Our pick

Topo Rover Pack

A flashy commuter bag

This striking bag’s pocket design allows you to separate your work essentials from the books and beverages you might want to take out during your commute.

Who this is for: A practical city commuter who appreciates a mountain aesthetic.

Why it’s great: The Topo Rover Pack combines a campground aesthetic (in colors ranging from flashy to subdued) with a practical design perfect for subway commutes. Its main pocket is basically a large bucket, with a divider for your laptop, that can expand to accommodate a lot of stuff: notebooks, books, chargers, lunch containers, headphones. Once it’s full, you can cinch it closed and then buckle it from the top. The outside of the bag features two zippered pockets, one in the flap top and one on the front of the bag; both are big enough to fit a portable charger, a snack, some cables, and a Kindle. The bag also has two expandable side pockets for water bottles, perfectly sized for Zojirushi travel mugs and Hydro Flask water bottles.

The bag itself is impressively light, at under 2 pounds, and it has cushy padded shoulder straps. That means that even when you’ve filled it with your work essentials, it’s still supremely comfortable to wear. And its fabric is water resistant, so if you get caught in a drizzle, you can rest assured that your gear will stay dry. Staff writer Thorin Klosowski, who has had a Topo Rover Pack for six years, said that it’s still in excellent shape and looks new despite heavy use.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The pockets on the front of the Topo Rover Pack, outside of the main bucket, are a little small. Ideally, they would be large enough to accommodate a small book so that you wouldn’t have to unbuckle, uncinch, and rummage through the interior just to access something to read during your commute. This isn’t a problem if you use a Kindle or spend your commute listening to podcasts or looking at your phone.

Some of my colleagues and I love the bright, bold colorways of the Topo Rover Pack (we tested navy/red). I couldn’t help but smile each time I caught a view of my reflection off a dirt-caked subway window. Others found the patterns tacky and childish. “It’d make more sense in a Gymboree store than on someone’s back,” said staff writer Justin Krajeski. Frankly, I don’t see a problem with this. But if you do, consider one of the bag’s neutral color options or one of our more minimalist picks.

—Daniel Varghese, associate staff writer

Dimensions: 18 by 12 by 3 inches
Weight: 1.6 pounds
Water bottle holders: two
Warranty: lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship
Maximum laptop size: 15 inches
Colors: olive/navy, forest/kelly, natural/black, navy/red, navy, turquoise/clay, ballistic black, royal/black, silver/charcoal

Who this is for: If you’re living the dongle life or have the compulsion to carry every piece of tech with you on your back, the eBags Professional Slim Laptop Backpack does more than hold everything—this pack keeps stuff organized and available for you when you need it.

Why it’s great: This bag holds and organizes an impressive amount of gear without bulging or becoming disorganized. And although some people don’t like its techie aesthetic, its ultra-functional organization is great if you carry many small things and want each of them to have a dedicated spot.

During my testing, I carted a 13-inch MacBook Pro and its charger, a 9.7-inch iPad Pro with the Smart Keyboard, a memo pad, a Sony α5100 mirrorless camera with kit lens, lens filters, a Seagate portable hard drive, an SD card, two USB-to-Lightning cables, a Micro-USB cable, a USB-A–to–USB-C adapter, the Jackery Bolt battery pack, my keys, a Zojirushi travel mug, and occasionally a small Ziploc container.

Loaded down with gear, the Professional Slim was comfortable, even when I lugged it around Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center during a four-day robotics competition. The wide shoulder straps and back padding distributed the weight well, and the large ventilation channel in the back panel did a decent job of fending off the inevitable back sweat.

The main pocket has a sleeve suitable for a laptop up to 17 inches, and the bag has a separate tablet pocket that you access from the top. But the real organizational strength lies in the front pocket, which has an arrangement of storage options and serves as a built-in cable organizer on the front of your bag. The pocket hinges sideways—“like opening the refrigerator,” as one of our testing-panel participants put it—so you don’t have to dig down into the bowels of the bag to access all of the cords, adapters, or small fiddly bits that you carry with you to make your technology work.

