The best backpack for long term travel

For trips where you'll be unpacking and repacking fairly frequently, and a carry-on bag isn't enough, I recommend the Macpac Pegasus Travel Backpack or similar.

After travelling with a few different backpack styles (top loading trekking packs, travel bags with integrated wheels) on both longer and shorter trips, I've settled on the features that are actually important in a backpack you can comfortably drag around the globe for a while:

• Front loading
• A single, cavernous internal space you can flexibly organise with packing cells
• Comfortable harness system for backpack mode
• Tough handles for suitcase mode

You probably don't need a hiking backpack explains why those are the four features that matter.

The Pegasus handles those needs wonderfully. Let's unzip & dig in.

Front loading

With the front flap open you can see the entire inside of the bag. You can reach everything without pulling everything else out. It's glorious.

And one compartment with one access point means only one zipper to lock at the airport.

One big compartment

The Pegasus' single, gaping, cavernous hole is the perfect size to fill with 5-10 packing cells and a couple of other bits and pieces.

The internal and external straps lock everything down. I've had this bag half empty, and I've had it crammed full and bursting at the seams. With the straps tightened it always holds its shape and is easy to carry around.

A good enough harness

Would this pack be ideal for a 6 day hike over the alps? Maybe not. But walking a mile or two between a train station and your hotel? It's comfortable and distributes the weight to my hips where I want it.

And when I get to the airport, the minimal harness zips away behind a flap, turning the pack into a boring box with two tough handles that make it easy to hoist around onto trolleys and off baggage carousels.

The day pack

Many backpacks come with a day pack that can be strapped to the back of the bigger pack to make up the advertised volume (so the 70L Pegasus is actually a 55L main pack + 15L day pack). I never really use that configuration in practice, and have another bag I prefer to use for carry-on and daytrips, but the included 15L pack is a totally reasonable option for your gadgets, passport, and an extra layer or two of clothes.

If the 70L Pegasus is a tad large, there's always the slightly smaller 65L Orient Express.

What about minimalist options?

Less is more, but on longer trips I've always preferred taking a bit more stuff than quite fits in those 40-45L carry-on backpacks. Waiting at the baggage carousel has never bothered me, and I haven't had trouble with my Pegasus on buses, trains or boats around the world.

That said, I do have a smaller 30L backpack I've used for trips of up to a couple of weeks to Southeast Asia. When you don't need to pack any warm clothes or extra shoes, carry-on is definitely enough!

If you're after in a smaller backpack for long term travel, ask r/OneBag.