Peak Design Travel Bag Review:The Perfect Bag For Globetrotters And Photographers

I have found my perfect travel bag: the Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L ($299.95). Now, it might not be for you but read on to find out why I love it.

This summer, I spent two months living out of the Peak Design Travel Backpack. Literally, it was my only bag. With me, I had my laptop, camera, and enough clothes and other travel sundries not to scare away other hotel and hostel guests.

I flew from Ireland to New York (where I spent a week) then got the train to Pennsylvania and Atlanta. After, I drove to Mobile followed by New Orleans. I then got the train from there to Chicago and on to Portland before flying to LA and then Mexico. In Mexico, we drove from Mexico City to Oaxaca and then through the mountains to Puerto Escondido. After two weeks going up and down the coast, we drove back along the same route and I flew home to Ireland via New York.

I’m telling you all this, not to brag, but to give you an idea of what I put this bag through. It carried everything I needed—as a carry on bag, mind you—for thousands of miles of travel by planes, trains, and automobiles. It held up to every bump, kick, and rainstorm. So, let’s dig in.

A Travel Camera Bag?

Peak Design is, first and foremost, a camera gear company. Their first product was a clip for mounting your camera on your backpack strap and they’ve only grown from there. I’m emphasizing this because I have been searching for the longest time for a great camera travel bag. Until now the market has had either great travel bags—like the Minaal Daily Carry ($299) or Cotopaxi Allpa ($220)—or great camera bags—from the likes of f-Stop—but there has been nothing that comfortably carried my camera, laptop, and a few days clothes that still counted as carry-on on most airlines and didn’t need to be completely unpacked at airport security.

So really, this is where the Travel Backpack hits the mark—hard. It’s the best bag yet for anyone who travels with a full camera set up but not an excessive amount of gear. The modular camera cubes, ranging in size from small ($49.95) to large ($89.95), clip securely into the bag and can carry anything from a single DSLR and lens to, if you need it, a full two DSLR, four lens set up.