We love one bag Travel, where you only bring a single Carry on bag with you on trips. And without a doubt one of the best ways to do one bag travel is with a travel carry on Backpack. Especially for those wanting to be more mobile, backpacks can provide a great alternative to normal roller suitcases. I went on a trip to Europe in college and a backpack was the perfect pick for jumping on and off short flights and trains. Backpacks can be especially handy in places where rolling your bag is not a viable option. For example, surprisingly there are a lot of stairs to climb up and down at Japanese train stations, making a carry on backpack a great choice.

Recently several companies have started to really latch onto the idea of creating a no compromise carry on backpack complete with proper storage organization. So we decided to gather up our picks for the top ten best carry on backpacks for travel. We don’t necessarily have a number one here, but instead have decided to list our favorite features of these ten backpacks.

If you’re more interested in standard suitcase-style roller carry on bags check out our carry on buyer’s guide here.

Tortuga Travel Backpack

We are huge fans of Tortuga’s general approach to travel. They are apologetically all about one bag travel and have made one of the very best carry on backpacks on the market in their aptly named travel backpack. This is a maximum sized carry on backpack that is perfect for travelers and digital nomads alike. It can fit up to a 17 inch laptop and also features lockable main compartment zippers for any more valuable items. At 22x14x9″ and 44L this bag should on most airlines as carry on. On some discount European airlines you may want to under pack it a bit though. But the fact that it is soft-sided allows you to squeeze it into overhead bins when necessary.

One of the main drawbacks of many hiking style travel backpacks is that they pack from the top. This means you have to dump out all of your stuff if you need anything from the bottom of the bag. But the Totuga Travel Backpack (and many other bags on this list) packs like a normal suitcase. This is crucial. Lastly, the Tortuga integrates a full hip belt system so you don’t ruin your back on your 2 week tour of Southern France. Seriously this bag rocks!

Osprey Packs Farpoint 40

We are unabashed Osprey fanboys. Their stuff is always rock solid and retain one of the best warranties of any product in the world. If it breaks, they’ll fix it. Period. Its amazing. And one of their best bags just happens to be a travel carry on backpack. The Osprey Farpoint 40 Travel Backpack basically ticks every single box we have for a great carry on backpack. It is made of some of the world’s most durable fabrics. With a 210D ripstop outer fabric and a ridiculous 600D packcloth bottom, it will withstand pretty much anything your travel can throw at it. Both the hip strap system and the shoulder straps can easily be stowed under a back flap so when you stow it on the plane it is “dangle-free.” Again, this bag packs like a suitcase so you can easily get at the contents while traveling. Couple that with a surprisingly spacious inside and great compression straps and you have one of our favorite backpacks of all time.

This bag will be a bit smaller in volume than the Tortuga backpack so consider it for shorter trips or ones where you are bringing a second bag of some kind. For those of you that love the quality of Osprey but need something a bit beefier, check out our next pick…

Osprey Porter Travel Backpack

The Osprey Porter 46 is about as big of a backpack as you’ll want to get onto a plane as carry on. This is the big brother to the Farpoint and is simply an excellent bag. Again, fully panel loading for easy access to the bag’s contents. This bag actually doubles as a great duffel bag. I find this really handy as I often need a duffel bag for weekend trips and don’t want to have the less-than-professional look of a backpack on a business trip. But the fact that it converts does not really compromise the backpack features. It still has an excellent hip belt system and some of the most comfortable shoulder straps in the industry. For those digital nomads, the Porter 46 also has a dedicated laptop pocket, tablet sleeve and lockable zippers. Basically look at this bag as a bigger Osprey option. And it is great.

Eagle Creek Gear Hauler

I personally own a lot of Eagle Creek stuff. They just “get it” when it comes to practical travel. Match that with their almost obsessive attention to detail and quality and you have a real winner in the carry backpack space. Their Gear Hauler is just the first Eagle Creek entry in this list. Like the Osprey Porter, the Gear Hauler can play double duty as a duffel bag as well. And it is a fairly understated looking bag, meaning you could easily take this on a business trip with no problem, but also take it on an insane tour of Thailand… This bag is full featured, with a full sternum strap for keeping the load even across your body. And its protected with the same bi-tec fabric as the fabled Tarmac AWD carry on that we love so much. But our favorite thing about this bag is the various pockets throughout. If you are the type that wants to have everything in its place, grab a few packing cubes and you’ll feel right at home with this great carry on backpack from Eagle Creek.

Eagle Creek Expanse Hauler Carry-on Backpack

Eagle Creek markets their