Carry on Backpack, 40L Expandable Travel Backpack for Airplane

I wanted to buy something I could carry on for flights and not be forced to check in if a flight was full (like a hard shell roller/carry on). I have only used this bag for one trip so far, but I'm so pleased with the quality, particularly at this price. I packed enough clothes to last me 4-5 days with no issues, and was also able to easily fit a book, a large travel mug, etc without expanding the bag. Would have easily fit my laptop if I wanted. The bag felt really light and comfortable to carry. Way easier and less bulky than a duffel. It didn't take much overhead bin space, and I imagine it could fit underneath the seat. Will attempt the next time I fly. One reviewer did mention it bulges in the middle due to strap placement on the sides. It's a minor issue. I imagine if you pack a certain way, you can minimize the bulge. It's not a good enough reason for me to deter recommending this bag, which I highly do.

I spent a long time debating this purchase and reading these reviews. Had to come back after my first use to share. Just buy it! I just used this for a long weekend trip. I bought it for the comfort of carrying with the backpack straps and the size to travel “carry on only” for flights. It fit everything I needed for a five day trip to Florida with room to spare. Very comfortable to carry as a backpack or with the padded handles. Our trip changed at the last second from a plane trip to warm weather Florida to a Fall weekend car getaway in New England. Swapping shorts and T-shirt’s for jeans and sweatshirts and still was able to fit everything I needed although I did have to use the expansion for that. Love that it isn’t hard sided. Much easier to add more if needed and compress with the straps. Backpack shoulder straps connect to the body of the bag with metal clips which seem durable. Material is thick and good quality. Zippers move easily and seem durable. Definitely my new favorite bag for any weekend trip by car or plane. Excited to use it for car camping as well where I need a bigger bag and could use the convenience of a backpack but don’t want to use a full hiking backpack. Lots of little pockets to help organize. I could easily fly somewhere for a week with just this and not even need a second personal item on the plane. Can’t say for sure how durable it is over time since I’ve only done one trip but it seems like it will hold up well.

I was not looking for a bag to store electronics or books. I wanted a bag that could hold 3 or 4 days of clothing, a few toiletries, and an extra pair of shoes. This would be a bag to either use alone for a short trip and a bag that would provide immediate clothing in case my larger luggage was delayed. I wanted it to open widely so I could efficiently pack and if going through TSA or customs to open fully in case its contents needed inspection. No USB ports, multiple pockets for "stuff", etc. One that could fit into any airlines carry-on dimensions and one that I could put on my back while I rolled my larger case, strap to the luggage handle, or carry (It has grips for BOTH the long and short dimensions!) This is the bag! It does have a small concealment pocket for passport, tickets, etc. at the back when used as a backpack, an interior pocket for a tablet if desired but that folds flat if not desired. The shoulder straps and back are vented which should prove comfortable in hot climates. Bottom-line, it's perfect for my travel criteria. The bag appears well made though usage will ultimately judge if its sufficiently rugged. I would prefer YKK metal zippers, but these seem fine (again, usage over many years of travel will test the ruggedness). I would not load this backpack with several books or heavy objects - that's not its intended purpose.

I bought 5 of these bags for a family trip to Europe. We carried all of our stuff, one bag per person. In general the bags worked great. I did have one seam on a bag start to pull out. I am hoping customer support can fix it but I don't know how to make contact. My review rating of 4 stars is based on my feeling that the bag is well designed and worked well in the style of travel we did. I took off one star as there are a few places the bag could have been improved and one bag had a seam failure. The main compartment area worked great for clothing and proved to have enough structure to allow me to pack a painting in one bag with just some cardboard for support and the art came through unscathed after 2 weeks and 5 moves. In general, I like the structure of the main pocket with the zippered flap it was easy to store smaller clothing items and keep bulkier stuff in the main space. The front side pockets are a little more complicated. I liked the front 2 straight zipper pockets. The larger lower pocket fits a quart liquid storage bag perfectly for easy access going through airport security. The larger U-shaped pocket really could use a double zipper. I really liked the storage space but I found that if I left it unzipped and then opened the main compartment everything would fall out. I think with a double zipper it would have been easier to keep it in a partially closed but accessible state. With the large flap the double zipper would allow for opening it just part way and not allowing the whole flap to open up. The unzippered pockets inside that flap are mostly useless as stuff tended to fall out of the pockets. The zippered areas inside were generally good, although on one bag I had a seem fail on the larger internal zipper. Given this was our first trip this makes me a little suspect of the stitching quality. I hope nothing else fails and that Vancropak is able to help get it replaced. The practical usability for carrying is quite good. The padding on the pack and straps were comfortable and I never felt like the straps dug in. I used the backpack and both the top and side straps at various times and I was grateful for all those options. I am not sure I understand why the backpack straps are designed to be tucked inside the zippered back pocket. As a general design principal I would have rather had a zippered tablet/laptop pocket instead of stowable backpack straps. We kept the backpack straps out all the time and I can't think of a usage model where I would want to stow the straps. Making the straps come out from the zippered back pocket made the pocket mostly useless. It also would be nice if there was an option for a waist strap. There were some times I would have appreciated that type of support. These packs facilitated a great vacation. They were easy to carry, easily fit in the various airlines' overhead space, and had about the right amount of storage for a 3 week trip with access to laundry. As mentioned one bag had a minor seam failure, it is hard to say if that was just an unlucky bag or if they have quality issues. I would have given 5 stars if the bag had a double zipper on the front u shaped pocket and we hadn't had the quality issue. The waist strap and back pocket would have been nice improvements but didn't cause a particular problem in our use case.

