4-Day Travel Backpack

[vcdgrips]

The PAKT systems looks well thought out.

There is certainly something to be said for having complementary equipment that is brand exclusive. I am admittedly very high on Tom Bihn. Indeed, when I one bag traveled this summer for 5 days to MV, I used a TB Brain Bag coupled with a now discontinued TB packing cube backpack stored inside with complete success.

Peak Designs, Aer, Tortuga and Nomatic are all reviewing well with integrated design throughout their respective lines. I do think that many of these boutique lines are approaching their pricing max given their not being sewn in the USA.



At this point, IMHO, if the bag is:

35-45 Liters
Made of a 500D+ tier one material
Uses YKK Zippers
Uses Duraflex/Peer fasteners
Has a lifetime guarantee (fully acknowledging that this is very brand dependent re what is “covered” and/or “excluded”)

It is going to do the job for a 5 day max biz casual trip so long as one gives some thought to wardrobe choices that coordinate and can be easily care for on the road.

If i needed more room and/or my trip exceeded 5 days, I am a huge advocate of a backpack/duffel combo completely avoiding anything with wheels.

[rob_s]

Nice to see this get bumped.

I am super close to pulling the trigger on this guy.
https://paktbags.com/products/the-pakt-travel-backpack

As well as the similar 22L for work.
https://paktbags.com/products/everyday-22l-backpack

in preparing to place an order for one, the other, or both, and confronting the high combined price, I've been thinking about which I would prefer.

I think I'm likely to order the office pack first.

on a recent trip where I had to drive 5 hours one day, then have some casual time, then funeral attire, then casual again, then drive another 5 hours, then work, then casual, then drive... I was needing a lot of outfits over relatively few days, and getting frustrated trying to do my usual "shove this all in the smallest bag possible" while also packing some food fundamentals into a cooler when my wife said "why don't you just take a bigger bag?" which, of course, I initially resisted before not only upping my suitcase size but also my cooler size, and winding up having a far more pleasant trip getting in and out of hotels and such, with the exception of my shoulder-mounted briefcase and no good way to affix the yeti to the suitcase handle. Having now rectified the Yeti issue (bungies away!) I'm thinking that any driving trips may just stick with the larger-bag solution.

Still, when flying specifically for work conferences the one-bag, backpack, solution will probably rule.

[Doc_Glock]

Probably not your style, and doesn't meet all of your criteria, but I bought a GR2 for this task. So far it has worked well for my limited business travel during Covid.

I have used a GR1 for five day international business travel since 2012. It is durable to task and the simple internal layout makes using a packing cube to hold my private stuff really easy; I then ditch the cube in the hotel room or rental car when going in to customers.

I added a GR2 for last year to make it a little easier to pull off in winter, but I still use the GR1 half the time. I understand your distaste for molle and every once in a while GR makes their packs in a slick format, but ultimately it doesn't bother me that much.

It is also really important to me that the gear I buy from GR is U.S. made, though not all their stuff is.

Like Glocks and ARs, there's usually a reason that common is common.

Jumping back in because I received a Long Range Rucker 33L yesterday which is essentially a cheaper, heavier GR2 with a place for ruck plates.

i have had a bias against GoRuck due to what I feel is their over pricing and all the molle, but…

This is really an amazing bag. Way over built. Because of this it can easily haul 40lbs or more. It’s well built too and the organization is wel thought out. It carries great.

Based on this I can see why the GR2 is so popular for one bag travel. If you sized it up to their ~40L model I think could travel indefinitely honestly with some laundry.

The downsides are: weight (overbuilt is heavy), molle and crazy steep price.

I am going to EDC this Long Range Rucker as well as use it with ruck plates so we will see how my opinion ages.

[littlejerry]

Jumping back in because I received a Long Range Rucker 33L yesterday which is essentially a cheaper, heavier GR2 with a place for ruck plates.

i have had a bias against GoRuck due to what I feel is their over pricing and all the molle, but…

This is really an amazing bag. Way over built. Because of this it can easily haul 40lbs or more. It’s well built too and the organization is wel thought out. It carries great.

Based on this I can see why the GR2 is so popular for one bag travel. If you sized it up to their ~40L model I think could travel indefinitely honestly with some laundry.

The downsides are: weight (overbuilt is heavy), molle and crazy steep price.

I am going to EDC this Long Range Rucker as well as use it with ruck plates so we will see how my opinion ages.

I'm still using my GR2 and just got back from a 3 day domestic trip.

My career/industry changed in 2021 so my typical travel has changed from 5 days in China to 1-5 days domestic. Unfortunately I often have to travel with a lot of water/ocean gear now which necessitates a large roller bag (wet suit, dry suit, boots, gloves, PFD, goggles, etc). I still keep my "main" kit to a single bag so I don't get any crossover funk from the water gear into my normal attire.

The GR2 soldiers on as my preferred bag. It'll easily cover me for 3 nights with workout clothes/shoes, laptop/work stuff. I do want to buy a cube of some type though so I can more quickly ditch the clothing at the hotel.

[Chance]

I am super close to pulling the trigger on this guy.
https://paktbags.com/products/the-pakt-travel-backpack

Is there any legitimate place to buy these other than the Pakt website? I've got multiple trips coming up and the 35L version is perfect for what I need, but the blue one is pretty and it's not in stock.

[JAD]

I am still beating the hell out of my GR1. The GR2 is big on my frame; I use it scouting.

[farscott]

Bags are like holsters. What fits me does not fit you and vice versa. For me, the Tom Bihn Synik 30 is the bag that I take on trips up to five days. Got it before COVID shut down travel and have been using it since then. It has done quite a few "fly out on Monday morning and fly back on Friday morning trips" as well as several shorter trips or me. It works as I rarely need a suit for business travel and because I do not like to travel with what I need and nothing more. I use a few packing cubes with it as well as the internal organization and carry my laptop in the provided compartment.

Not having to carry another bag and not needing to check luggage has saved me more than once, including when a group of us barely made a connection and the checked luggage did not. I had what I needed, but my colleagues had to shop for everything from toiletries to shirts.

[vcdgrips]

Packing cube favorites

https://www.rei.com/search?q=Thule%20packing%20cubes

Thule Compressible
1. Ykk zips
2. Xpac like fabric
3. Widely available

They are heavier than the eagle creek specter and eBag ones they have replaced.
Build quality and ability to stuff/compress is far superior

FWIW

[TOTS]

Id also add Mystery Ranch’s packing cubes to the list of approved items! I’ve had the set for the last few trips and really like them.

https://www.mysteryranch.com/zoid-cu...ntity=1&size=S

[Cookie Monster]

Packing cubes are key. I like the lightweight Eagle Creek ones. Their two sided clean/dirty ones are great - clean clothes in one side and you move clothes to the other as they get too much to wear.

I think I used 15 or 16 to organize my 2 week bag for wildland fire assignments.