The bag also has an AC-adapter pocket at the bottom with a removable “crush-proof” case that’s just about the perfect size for my camera, lens filters, and a spare lens. Although I wouldn’t call it uncrushable, I felt safe throwing my camera in there.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The Professional Slim leans into the tech aesthetic a bit harder than other backpacks we tested, and it is one of the heaviest bags we tried—more than 3 pounds when empty. Paired with its rigid body, this weight makes it inconvenient to take along if I have to carry only a few things; in those situations I find myself reaching for a knapsack-like bag or a briefcase.

This bag is large, and its tall, broad layout may not fit well on some people’s backs. Our testing panel didn’t have any complaints, but we were able to test the fit on only a few different body types, so your mileage may vary.

Also, the interior lining of the bag I tested (the heathered graphite color option) was a vibrant shade of orange, which made small black gadgets easier to find. I liked it, but to some people it was too garish. If you don’t want the inside of your bag to be as bright and orange as a Big Buck Hunter arcade cabinet, try the true navy or brushed indigo color, each of which has a more reserved light blue interior.

—James Austin, updates writer

Dimensions: 19.5 by 14 by 7 inches
Weight: 3 pounds, 7 ounces
Water bottle holders: one
Warranty: lifetime against defects in material and workmanship
Maximum laptop size: 17 inches
Colors: solid black, brushed indigo, heathered graphite, sage green, true navy

Also consider: Aer Day Pack

Also great

Aer Day Pack

For the gearhead who appreciates a minimalist style

This bag is a good choice when you want most of your office tech on your back but you want the result to look more stylish than the eBags.

Who this is for: Anyone who doesn’t want to be so overtly techie but still wants some of the advantages of a tech backpack, or who doesn’t have quite as much small stuff to carry around.

Why it’s great: The Aer Day Pack offers a surprising amount of organization in its few pockets, all within a stylish, nondescript profile. It handled my laptop, my charger, my iPad, and everything else I needed on a day-to-day basis, but a fair amount of my stuff ended up getting thrown in and mixed up at the bottom of the main pockets.

The fabric of the Day Pack feels sturdier than that of the eBags Professional Slim. Aer bills the front panel as being water resistant, and in my testing water beaded on it. The material also did a fair job of keeping out any rainwater that got past my umbrella on my walks to and from the subway.

The pack pairs just as well with jeans and a T-shirt as it does with chinos and a button-up, making it useful for both weekend trips and workday treks. The wide, almost S-shaped straps kept the bag from bouncing around too much while I walked (or occasionally ran to catch a train), and plenty of plush padding on the straps and back panel kept the weight from digging into my shoulders or upper back.

And you can have it in any color you want, as long as you want black.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The front panel of this bag, a 900D polyester fabric with a polyurethane coating, was polarizing. Some testers (myself included) thought it added a bit of texture and depth to a design that was otherwise overly simple. Others hated the shimmery look and thought that it was cheap fabric masquerading as a premium feature or that it was needlessly flashy or bougie.

The Day Pack has a water bottle holder, but it’s on the inside of the laptop pocket—which maintains the bag’s simple silhouette—and I found it annoying to have to unzip my bag to get my morning coffee. (I also wouldn’t trust anything less reliably leakproof than my Zojirushi mug in there.)

It would also be nice if the bag came in at least a few other color options, because we can’t all be super-stylish tech goths.

—James Austin, updates writer

Dimensions: 18 by 13.5 by 5.5 inches
Weight: 2 pounds, 9 ounces
Water bottle holders: one
Warranty: practical lifetime for materials and workmanship
Maximum laptop size: 15 inches
Colors: black

Also consider: Timbuk2 Authority Laptop Backpack Deluxe

Also great

Timbuk2 Authority Laptop Backpack Deluxe

A tech bag that can take some abuse

This well-organized bag is made with tough materials but has relatively few pockets.

Who this is for: People who want a bag that’s rugged enough that they can throw it under the bench at a softball game and not worry about it or its contents getting trashed, but still stylish enough that it fits in all but the most formal of offices.

