—

In just a few days, the family and I leave for an eight-day roadtrip to the East Coast. We’ll be visiting friends in Richmond, Virginia (who just had a baby; congrats Katie and Ed!) and Washington D.C., before heading on to the beach for a little, much-needed R an R. I thought it would be fun to take the opportunity to review my Topo Travel Bag, even if it is the older version. Enjoy!

FIT

The Travel Bag is designed as part of a modular system, and in true modular style can be worn as a backpack (with storable straps), a messenger, or carried as a duffel/briefcase. It also comes in two sizes, 30L or 40L (mine). Of course, all of this flexibility comes a bit at the price of absolute comfort. My similarly sized, 40L F-stop Loka, for instance, is a dedicated pack, and you certainly appreciate all of its adjustment points, internal frame and load bearing hip belt over long terrain, but then again, that’s not exactly the point of the Travel Bag. You begin to appreciate the fit of the Travel Bag when you need quick access to things like your passport or laptop, or if you need to carry a secondary bag (most of Topo’s smaller backpacks, like the Rover, clip on to the outside of the Travel Bag using included gatekeepers), or if you need a smaller profile than a traditional hiking pack, like the Loka with its hip belts swinging alongside, for slipping down those narrow aisles on planes and trains.

The shoulder straps are comfortable enough, and include both adjustable sternum straps and load lifters, which is a nice touch. The back panel has a breathable jersey style mesh, over (I think) a thin strip of EVA foam. It is comfortable enough for what the bag is designed to do, and even when I have it packed full, I don’t feel the contents of the pack poking me in the back.

In short, the Travel Bag is sleek and adaptable; a perfect solution to urban carry scenarios. One of the gatekeepers even doubles as a security lock:

—

—

FABRIC

Most of the packs in Topo’s line feature the durable 1000D Cordura nylon, that has become an industry staple in this segment, and the Travel Bag is available in this fabric also. However, my version, called “Ballistic Black”, is a 1680D Ballistic Nylon (also by Cordura, I believe). This is an exceptionally abrasion-resistant and durable fabric that was originally engineered in this denier by Tumi for their legendary Alpha line of briefcases and luggage (the ballistic weave was created by DuPont for the U.S. military in the 1950’s). I had one of these briefcases for almost 15 years, before it was stolen this May, and it looked essentially brand new, despite being my daily carry for most of that time. This fabric is generally treated with a sealant that locks out moisture, as in the Travel Bag.

I do not doubt that this bag will be used by me and my family for many years to come. If something were to break or tear, however, Topo offers a lifetime warranty on their fabrics, and will repair it for free (even if I’ve done some stitching on my own or added patches, etc.). That is an incredible benefit to buying into this brand, and something that is pretty rare to find in this day and age.

—

What a handsome silhouette!

—

CAPACITY

The 40L Topo Travel Bag is a diminutive monster, that just gobbles up whatever you need to bring. It is billed as a weekender, as are most 40L capacity bags, but I’ve managed to stuff an entire week’s worth of necessities in mine for this trip.

The bag has two compartments: an organizer and the main compartment. In the organizer, there are three pockets; one for a laptop up to 15″ (with a velcro latch closure), one for a cell phone or small tablet, and a zippered pocket for your wallet or whatever.

—

screen grab from video reviewer

—

But that’s not all you can pack in there. For my trip, I have the following items stored in the organizer pocket.

—

—

1. Cutter Backwoods Deet Insect Repellant (this is actually stored in one of the two water bottle pockets on either side of the exterior of the bag. Note: the water bottle pockets are tiny and there is no flex -they actually take away a bit of room from the interior! The bug spray is about as big a bottle as you can fit in there, so maybe you could get away with one of the small Mizu water bottles or a 12oz. plastic bottle).
2. Hand lotion
3. Ansel Adams exhibition catalogue (I like some light reading on vacay)
4. 2x BioLite PowerLight Minis (one loose and one in the Travelon organizer)
5. Travelon World Essentials Passport Organizer (contains business cards, three pensils/pens, and three small notebooks)
6. 2x Sea to Summit Xset (basically each one is a plate, a bowl and a cup)
7. 2x Sea to Summit Titanium utensils
8. Travelon World Essential Travel Organizer (BioLite PowerLight Mini, 2x BioLite Charge 20, Fujifilm Battery Charger, LaCie Rugged 4TB hard drive, and misc. cables)

Not at all bad for the FRONT of the bag.

—

manufacturer image of the 30L main compartment

—

In the main compartment of my 40L, I have the following items.

—

—

1. Topo Designs Pack Bag #1 (2 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of jeans, 4 t-shirts, 2 button-front shirts and underwear for a week)
2. Topo Designs Pack Bag #2 (socks for a week, 1 pair of hiking shoes)
3. Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor (blanket/lightweight sleeping bag)
4. BioLite SiteLight x 2 (USB operated string lights)
5. Sea to Summit Reusable Coffee Cups x2
6. Grand Trunk Trunktech Double Hammock
7. Grand Trunk 14er Straps
8. Monkey Mat Beach/Picnic Blanket
9. Topo Designs Dopp kit (stores items 4, 5, 10, and some family medicine)
10. Alpine Start Instant Coffee (week supply)
11. F-Stop Gear Mountain Series Harney Pouch/Sling (see below for contents)
12. Not pictured: F-Stop Gear Redfern Pouch (used as Dopp kit)

—

—

Contents of the F-stop Harney

1. Fujifilm X-E3
2. Fujifilm 16mm f/2.8 WR
3. Fujifilm 35mm f/2 WR
4. Fujifilm 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 OIS
5. A bunch of SD cards
6. 4 Spare Batteries (I may reduce this to two and throw in a small speed light)

I’d say that’s a pretty full kit for a single backpack, wouldn’t you?

NOTE: Topo has since updated the Travel Bag. Primary differences include a better laid out and larger organizer compartment and dual daisy chain webbing on the front of the pack vs. the single one on this version. That said, it is not enough to convince me to upgrade, and I actually prefer the central daisy chain, which better holds my tripod (see pic below). That said, I can see the benefit if you wanted to piggy back a smaller pack and attach items to the daisy chain simultaneously.

You can still find my version of the Travel Bag for sale online, both new and used.

—

—

RECOMMENDATION

This is a bag and a company that I wholeheartedly recommend. It does the job it promises to do, and then some.

What’s more, given the sturdy construction and generous warranty, this is a potentially lifelong product, a great thing to consider, both economically and with consideration for the environment (and super rare in this day and age).

I’ve outlined already a lot of the pack’s assets, but an additional reason to buy into this line is if you have other products that utilize gatekeeper loops. My current EDC is the F-Stop Ando 13, which because of its gatekeeper loops is compatible with this pack and can actually strap to the front. I’ll have a review of that bag coming up soon, so keep an eye out.

Photos shot using Apple iPhone 7+ and edited using Snapseed.