https://www.ortlieb.com/products/backpacks/active-backpacks

Ask HN: Which backpack do you use for work and work travel?

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