We tested the Deluxe version of this bag for this guide, but if a rubberized bottom and a tough outer material aren’t important to you, the regular Authority Laptop Backpack should work fine and is usually slightly cheaper.

Why it’s great: Whereas the eBags Professional Slim prioritizes pure functionality and organization, and the Aer Day Pack has less internal organization but offers a slick aesthetic, the Timbuk2 Authority Laptop Backpack Deluxe keeps things organized and protected with a tougher, 1,200-denier polyester exterior that keeps looking good even after you accidentally drop the bag on a muddy street.

Its exterior fabric feels textured and tough without being overly abrasive, and I had little trouble cleaning off clay and mud from after-work softball games. The straps feel well made—stiff and robust—yet still comfortable, even without as much padding as on the other bags’s straps.

The front organizational pocket is spartan compared with those of the other bags I tried, with a large zipper pouch, two open pockets, and two pen slots, but it’s laid out well enough that all of my gear found a place. I found the two seperate exterior zipper pockets on the front useful for smaller things that I wanted to access regularly, such as my keys, my external battery pack, and my SD card. It also has two main storage pockets, one with a sleeve suitable for a memo pad or a tablet with extra space for bulkier items, and the other a dedicated laptop pocket at the very back.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The tablet/memo-pad sleeve was extremely narrow and stiff, which made getting stuff in and out difficult at times—and although the front pocket had a large zipper opening, two pieces of elastic fabric attached halfway down limited how wide it could open.

Also, the buckles on the bottom, ostensibly to expand and contract the storage space of the middle pocket as needed, didn’t seem to do much.

—James Austin, updates writer

Dimensions: 18 by 15 by 3.5 inches
Weight: 2 pounds, 10 ounces
Water bottle holders: one
Warranty: lifetime on materials and workmanship
Maximum laptop size: 17 inches
Colors: titanium, black

Our pick

Rains Backpack Mini

A stylish backpack for the minimalist commuter

With sleek lines and a flat-to-the-body shape, the Rains is tiny and stylish—but it’s suited only to the most minimalist of commuters, as its thin straps make it uncomfortable with heavy loads.

Who this is for: Someone who doesn’t need to pack much more beyond a small laptop, a light sweater, and a juicy novel—someone who cares about style and wants a bag that’s small, fashionable, and functional.

Why it’s great: If you’re going to be wearing a backpack to work every day, it needs to be fashionable but even more so functional—comfortable, smartly organized, and easy to commute with. The Rains Backpack Mini balances those seemingly opposed qualities in a slim package. It’s gorgeous: Sleek, minimalist lines keep it from veering into ostentatiousness, and even the pastel-hued color options feel professional. Unlike some of the other bags we considered (such as the too-casual Herschel), this Rains model looks good over business-casual office wear but also perfectly cute thrown over a pair of denim overalls (which is how I wore it the week of an apartment move after accidentally packing up every other article of clothing I owned). The days I carried it for testing, I even received a few compliments from strangers—an unheard-of event on the otherwise aloof streets of New York.

The Rains bag’s smart organization and petite size make it ideal for commuting. A back zippered section securely holds a phone and transit pass for easy access during rush hour, and its small, flat shape means it won’t cause you to bump into a grumpy subway rider who will certainly not be assuaged by your sincere “Ope! Sorry!” When the train is too crowded for backpacks (or when the aforementioned subway grump makes a comment), you can grab the bag by its comfortable top handle. The Rains doesn’t have space for much, but its laptop pouch and inner zippered pocket—perfect for your laptop and phone chargers—keep your basics organized, with room for a few more items if needed.

If you tend to lose umbrellas and forget to check the weather before stumbling out of your place late for work (not that I know anything about that), the waterproofing on the Rains is a gift from the subway gods. I tested this feature accidentally when walking from my favorite coffee shop through a brief lightning storm, and the Rains, true to its name, kept everything in the bag totally dry. In addition to weather security, the bag’s combination of magnetic flap snaps and a carabiner closure makes it hard for someone to reach in and steal your laptop.

