without a backpack?

Like a tortoise carrying all its worldly

possessions upon its back.

Of all your travel gear,

your backpack is the most essential.

If it's too big, you can't carry it on.

If it's too small, you can't carry enough.

I'm Alex. I'm Marko. You are watching

Vagabrothers, your go-to guide for

travel tips, inspiration, and travel

vlogs here on YouTube.

This video is part of our series

on how to travel the world and in it,

we're going to show you how to pick

the perfect bag for your trip.

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Without further ado, this is how you

choose the perfect backpack.

We've been full-time travel film makers

for the last 5 years, so by now we're

used to carrying our entire lives in

our backpacks, plus our camera gear.

We're going to show you 4 bags of

different sizes and styles to help you

find the right one for you.

No matter which bag you choose, you're

going to want to keep the following things in mind:

First and foremost, keep things small,

simple, and minimalist.

40 to 50 litres is the ideal size

for a travel bag.

Smaller is better because your backpack

fits in carry-on, which will save you money

because you won't have to check bags,

time because you don't have to wait at

baggage claim, and stress because

when you carry fewer things, you lose

fewer things.

Packing and unpacking becomes a simple routine.

Just as important as choosing

the right size of backpack

is choosing the right type of backpack.

Don't choose a technical

back country camping backpack.

What you want is a travel backpack,

which is front loading, meaning that

it opens like a suitcase, but also

has shoulder straps for support.

All the backpacks that we are

recommending today are travel backpacks.

A few more things to keep in mind......

Make sure it's water proof.

You can always buy a rain shell,

but it's better to have waterproof fabric.

Make sure it has a laptop holder;

it also works for magazines, journals,

and Ipads.

Make sure that you do not to pack your

bag 100 percent full.

You're going to want to leave at least

a quarter of your bag for souvenirs

and stuff you pick up along the way

Some other good features to look for:

waist straps to save your back,

compression straps, lockable zippers,

and a combination lock, stash pockets,

a camera holder, and super important....

a removable daypack.

We're going to go over these 4 backpacks.

We're going to start with the smaller one

and go up in size.

This is the REI Vagabond..40 liters of space

2 1/2 pounds and $120.

What I like the most about this bag

is that it's very, very sleek.

It's got a super low profile.

There're no straps or anything that can

get stuck if you're walking down a train.

You're not going to get snagged on anything.

It does have some compression straps

on the inside, but otherwise it's a pretty

open space. You do also have

this zipper pouch on the outside,

which is where you can put your

socks or underwear.

You can tuck in the shoulder straps and

zip it up so that if you're checking the bag,

it's not going to get snagged on other things.

For $120 bucks, it's going to leave a lot

of money for whatever else you have to

prepare for: visas, vaccinations, and so on.

There are a lot of "pros" to this

backpack, but for me personally, I see

a lot of "cons" in it.

First and foremost, it's very flimsy.

The downside of being sleek is that

in order to achieve that

there is just not a lot of padding.

For example, there is a laptop sleeve.

I would be a little bit sketched - out

to travel with a laptop in this

because it seems that there's just a very

thin plastic backing.

There's no back support,

and there's very, very minimal cushions.

This bag to me is just a little bit too....

flimsy.

I personally see this backpack as more

of a long weekend get away

or a two week trip to somewhere

where you don't need a lot of clothes.....

like a tropical vacation

or a nudist resort. Exactly.

Next up is the Kelty Redwing 44.

Just to clarify, there is a 44 liter

and a 50 liter version, plus...

a 40 liter designed specifically

for females.

One of the things that I really enjoyed

about this bag right when I threw it on,

it's super comfortable.

It has very, very nice waist support.

It also has a big cushion right

at the base of your lumbar.

If you're traveling long term with a

backpack, one of the things that you notice

right away is that without this waist

support, your lower back is really going

to start hurting.

It's also made out of a breathable

material, so if you're in S.E. Asia,

you're not going to be totally sweating

your ass off.

The bag opens " comme ca."

It has a laptop sleeve.

The laptop sleeve does have a bit more

padding than its counterpart,

the REI Vagabond.

There's a lot of room for expansion here.

It's pretty simply, but it's a very

comfortable bag.

The downside for me is that this day bag

on the outside is not removable.

It's also susceptible to thieves

because you generally don't want to have

your most important things on the

outside of your bag.

That's the case with this backpack.

Furthermore, these straps right here

are not lockable.

As far as the internal organization....

there's not a lot of compartments here,

but that's also a thing of personal preference.

And a great way around something like

that is by using compression cubes.

This set right here from Eagle Creek.

It's got 3 different sized bags,

and this is something you can use

to create organization

in an otherwise open system.

This is a pretty good all around backpack.

Solid choice.

And the fact that you can get it in

multiple sizes means that if

you feel this is too small or too big,

there's another size available for you.

I feel like the 50 liter backpack

would probably be a pretty good call.

Next up: we have a kind of an outlier,

but this personally my favorite backpack.

This is Patagonia's MLC, which stands

for Maximum Legal Carry-on.

It's 45 liters and about $179.

So right in the middle of the sizes,

but a little bit more expensive, but I will

show you where that value comes from.

What's good about this is that it

basically combines everything you'd want

from a suitcase in the form of a backpack.

The thing I like the most about this

backpack is that the internal organization

is just insane.

You have really great pockets here for

socks and underwear.

Once I wear them, I put everything

that's dirty in this other internal sleeve.

It's really easy to keep your

clothes organized as you're traveling.

It's basically deep enough for you to roll

up your jeans or put in a pair of shoes

and have each item one by one next

to each other, which allows you to

really see all of your outfits at once.

What I found amazing about doing that is

that I never had to unpack my backpack.

What's also great is the external

compartment here, which basically

functions like a day bag.

It's almost like a briefcase.

It's basically like a briefcase, yeah.

You can put your laptop here, a tablet.

There's a cell phone storage area;

there're pens;

there's a ton of compartments for your

passport or whatever else you want to

bring with you that you would normally put in a day bag.

That's why I say that this bag is perfect

for someone doing city trips.

This is optimized to be the maximum size

you can take as carry-on.

The straps fold in on themselves,

and if you have a roller bag,

you can slide this thing right down over

the handles of a roller bag.

I'm a big fan of Patagonia.

I believe that their products are worth

the extra money just from their stance on

the environment and sustainability.

I feel it's less of a backpack for a

backpacker and more of a bag for

a business traveler.

Other than that, I love the internal

organization on it, to be able to divide

your bag into regions.

I don't think that it has a lot of protection

or support.

The material is very thin, in my opinion.

Other than that, it is a great bag.

And it's pretty stylish.

If you're an older traveler and you just

want a little bit more organization,

you're not like 20 years old, willing to put

everything in your backpack and just go,

this is definitely what you're looking for.

Next up: we have the Osprey Farpoint

55 liter.

The Osprey Farpoint comes in three

different capacities; 40 L, 55L, and 70L

Honestly, to be completely frank,

this is the bag that I would choose if

I were going on a 6 month trip

around the world.

It has storage space for everything

that you need.

This backpack has the best of both worlds.

When you open it up,

it has a ton of space on the inside, but

it also has organizational space

with this big neon colored

transparent zipper-guy,

which I would use for dirty clothes.

It's a little bit less breathable, but it does

have some nice shoulder straps.

It also has waist straps.

The padding is not as good as the Kelty.

If you're going to have to check your

bag for any reason, you can zip all the

shoulder straps and waist straps into itself.

The coolest part about the Osprey Farpoint