Review: The Best Travel Backpacks for Women
As surfer girls with an adventurous spirit, we often find ourselves travelling further afield in the search of the perfect wave. With surfboard in tow, packing light is often essential to keep down costs. But when it comes to travel bags, it’s often a bit of a minefield. Our guest writer and Editor, Molly Blair, has you covered. She’s been reviewing some of the best, female specific, travel backpacks…
A few years ago I decided it was time to splash out and treat myself to a proper travel backpack. I’d been using a hand-me-down from my boyfriend and it never fit me properly - the straps were too long and it always left me with a bad back.
After doing some initial research, the Instagram ads took care of the rest and I purchased the Tropicfeel Shell Backpack. At first it seemed perfect, I could fit plenty of clothes in using the wardrobe system, the toiletries were easily accessible for airport security in the front pouch and it was easy to get to everything with the shell-opening.
However, after a few uses on longer trips, I began to find little things that made it really inconvenient to use. The detachable toiletries bag got caught on things every time I tried to put the bag in overhead lockers, the water bottle pockets weren’t stretchy enough to fit anything in when the bag was full and when the wardrobe system was filled up, there was space for nothing else in the bag so I found it tricky to know where to keep electricals or my holiday reading.
Basically, it wasn’t quite right. So, I decided to do a deepdive and research more closely what it was I wanted from my travel bag and try out a few on the market. I especially decided to look for backpacks designed for women - something I wasn’t even aware existed on my initial search!
Here I’ve rounded up a few unisex backpacks and backpacks designed specifically for women that I would recommend…
The Backpacker - Salkan
I tested The Backpacker out on several trips, including a holiday to Sweden and Copenhagen over the summer. I used the main bag and the day pack as well as the packing cubes to take enough clothing for a 16 day trip, including some things I was leaving at my destination, as carry-on luggage.
My favourite thing about The Backpacker was the front opening zip making it easy to access all of the stuff inside. The internal pockets I used for trainers and my toiletries and it was great to have these easily accessible. I also loved the stretchy pockets on the sides of the main pack for water bottles.
I ended up taking out the plastic back panel of the backpack, as I found this made the bag too long for my short stature. But the adjustable strap height meant that the bag could be largely adjusted to my size which was a big bonus. The waist straps also had large pockets which were really useful for keeping things easily accessible at the airport.
The only downside for me is the base weight of the bag. In total it weighs about 3.5kg, which is a large proportion of a 10kg carry-on limit and also pretty heavy to lug around before anything is packed.
Overall, it’s a brilliant backpack and very suitable for female travellers. Plus, it comes in a couple of nice colours with super cute additional straps, always a bonus!
Traveltopia Duffle 45
I used this on a trip to visit my family and found it to be really spacious and useful for taking a lot of clothes making it great for winter travel when packing bulkier items of clothing. The duffle bag opening was useful, but I felt that packing everything from the direction you then open the bag made it slightly uncomfortable on the back.
It is also a bit short on pockets with no specific water bottle pockets, which is something I find frustrating. Having said that, the material is really durable and it is perfect for travelling when the weather is a bit drizzly due to the waterproof coating.
Generally I wouldn’t say it’s the most comfortable of the bags I’ve tested but it definitely makes a great weekend bag for women and I’d use it again for winter travel.
Ventura 40L Backpack
Although when I set out to write this piece I vowed I wouldn’t look at top opening backpacks - I couldn’t resist throwing one into the mix just to compare, especially when I saw this one specifically designed for women.
The Ventura is an awesome backpack for many reasons - it has so many pockets being one of the main ones. With water bottle pockets, zipped side pockets and inner pockets too, there’s plenty of space to keep things organised on a long trip.
I used this to visit friends in London and found it really comfortable. The benefit of it being top opening meant that its base-weight is really light, so for a weekend away it was very easy to carry. As is always the case with top-opening bags for me though, I struggled to keep my clothes tidy and ended up with a bit of a floor-drobe. It also doesn’t have a specific laptop pocket which is something I regularly require when travelling these days with more flexible work from home opportunities.
Overall, however, if weight is the top priority for you then I would definitely recommend this as a great lightweight travel backpack for women.
Osprey Fairview 40 Travel Pack
The Osprey Fairview definitely takes the top spot when it comes to comfort for me. It has clearly been designed with lots of research into how to make it fit well for a woman’s body. The straps fit comfortably on the shoulders and the bag sits well on the back. The waist strap is easily adjustable and sits in the correct place. It generally just felt very comfortable, and like I could carry it around for a long time if I needed to, which certainly hasn’t been the case with bags I’ve had before.
I took this bag home for Christmas and on a weekend away to Wales. I found the packing cubes really useful - they fit perfectly in the bag while also leaving space to throw a few books in, an extra pair of shoes and a toiletries bag. My only downside to this pack would be it doesn’t have many pockets. I think this would make it great for flights as it has a smooth exterior, but for packing terms it makes it tricky to know where to put electricals and other bits and bobs.
If you’re looking to splash out on a new backpack, I would recommend trying a few on in store first and I would absolutely look at bags designed for women. They tend to be created for narrower shoulders and to sit in a different spot on the hips - and it amazes me how much more comfortable I’ve found the ones designed with this in mind.
Molly Blair
Molly is a journalist focusing on gardening, nature connection, travel and the ocean. She’s also a committee member at Bristol Girls Surf Club and loves getting out of the city for cold water swims and surfs.