Updates writer Jordan Bowman, who has been using the Rains Backpack Mini as a daily commute bag for around six months, said that it still looks good and that the waterproofing has held up well during significant downpours.

Finally, it’s one of the most affordable small backpacks we tested, and it comes with a decent, two-year warranty.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The thin straps on the Rains Backpack Mini are part of what makes it look so sleek and professional, but that design also means that it’s not as comfortable as other bags with thicker straps. Still, because the bag can’t fit too much anyway (it can hold a laptop of only 13 inches), your shoulders will be safe from strain unless you’re filling it up with sand (which we don’t recommend, at least until Wirecutter publishes its “The Best Backpacks for Transporting Rock and Mineral Particulates” guide). Jordan, reflecting on his six months of use, confirmed this, saying the straps “sometimes burrow into my sides, but I’m willing to deal with a slight annoyance for a sleek and well-designed bag.” Also, although we love the waterproof polyurethane-polyester blend for guarding against surprise rainstorms, we can see it getting warm on a hot day. We’ll continue to test the bag through the summer and update this guide with our findings.

—Dorie Chevlen, updates writer

Dimensions: 17 by 10.5 by 4 inches
Weight: 1.6 pounds
Water bottle holders: none
Warranty: two-year warranty plus 30 days to return
Maximum laptop size: 13 inches
Colors: black, light gray, lavender, mint green

Also consider: Matt & Nat Alex

Also great

Matt & Nat Alex

A refined small backpack made of vegan leather

Slightly larger and more traditionally backpack-looking than the Rains Mini, the Matt & Nat Alex is constructed of supple vegan leather.

Who this is for: Someone seeking a small backpack who likes the look of vegan leather and a more traditional backpack shape than the Rains offers, as well as thicker straps to account for a larger capacity.

Why it’s great: Matt & Nat’s Alex backpack is made from soft vegan leather, comes in a Crayola-box assortment of color options, and can hold a bit more than the Rains Backpack Mini. But the Rains is waterproof, offers twice the warranty, looks just as attractive to us, and typically costs only two-thirds as much, making it the better option for most people.

Still, if aesthetics are your primary concern in a commuting backpack, and you don’t love the look of the Rains, it’s hard to beat the handsome Matt & Nat. Whereas some backpacks threaten to make wearers look adolescent, this one is all business, from its classic silhouette and exposed zipper to its metal strap rings. The two bags have the same internal organization, but the slightly bigger Matt & Nat can carry a bit more than the Rains—you could maybe fit in a lunch in addition to a laptop, book, and sweater—but as a consequence, this bag is bigger.

Like the Rains bag, the Matt & Nat has a smart against-the-back zipper for you to securely access keys or a transit pass, and its thick, adjustable straps felt comfortable on my shoulders, even when I accidentally took the express train uptown and ended up wearing it while schlepping back home (if you’re going to go full Macaulay Culkin, get lost in New York in style, I say).

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The Matt & Nat is a bit boxier than the Rains, which could be problematic on crowded train cars, though at least its handle is big and comfortable should you have to hold it near your legs. And this is a small issue, but you could easily scratch your laptop against the bag’s metal zipper as you place it into its pocket; for most testers, the scratching sound barely registered, but as someone with a particular aversion to metal scraping sounds (a fork against my tooth would probably kill me), I found it literally cringe-inducing. Also, Matt & Nat’s vegan leather can get sweaty against the back on hot summer days, according to staff members who have used the company’s bags previously.

—Dorie Chevlen, updates writer

Dimensions: 15 by 11 by 3.5 inches
Weight: 1.6 pounds
Water bottle holders: none
Warranty: one-year limited warranty
Maximum laptop size: 13 inches
Colors: black, lily, pomegranate, slate, pine

Our pick

ISM The Backpack

An elevated classic backpack

This traditional-looking bag elevates its classic form through the use of leather and metal accents to make it subtly style-forward.

Who this is for: Someone who values a comfortable, attractive bag with lots of storage and wants it to look more stylish, subtle, and refined than most other backpacks.

