The ultimate guide to finding the best travel daypack

Having the best travel daypack means everything.

When you leave your house, get to the airport, fly, and arrive at your hotel, you need a strong and sturdy suitcase. But once you’re actually on holiday, it’s your daypack you’ll be relying on.

Your daypack can be something small for city holidays, or a large backpack if the need requires.

Whatever kind of holiday you head out on, you need to have the best travel daypack with you. Something waterproof, strong, lightweight, and easily portable.

Whether you’re looking for the best hiking backpack for women or the best lightweight backpack for the city, you’ll find plenty of options to choose from here.

But just before we explore your options, let’s consider what features you should be looking for.

Read next: 23 best bags for travel

How to find the best travel daypack

Comfort and size

Ask yourself where you’re going; what kind of terrain is it? What activities are you going to be doing?

If it’s a city break with a lot of shopping and strolling, a practical rucksack is ideal. A standard 25-litre backpack is the best travel bag for Europe, if you’re mostly exploring the cities.

If you’re planning on spending your days hiking and exploring more rural areas, you’ll want a hiking backpack. Either way, you need to think about comfort.

Daypacks and hiking backpacks all need plenty of padding for your back and shoulders, as well as adjustable straps. A daypack for city exploring should be around 25 liters: small, practical, and easy to carry.

But the best backpacking backpacks are around 45 liters. Anything bigger is for more hardcore long-term backpacking.

Utility

What are you going to be carrying?

For a daypack it’s going to be things like electronics – maybe your laptop, tablet, Kindle, phone.

And maybe food for the day and some water. A jacket? Scarf? Wallet and passport?

To keep all these things separate, you’ll need to think about having a travel backpack with a few different compartments and pockets.

A side pocket for a water bottle; a large compartment for spare clothes; a smaller compartment for your phone and purse. The best travel daypack should do all of these things.

So, consider what you’ll be carrying every day in your daypack, and shop accordingly!

Material

Is it waterproof? That should be your biggest question when it comes to material. You want something long-lasting, sturdy and strong, and most importantly waterproof. Not water-resistant; fully waterproof.

We’re always packing our most valuable and useful things into our travel backpack: phone, money, laptop, Kindle, etc.

So, having your daypack completely waterproof is an absolute must.

That said, if you’re going to be in a place where the chance of rain is minimal, perhaps prioritize getting the best lightweight backpack instead.

Weight

Consider how much weight you’re comfortable with carrying, and how long you’ll have it on your back for each day. Choosing a lightweight backpack is essential for your comfort. 

Best backpack brands

Osprey

Osprey is the most famous backpack brand. They specialize in long-lasting backpacks and hiking bags with a lifetime guarantee.

Buying an Osprey is like mating for life. They’re expensive but they last forever; they’re usually waterproof and super lightweight. The all-around favorite of all the backpack brands.

Haglöfs

Haglöfs are hardcore backpacking clothes and bags for hardcore backpackers.

They’re one of the backpack brands that’s praised for delivering high-quality products consistently. Their smaller daypacks are very reasonably priced, while their large backpacks for hiking are on par with Osprey.

Not cheap but built to last.

The North Face

North Face is renowned for its waterproof products: jackets, backpacks, messenger bags, you name it.

They’re very reasonably priced and well-built.

They’re perhaps not quite as long-lasting as Osprey bags, and they typically deliver more on smaller daypacks than large backpacks, but they are perfect waterproof bags.

Deuter

Deuter specialises in the best backpacking backpacks and hiking backpacks.

They don’t offer many smaller daypacks: it’s about semi-professional hiking bags with all the best technology.

They’re also very reasonably priced; amazing quality for that price, as well!

For the city

City bags put fashion and design before anything else.

They’re meant to be enjoyed as a fashion accessory in stylish cities like New York, Paris, and London, while also keeping all of your things safe and secure at all times.

For hiking

Hiking bags put function ahead of fashion. They’re designed to be safe, sturdy, secure, and able to withstand a bit of abuse and poor weather. When you’re hiking, you want your things kept safe after all.

Packable daypacks

If you don’t want to use your daypack all the time, a foldable bag might be ideal for you. It’s a bag that can be folded away and put in your luggage; then taken out when it’s needed, depending on the day and what you’re up to. They can fold away to nothing.

Best lightweight backpack

A lightweight backpack is the definition of a daypack.

Something that is portable, big enough to carry your essentials, light enough to have with you on a long day out and can be easily stored. They’re the ideal daypacks that balance fashion with function and design.

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