Similar price point, in fact a bit cheaper. On the other hand I recently bought a backpack form 'Wandrd', another company. I will use it and am still happy with my purchase, but for this build quality it is way, way overpriced. It is such a shame that this engineering masterpiece ist crafted so cheaply. They sort of stay put, but only the slightest tug in the wrong direction lengthens the straps. And every once in a while, it sort of 'pops' back into shape with an audible, really cheap sounding noise. It is already slightly warped, which can be felt when carrying the bag as a backpack. The back panel does not comply with this. The design of the waist strap/shoulder strap situation requires quite aggressive manipulation to attach and detach or stow away the straps neatly. I reckon, it is reinforced with a sown in plastic sheet. Especially the stitching is quite a rough job on the entire thing. And for example only after removing and reattaching the wais -belt/sling bag once, there were lose threads on one side. Packing it, unpacking it, testing out the features. However, as I said I have only been playing around with the bag at home.

And nowhere close to be worth a price point of 300 USD. Such a shame that Pakt had an apparently incredibly thoughtful and great design and cut corners on such a vital aspect. This brings me to my main complaint, which was a huge bummer unfortunately and never mentioned in any review I saw. And I don't think, the bag will endure rough use. Just like you can use a Swiss Army Tool as a screwdriver if you really need to but would have much better time using a dedicated tool. In a pinch you could take it on a hike but I don't feel this would be a pleasant experience. I would use this backpack only for city travel. You really need to be careful on how you stow away the straps, otherwise the back panel will bulge weirdly. Stowing away the shoulder straps and waist belt works ok but is a little bit finicky. The back panel is rather flat and not really contoured or ventilated. The waist strap sits too high for me an doesn't distribute a whole lot of weight. Being Swiss myself I am allowed to put it that way -). So this bag does many things fine but none of them perfectly.

Especially in regards to my following main complaint but more on that later. That beeing said - the reason for my review title - all these carry options work fine, but none of them excel. In the front main compartment, there ist even a small hidden zippered pocket on the top, which is probably not of much use - but the shoulder strap fits in there like it was made for it. This was surprisingly balanced and comfortable. Simply attached it diagonally to the accessory-strap loops on one long side of the bag. I even managed to turn the Travel Backpack into a messenger bag with a spare detachable shoulder strap I hat lying aroung from another bag. Backpack-mode, with or whithout waist-straps/sternum-straps, briefcase mode, the hidden sling/fanny pack which in itself can increase ore decreas its volume. The different carry options are great fun too. Especially the laptopsleeve in the middle of the main compartment doesn't feel safe to me anymore in this scenario and the front pockets might get a bit narrower. Of course, if you overstuff them, it will get tight in there. I have never had a bag, in which compartments don't fight each other for space once packed full. What really is on another level is the engineering of the compartments themselves. Way more than enough gear for a 2-3 day trip, packing light one week trips are no issue as well I suppose.

I do own similar carry on bags which come nowhere close to the volume this one swallows. I was amazed how much stuff I could fit in there, regarding the still small footprint of the bag. What a great design, I have to say.Īs far as I am concerned, packing capacity is astonishing. This is therefore only a first impressions review, but I examined the bag thoroughly this afternoon. I just received my Travel Backpack today.

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