Why it’s great: ISM’s The Backpack is a great choice if you want a stylish, sophisticated backpack that’s comfortable to wear for a long time and has enough storage for a long day of work (notably more storage than in small fashionable bags like the Rains). It fits a variety of body sizes and looks a cut above everything my co-workers tested (in my opinion), thanks to its full-grain leather bottom.

The ISM (pronounced “-ism”) Backpack is a sleek, demure-looking bag, with understated leather flourishes providing a subtle contrast to its primary nylon construction. It’s leather bottom and trim details make it suitable for attending important meetings at the office, or for impressing your date so thoroughly that they forget you were late to dinner because of said meeting.

The ISM bag is comfortable to wear on your back for long periods of time. The mesh padding on its arms and back is plush, and I had no issue wearing the backpack for a cumulative 10 hours while testing. Riding on subways, waiting for coffee, shopping at a vintage vinyl record outpost in Soho—we’ve done it all together, the ISM and I. And I never felt like it was overheating my back.

It has enough storage space to cover you in most situations. I counted six pockets and two main compartment areas, including a laptop sleeve for a 15-inch laptop. Most other backpacks I tested didn’t provide as much room as the ISM for storing notebooks and folders. The ISM pack provides a teeny leather flap on the right side, where you can pass through a phone charger from the inside of the bag.

ISM offers a lifetime warranty that applies to manufacture defects in the bag’s materials. I couldn’t find a warranty this long for any of the other stylish backpacks I tested; some, like the AllSaints Ridge Rucksack, offer only a farcical 14-day return window.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: At its usual price of $235, ISM’s The Backpack is expensive, so I recommend this bag only to those who care deeply about appearances. The lifetime warranty makes this pricey pill a touch easier to swallow compared with other fashionable bags like those from AllSaints and Saturdays, which have a paltry two-week return policy. The ISM pack also lacks side pockets, but if you’re carrying a bag for style, it’s better to avoid any situation where a week-old plastic water bottle might be lodged in its side.

—Justin Krajeski, staff writer

Dimensions: 18 by 13.5 by 5 inches
Weight: 1.8 pounds
Water bottle holders: none
Warranty: lifetime (manufacturing defects only)
Maximum laptop size: 15 inches
Colors: black with black accents, black with gold accents

Also consider: Knomo Albion

Also great

Knomo Albion

A leather backpack for turning looks and stunting pretty

The Knomo Albion is a backpack made from full-grain, eco-friendly leather, with one compartment and comfortable mesh padding on its straps and back.

Who this is for: Anyone who wants to wear a fashionable backpack to make a statement, and who would prefer a backpack with one compartment to one with more pockets.

Why it’s great: If you’re a smart dresser and you aren’t scared of a little—or a lot of—leather, the Knomo Albion makes for a polished pick that’s more comfortable than any other stylish backpack I tested, except for ISM’s The Backpack. The Knomo has only one main storage compartment to the ISM’s two, so it isn’t as functional, and it has a shorter warranty: ISM covers you for its bag’s lifetime, while Knomo’s warranty on the Albion lasts only two years. But the Albion is made entirely of full-grain, eco-friendly leather (the company uses 100 percent recycled water during the tanning process), and thanks to the mesh padding on its back and its straps, this Knomo bag is nearly as comfortable as the ISM bag to carry around from home to office.

The Knomo Albion is an attractive option available in black or brown, but its leather exterior makes it a much less modest-looking choice than the ISM: This is the laptop backpack you buy when you’re not afraid of your backpack being more luxurious and more decadent than anything else you’re wearing.

Throughout a testing period of about two weeks, I used the Knomo Albion for around 10 hours and found no issue with its comfort. The mesh padding on the back and the double-padded shoulder straps make it comfortable to throw over your back and carry around town when you’re heading out on an adventure. I never had any trouble with overheating while I used it.

