Welcome to the next video in our series about how to choose the best travel
backpack for you. In this video we're going to be taking a look at aesthetic. And
when you break it down - the aesthetic, the look and the style of a pack is
ultimately going to be important to you as an individual. But we will provide some
of our thoughts on different styles, as well as kind of have four different
style buckets that we can put, you know different backpack looks into for you to
help make your decision a little bit easier. So that first bucket is going to be
minimalist travel backpacks. These are slick designs with a low profile. They
are some of the best-looking bags for one bag travel, and they do stay the most
in line with traditional travel luggage. The next category we're going look at
are tactical backpacks. So these might have some military-influenced design on
them, and they're going to have a super high durability and a lot of specifications
going on with them. The third aesthetic bucket that we're going to be taking a look
at are outdoor and hiking backpacks. And you're going to see a lot of these if you
go to your local sporting goods store. You know there's going to be a lot of
brands that are there kind of specifically in use for the outdoors. And
these are the types of styles that a lot of backpackers will tend to use, you know,
on one of their first trips to say Europe or their first extended
trip to a different country. The last aesthetic bucket is going to be
heritage-style backpacks. So these are backpacks that you maybe would have seen
30, 40, 50, 60 years ago. They have a little bit more of that classic look; maybe use
a canvas material, whether that's faux or whether that's real. But this is kind of
a bucket that goes for more of a classic look. So without further ado, let's jump
right into the categories.
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When you're in a new country, think a little bit about how you're being
perceived. Do you want a super-loud, multicolored backpack that's huge?
Or do you want something that's a little bit more low-profile, and nice and muted
in colors? We're personally big fans of
minimalistic backpacks.
We think they have a slick look, and they have some
high function, and they tend to not have a bunch of dangling bits and bobs
hanging out of them. Versatility is also another important thing to consider with
these minimalistic style backpacks. If you're traveling for a long time you
want something that's very durable. But if it also looks professional,
that's great! If you do end up having a work meeting, or you're trying to look a
little bit more polished when you go to a cafe or somewhere public, you want to
hang out for the day. But again you can still take it out in the wilderness if
you need to. The aesthetic plays a big part in how you're perceived, and it can be
a lot better to look a little bit more professional if you can. And it can help
you in certain situations, especially work situations. We are seeing a ton of
solid urban packs that have been coming out in this aesthetic, and they
definitely lend themselves to be great one-bag travel packs. Again a lot of this
is based on our opinion and goes off of a lot of other travel trends that we've
seen other long-term travelers kind of have. So you can definitely feel free to
have another opinion, and that's totally fine with us.
The next category will cover our tactical backpacks. So these are usually
really high in durability that tend to be a little bit heavier, and all the
materials used in them can be fit for a war zone. There are a ton of great high-
quality backpacks in this category that are super durable and have high amounts
of functionality. So some of these bags may have a bunch of velcro on the
outside for morale patches or other velcroed items.
Others might have rows of MOLLE that allows you to attach
additional accessories onto your pack.
"MOLLE - short for modular lightweight load-carrying equipment - is the system of
heavy-duty stitched nylon or laser-cut fabric that's used to attach pouches,
pockets, or any other type of MOLLE- compliant gear to one another. The
attachment of MOLLE creates an almost permanent bond when in use, but it's easy
enough to detach if needed. This attachment system has become the
standard for modern, modular tactical gear." And again these packs are durable,
and they're basically tanks and they're going to hold up to the elements wherever
you see fit. There's only one thing to consider here -
although these bags are of high quality, you're not necessarily in a war zone. You
don't need all that extra durability and all those extra features, so maybe you
can get by with a little bit less. It's one thing if your tactical backpack is
black and subdued. But it's another if it's filled with digi camo, and a bunch
of patches, and a bunch of different MOLLE compatibility items strapped to the side.
Outdoor and hiking backpacks - think brighter colors, louder materials.
These packs are going to be what's available if you head to your local
sporting goods stores. So a lot of outdoor stores sell these packs and
there is a lot of utility to the brighter colors in the wilderness.
They're a lot easier to see if you're in the snow; it's a lot easier to see, you
know, a bright red pack if it's been buried in the snow versus a white one right? So
a lot of this utility kind of lends itself to being outdoors and in the
wilderness, and doesn't necessarily bring itself to one bag travel. So although
they work well in the wilderness and they're going to be good for you if you go
camping for a day or two, once you do get back into that city environment
these can look a little bit out of place. So the next category we'll take a look
at are heritage backpacks. These bags are designed with a classic look in mind,
so something that looks a little bit more old-school.
These backpacks are great, but unfortunately we found that a lot of
these fit into the day pack category. There are a couple that are suited for
one bag travel, but they're few and far between.
If these heritage backpacks are actually engineered how they used to be
engineered, that's going to require the usage of canvas which is a very heavy
material. It's a little bit harder to pull off this material when you're
trying to stay light for specific airlines for one-bag travel.
So although a bag can have the look and use modern-day materials, some of these
bags do use the actual material that they would have used you know, 40, 50 or
60 years ago. So maybe canvas, maybe thicker
brass buckles. And all this stuff might look cool, but it's going add a lot of
weight to your travel pack. And I'm assuming that you want to travel light
especially if you want to stay versatile. So wrapping it all up, or zipping it shut,
there really is no 'best' travel backpack for one-bag travel. But there is a best
travel backpack for you! We hope this guide kind of helped you get further to
identifying what's going to work well for you, your body type and your personal
preferences. If you do have any questions on a specific pack, let us know in the
comments below and we'll be sure to try to follow up and answer them no matter
how long this video has been live and published for. And again this guide is
available at packhacker.com in written format. So if that's more your speed, feel
free to check that out - we'll do our best to try to keep that updated as we move
forward. And if you do want to keep up to date with Pack Hacker and what we're
doing, the gear reviews we're working on, and the other guides that we're working on -
head over and sign up for our newsletter and you will never miss an update.
So thanks for taking a look at this guide. Again, we hope it was helpful!
We'll see you in the next one.
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