Perfect carryon dimensions, no laptop pocket = more room for two weeks of clothing, compression zipper and four straps on outside to assist in compressing the backpack to maintain carryon dimensions, elastic "x" strap inside holds clothing secure, padded back for comfortable wearing, padded handles top and side for easy overhead stowing, two small and one very large exterior flat pockets, one very large inside mesh pocket, and one small secure pocket that rides against your back. Padded shoulder straps with chest strap, zippered stow pocket for shoulder straps, two sturdy rings low on either side (could clip on waist strap or small front pack). No water bottle pocket or charging port (not needed on this trip.) This is the no nonsense carryon I've been seeking! I bought the green (on sale) but it'd be nice to have a greater choice in colors. Seems sturdy - will edit this review if it fails me.

This is a preliminary review after getting the backpack out of the shipping box. The backpack was in a plastic bag that was of a heavier material than I normally see for such a lightweight item. It was a resealable bag that they thought to also tape across the resealable portion of the plastic bag to keep it from popping open during shipment, I'm guessing. What got me was they even taped the bottom two corners of the bag to make them form to the lines of the backpack packed inside. Who does this? OK, enough with the plastic bag. Reviewers have commented on the pro and cons. I'm usually concerned with the cons. What comments I remembered was it was thin, floppy (no structure?), had and had no bottle carrier. What I was expecting was a nylon sack with a bunch of zippers and straps. What I found was modestly padded bag that had no form BUT, it was also just unwrapped and and nothing inside it to give any form. After stuffing it with clothing, towels, etc, the shape began to form into what I expected it to look like. Compartments are good sized and well protected. As for the bottle holder, I can always get a bottle carrier with a velcro strap that has a ring on the other end to sling along a bottle. This is a combo suitcase/backpack. It's not going to be perfect for everyone, not at this price. The padding on the straps are better than expected. They won't rival anything from REI, Northface or Patagonia but then again, I'm not paying $75-250 for this above base level bag either. What else, no off putting gases when opened up. Looks pretty good, to me. Cons so far (for me) are the cinch straps. I wish there was one in the middle of the case. After cinching down the top/bottom straps, I was left with a bulging "belly" about the middle of the case. When putting the case away, it would be nice if a couple of the straps could do double duty and hold the case together when folded up for storage. A minor thing. I'll be putting this to wok in a few weeks, IF I remember, I'll update this post with any new observations I come across.

Took this piece of luggage on an airplane and a cruise.The size and quality are great. Everything packed up nice and was easy to carry as a backpack.

Bought this bag in three colors for a 17 day trip to the UK- best decision ever! We didn’t have carry on’s, just these, and we were able to stow them overhead on each flight we took (even the tiny planes where luggage with wheels had to go below). They went on tubes, trains, planes, buses, Ubers, and they were also worn for miles at a time while walking. They were super comfortable to wear and easy to pick up and strap on. Even our little dude (8) was able to wear it without issue. They held up great with all the tugging, throwing, smashing, and more. Zippers still work great, and they didn’t tear. Didn’t get stains on the lighter colored on either. These are now our go to trip bags. They carried two pairs of small shoes, three to four days clothes, two pairs of pajamas, underwear, socks, and a bulky toiletry bag. Definitely would recommend!

Super mochila

Excelente mochila, tiene buen tamaño como esperaba, es espaciosa y sus compartimientos son muy utiles. La calidad del material se ve muy bien y sobre todo se ve resistente. Llego en buen estado

Good value

I decided to try this backpack as my carryon for my Summer Eurotrip and it sure did deliver! Everything was organized and fit to all airline specs for carryons making it so easy to be hands free. Highly recommend this as your travel backpack! I also loved the colour way I bought it in (offwhite/brown).

I knew 50 litres was substantial, but I was really surprised how much it could fit. For a four day trip, I didn't even need to expand the storage. So imagine how much more you can fit with the expanded storage. Lots of useful zippers and pouches inside and outside to put stuff in. The only drawback is it can get heavy and then you are left to carry that weight on your back. But you knew that when you bought this bag that it doesn't come with wheels. So, I probably wouldn't use it for a long trip where I need to pack lots of stuff, but it's ideal for up to a week long trip. But, if you don't mind carrying a heavy backpack, then it will definitely work for longer trips. Overall good quality of material and zippers.