The Albion has one big backpack compartment with six pockets, including a sleeve for a 15-inch laptop. This design is a step down from what you get with the ISM bag, which offers two compartments. Still, everything stays nicely organized inside the Albion, and you can easily fit a variety of accessories in there. If you have fewer things to carry, or if you don’t want to have to go searching through two separate compartments to locate an overdue library book, this may be the better backpack for you. Overall, there’s just less to worry about.

Knomo London offers a two-year warranty for the Albion bag that covers any defects in materials and workmanship. Although that is a solid warranty period, it pales in comparison to ISM’s lifetime warranty on its bag.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: As I’ve mentioned, the Knomo bag has just one backpack compartment, which may feel limiting. Like the ISM, it doesn’t have any side pockets, but I don’t think you’ll miss those if you’re buying for style more than for utility (or even if you value style and utility in equal measure). It’s also quite expensive, at $200, but it’s worth that price tag.

—Justin Krajeski, staff writer

Dimensions: 16 by 14 by 4.3 inches
Weight: 3.3 pounds
Water bottle holders: none
Warranty: two years
Maximum laptop size: 15 inches
Colors: brown, black

Our pick

Thule Vea Backpack 25L

A sleek bag for all your work and workout gear

With separate sections for your gym clothes and work gear, the Thule keeps your dirty shoes away from your laptop—while remaining comfortable to carry and maintaining a striking shape.

Who this is for: A stylish commuter who stops off at the gym, or a corporate softball game, on their way home from work—or anyone who needs to pack a change of clothes for the day.

Why it’s great: A good gym bag keeps your gym gear separate from everything else you commute with, and is big and well organized enough that it can hold both sets of items without being uncomfortable. The Thule Vea Backpack 25L feels a bit like Hermione Granger’s enchanted handbag from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—even after I had packed it full with my laptop, notebooks, a paperback, a laptop charger, an external power adapter, a water bottle, shorts, a T-shirt, clean underwear, socks, and running shoes, it maintained a refined shape that didn’t make me stand out. Plus, it still had room for even more stuff.

A commuter’s gym bag needs to carry all of your gym and office supplies but also allow you to separate and organize them. You do not want sweaty socks touching your work computer! The Thule Vea makes that organization easy. Its back area contains a laptop sleeve, a tablet sleeve, a zippered compartment for cables and other small items, and an internal area for books and notebooks. You can stuff your clothes and a water bottle in the main front pocket and put your shoes in a separate zippered compartment at the bottom of the bag, which shares space with the main pocket. Any incidentals, such as keys or a Kindle, that you need quick access to can go into the zippered pouch that folds over and buckles to the top of the bag. Basically it’s gym stuff in the front, party (work) in the back.

While wearing this bag between my commutes to the office, the yoga studio, the gym, and my apartment, I never felt like I was carrying that much. The bag spread weight evenly across my back. And its pads are cushioned enough that I didn’t feel like they were digging into my shoulders.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The Vea is a little big, an unfortunate result of how much a bag that transitions between the gym and office must be able to hold. That would be a bigger issue if we didn’t like the shape of the Vea, which evokes the long, trapezoidal bucket bags that bike commuters most commonly use. And unlike other Thule bags, the Vea comes in only one color—a murky gray that elicited mixed reactions from other staffers. I think the color is fine, though I wish Thule had more options. We also wish that the Vea had an external water bottle pocket so you could access a beverage easily while commuting, and that it had waterproof or water-resistant external fabric.

—Daniel Varghese, associate staff writer

Dimensions: 19 by 14 by 15 inches
Weight: 2.7 pounds
Water bottle holders: none
Warranty: limited lifetime warranty
Maximum laptop size: 15 inches
Colors: gray

Also consider: The North Face Pivoter

Budget pick

The North Face Pivoter Backpack

The cheapest way to carry all of your gym and office gear

This big, affordable bag serves double duty at work and at the gym—but it lacks the Thule’s dedicated shoe pocket and sleek aesthetic.

The North Face Women’s Pivoter Backpack

The cheapest way to carry all of your gym and office gear

The women’s version of the backpack offers a slightly different back panel and shoulder-strap fit that might be more comfortable on certain torsos. It’s still big enough to hold everything you need for work and the gym.

