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#1 TIMBUK2 Authority Laptop Backpack
At 28L, this pack has plenty of room for your everyday lineup, as well as the organization to keep it well-segmented and easy to grab. Plus, it’s all wrapped up in one cohesive, refined design that fits in with more professional environments—whether you’re heading to the office or working remotely.
The Authority Laptop Backpack Deluxe has a much more professional vibe to it that looks at home in the office but can still be worn casually. It’s gotten a lot of praise on an Instagram poll, as 81% of you reported to like this pack’s look—a higher score than most other bags get, which isn’t a big surprise. This pack’s features are cleanly-integrated for a more polished, streamlined demeanor that most will appreciate.
The laptop compartment is excellent. It opens up in a similar horseshoe-style fashion as the main compartment so you can easily get your tech in and out. You can fit up to a 17″ laptop inside, which you don’t always see with other packs, and we appreciate the accommodation.
We’ve been keeping a 15″ MacBook Pro, a Roost Laptop Stand 2.0, and a keyboard inside a Roost Minimalist Keyboard Sleeve in this compartment during testing, and it’s all fit nicely. There’s some really dense padding inside to protect your tech from those rougher trips, but the false bottom falls a little short. We would’ve liked to see a bit more suspension for added protection from accidental drops and other daily damage.
#2 Brevite Jumper
What’s great about the Jumper is that it works equally well as a daypack as it does a camera bag. Unzip the main compartment and you have a large open space for your daily essentials and a small zippered pocket for valuables (though there’s no key leash). On the front, there’s a zippered compartment with small organizational pockets to hold cables, batteries, earbuds and more. A water bottle pocket on the right, a hidden zippered pocket in the padded back panel and a separate laptop compartment at the back with a weatherproof zipper all give you enough storage for your daily commute or walking around campus.
Just behind the front compartment’s zipper, though, is another zipper that opens the entire bottom half of the backpack to the inside. With the compartment open, you can use the included four padded dividers to organize and protect your camera equipment in the bottom half. The sides of the backpack and the bottom are padded as well. A panel inside at the top of the bag drops down to form a separation between the top portion and your camera gear so you still have room for stuff that’s not camera gear. Straps on the bottom can hold a large tripod (or a jacket) or you can use the side pocket for a small travel tripod instead.
Lastly, there’s a zippered opening on the left side to give you fast access to your camera without having to lay the bag down and open the front section. It’s a really clever, versatile compact design. And for those who don’t need the camera protection, Brevite makes a version that’s just for hauling your stuff.
#3 Deuter Up Seoul
The Up Seoul is a daypack version of the bigger rolltop bags messengers use. Rolltops are great because if you suddenly need more space in your backpack, you can unroll the top and create a chimney for your stuff. Plus, rolling over the top keeps rain out. However, once they’re full it can be a pain to get to stuff at the bottom of your bag.
The Up Seoul solves this access issue with a zipper at the top of the bag that goes across and then down the right side, giving it a wider opening. On the inside, you’ll find a padded laptop sleeve, a couple of slip pockets, a shallow zippered pocket with a key leash and an elastic water bottle pocket. On the outside, there’s a slip pocket on the left for a water bottle or umbrella, a large zippered pocket on front and a hidden zippered pocket on the right big enough for your phone that can be accessed with the bag.
Soft padding on the shoulder straps and back panel and removable sternum and waist straps help keep this bag comfortable even when it’s packed full. The Deuter Up Seoul is available in six color combinations and is made entirely from recycled materials.
#4 Nomatic Travel Backpack
If you want one backpack that’ll work for your daily commute, a day trip or weekend away or as an airplane carry-on, this is it. I continue to be amazed at how well designed this bag is every time I use it and it truly feels like the company thought of everything. Take, for example, the key leash. Most bags have a short one stitched inside a pocket — some more accessible than others — and can’t be removed. Nomatic includes a retractable clip-on key leash that can be moved to another pocket or just removed entirely.
Another good example is the internal design. The main compartment gives you enough room for your lunch, a jacket, books and whatever else you might carry with you on a daily commute including a hard case for sunglasses. Like many travel bags, though, there’s a zipper around the outside (all the zippers are weather-sealed, by the way) that expands the size to give you space for shoes and clothes for a day or two. What is unique is that when you expand the bag, it reveals another zipper that opens the backpack like a clamshell for easy packing.