Who this is for: Someone who wants a bag that can go from work to the gym but wants to spend less than $100, doesn’t have large feet, and is okay with a bag that has a style midway between what they might have worn to college and what they’d take on a day hike.

Why it’s great: The North Face Pivoter Backpack is a laptop backpack that you can use as a gym bag too, as long as you’re willing to make some compromises. The bag features one primary compartment, which includes a sleeve to accommodate devices and notebooks up to 13 inches wide, and two supplementary zippered areas.

Unlike the Thule Vea, the Pivoter doesn’t have a dedicated shoe compartment, and neither of its two zippered areas was quite large enough for my men’s size 12½ shoes (though the pocket in the very front offered a roomy fit for a co-worker’s women’s size 9 shoes), so I wrapped them in a plastic bag and packed them in the main compartment. Then I was able to pack my shorts, a T-shirt, and socks in the front supplementary compartment (with my keys and portable charger in the internal zippered section) and to tuck my Kindle and laptop charger into the middle supplementary area. The bag also features two exterior elastic side pockets that can expand to accommodate a thick 1-liter Nalgene water bottle or tighten to secure a thinner Zojirushi insulated coffee mug.

Thanks to the thick, cushy shoulder straps and a padded back panel with an air vent down the middle, I hardly noticed the Pivoter on my back as I dodged pedestrians on my way to the office in the city. And even though the overall design of the bag is a bit bland, we appreciate the fact that the bag comes in many different colorways.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: As I mentioned, if you have larger feet, the Pivoter doesn’t give you a great way to separate your shoes from the rest of your belongings. Its comfort and capacity make up for that limitation, but we think the Thule Vea is much easier to pack regardless of shoe size. Additionally, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who would claim the Pivoter looks professional, even in a more relaxed office. Some color combinations seem a little less casual than others, but none can overcome the fact that the design of the Pivoter is a bit juvenile. The bag’s polyester material is also not waterproof or even water resistant.

—Daniel Varghese, associate staff writer

Dimensions: 20 by 12 by 5.5 inches
Weight: 2.1 pounds
Water bottle holders: two
Warranty: lifetime guarantee against defects in materials and workmanship
Maximum laptop size: 13 inches
Colors: black camo, gray/fiery red, blue bandana print, khaki camo/beige, heather gray/black, black, gull blue/teal, gray/tin, blue/purple, pink/plum, tin/gray

Who this is for: Someone who wants to transport everything they could possibly need for the day—but doesn’t want to lose space or to limit what they can carry due to internal dividers or organization.

Why it’s great: With only the bare minimum of internal organization, the Patagonia Arbor Classic can just as easily hold the ingredients for a dinner party or a weekend’s worth of clothes. It offers a manageable size that you can easily compact on the days when you’re not lugging the kitchen sink around.

I tested many backpacks that promised a similar capacity (about 25 liters) and found that they were often configured in a way—typically, with a multitude of internal dividers—that greatly reduced their usable capacity. For example, the ArcTeryx Granville’s narrow zippered opening prohibited me from stuffing in larger items such as a bag of climbing gear or laying a large Tupperware down flush with the bottom.

The Arbor Classic posed no such issue. During my testing in Cambodia, it comfortably held my travel pillow, two paperbacks, my laptop and charger, a rain jacket, my cell phone and charger, snacks, and a large bottle of water. Even when it was fully stuffed, I was able to easily pull out my laptop or slide it back in.

Back home, I’ve taken the Arbor Classic walking, biking, and riding on buses and trains. The padded straps were comfortable and easy to adjust, even when the backpack and all my stuff weighed over 20 pounds.

In addition to its supermassive black-hole main compartment, the Arbor Classic has a laptop sleeve and two deep pockets; one perfect for keys, pens, makeup, and a phone on the front of the bag, and one inside the flap large enough for a thick paperback. And one of my favorite features of the Arbor Classic is that when you’re carrying a light load, you can tighten the drawstring and flap straps to reduce the bag’s footprint.