A compartment at the front of the bag has all the organization you’ll need for cables, a mouse, power adapters and other accessories. It also has an RFID pocket to keep your credit cards, ID and other things safe. A separate zippered lined pocket above the front compartment is perfect for your phone and there are cable pass-throughs from the pocket to the front compartment so you can put a power bank in the latter and charge your phone on the go.
Then there are things like external pockets on each side that stretch to fit a water bottle or umbrella but close flat to the bag with magnets when empty. The backpack stands on its own and has grab handles on the top and sides so you can easily carry it when it’s off your back. The shoulder straps even tuck into the cushy back panel so they don’t flap around or get snagged when sliding it under an airplane seat. Also, the separate laptop compartment at the back can be unzipped and laid flat to slip it through TSA without taking your laptop entirely out.
#5 Fjällräven Räven 28 Backpack
The Fjällräven Räven 28 Backpack is durable, water resistant, and equipped with a plethora of pockets, but most important, it’s comfortable to wear for a long day of traveling. Its internals are conveniently organized, and it includes a pair of external water-bottle pockets that can double as holsters for travel documents such as a boarding pass or a customs form. And even though it can fit neatly underneath your seat while you’re traveling, it’s big enough for a 15-inch laptop, business gear, a change of clothes, and a pair of slim shoes.
“In our tests we easily zipped a laptop in and out of the bag while in a TSA line, saving precious seconds and avoiding glares from fellow travelers,” Wirecutter senior staff writer Joel Santo Domingo wrote in a previous version of this guide. “The laptop compartment has a spacious open area and a second pocket for organizing documents, tucking in a binder, or holding a tablet for in-flight entertainment.”
The zippered middle pocket is roomy enough for a change of clothes, shoes, and a toiletry kit, which means you don’t have to push those items out of the way to get to your laptop. The other organized pockets on the front of the bag allow you easy access to pens, business cards, adapters, and cables, which would otherwise roll around in the main compartment.
The Räven 28 is made of a durable poly-cotton blend, and it offers decent water resistance. If you need more protection, you can have the bag waxed like a storm coat.
#6 JanSport Driver 8
Who knows backpacks better than JanSport? Don’t get weighted down by all you need to carry with you. The JanSport Driver 8 has inline skate wheels that take the burden off you. It’s capacious enough to hold plenty of books, along with a 15-inch laptop. There’s also a place for a water bottle, a stash pocket, and a utility pocket with organizer.
#7 Herschel Heritage Backpack
Despite being more affordable than every other bag on this list, this Herschel looks just as nice and is just as capable as its peers. The Heritage has been my school bag filled with a day’s worth of textbooks and a laptop in its dedicated 15-inch sleeve, an overnight bag stuffed with clothes and a pair of shoes, and a carry-on with essentials should my luggage get lost. It has since followed me into my work life too. After years of heavy use, it has only recently started to show signs of wear, especially on the top handle coated in faux leather. The bag itself hasn’t ripped, and the straps are holding strong. The downside? There’s no water bottle pocket.
#8 Chrome Industries Naito Pack
Chrome’s take on a classic daypack is sleek and slim. It doesn’t have as many pockets as some of our other picks, but it still fits enough gear for a full day’s worth of work. The front pocket can hold a book or tablet up to 9 inches (my old, 4th-gen iPad fits perfectly), and it has a zippered pocket inside. The padded sleeve in the main compartment fits a 15-inch laptop and the internal organizational slots fit my notebook, phone, and two pens.
An interior water bottle pocket is also a nice touch if you constantly knock yours out of side pockets, but you might have to ditch the bottle if you’re planning on using every cubic inch of its 22-liter capacity. The ergonomically-shaped straps are comfy, and like other Chrome Industries bags we like, this one is made to last with a tough 1050-denier nylon exterior.
#9 Timbuk2 Lane Commuter Backpack
Timbuk2’s water-resistant Lane Commuter is part of its No Wet Laptops campaign. It’s the smaller, stormproof version of its popular Parker backpack. The bag has its own removable rain cover stored in the bottom, the front is made from protective coated nylon, and the interior is also water-resistant. To test it, we filled the front pockets full of packets of tissues while biking through a particularly long, grim, and rainy Northwestern spring, and they all stayed miraculously dry. The bag’s easy-access magnetic front pocket is useful for storing keys, all 6,000 of your favorite pens, and lip balm. It also has a big reflective panel on the bottom.
At 2.4 pounds, this bag is a little heavier and bulkier than some of our other picks, but it’s worth it if you live in a part of the country where you’re soaked for nine months out of the year and keep a