It’s not the most sophisticated bag to look at: Its informal retro-schoolbag looks pass muster in casual San Francisco but might look out of place in a cocktail bar. But this impression may be related to the beige color we tested; the new black and navy versions look more professional and won’t show stains as easily.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The Arbor Classic doesn’t have a water bottle pocket. Although it offers plenty of space inside to stash a bottle if you have one, that isn’t as convenient.

The lack of pockets, in general, helps the Arbor Classic retain its black-hole quality, but a small zippered internal pocket would be a practical addition for keeping items such as a passport or a pair of headphones safe and easy to find.

While I was in Cambodia, a man on a motorcycle grabbed my shoulder bag and drove off (with me still attached). When the bag strap broke, I was thrown to the ground and my arm was badly sprained. After the injury, I had no trouble getting the Arbor Classic on and off, but I found that the drawstring and buckles were finicky; squeezing the buckle open hurt my arm, and I never found a good way to negotiate the drawstring one-handed. A bag with a zipper may be more convenient for anyone who has trouble using their hands or arms, whether because of an injury or disability.

—Korrena Bailie, senior editor

Dimensions: 20 by 12 by 9 inches
Weight: 1.3 pounds
Water bottle holders: none
Warranty: lifetime guarantee if you’re not satisfied with your item or it doesn’t perform to your satisfaction; wear and tear damage will be repaired for a charge
Maximum laptop size: 15 inches
Colors: black, navy with brown trim, khaki with teal trim, gray with green trim, purple with teal trim, brown with khaki trim, teal with gray trim

Who this is for: If you ride your bike to work, you need a backpack that’s sturdy and durable, comfortable, and big enough to hold all your gear. Unlike other commuters—who can get away with carrying only a laptop and a few other work essentials—bike commuters need ample space for a helmet, a bike lock, a water bottle, a raincoat and pants, a change of clothes, toiletries, and more.

Why it’s great: After spending 10 hours researching the best backpacks for bike commuting, we spent a total of six hours testing the top contenders, including weighing them on a digital scale, stuffing them full of gear and biking around Central Park, and having a panel of five Wirecutter staffers examine and opine on each one. Of the eight backpacks we tested, Chrome’s Urban Ex Rolltop 28L Backpack was the clear favorite.

It’s fully waterproof, it has a rugged exterior, and it fits 28 liters’ worth of gear—the bag is big enough to carry everything a bike commuter needs but not so large that it’s unmanageable. It has a rolltop closure that allows you to easily expand the main compartment when you need to cram in lots of gear, or even to shrink it for lighter loads. In addition to its padded laptop sleeve, which is big enough to fit a 15-inch MacBook Pro, it has another internal pocket with slots for a phone and a couple of pens plus a key ring, as well as a handy and watertight zip-up pocket on the top.

The Urban Ex Rolltop is widely available, relatively affordable, and covered by a limited lifetime warranty. It has adjustable buckles across the chest to keep the pack secure while you’re riding, as well as MOLLE loops on the outside to clip on a helmet, a U-lock, a light, and other accessories. You should attach extra reflectors and lights for riding at night, but the reflective strips on the Urban Ex Rolltop are more substantial than those on some other bags we tested—which is important for visibility during golden-hour and early-morning rides.

The back and shoulder straps of the Urban Ex Rolltop are cushy and well padded, plus they have mesh and built-in slits for ventilation. And dual handles on the top and sides make the bag easy to grab and carry.

The Urban Ex Rolltop is also available in an 18-liter version, which is smaller than both the version we tested and the Timbuk2 Prospect. While we didn’t test it, we’re confident in its quality, though it might be a bit small for some bike commuters.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The Urban Ex Rolltop is the biggest bike-appropriate model we tested, and although we think its large size is necessary for the job it’s meant to do, it might be too bulky for some people, especially more casual commuters. It also has a slightly less intuitive closure than those of other bags we tested—you have to roll up the top and strap the ends down with buckles on the side—but we found it easy enough to maneuver after a few tries. Lastly, the Urban Ex Rolltop doesn’t have a designated spot for a water bottle, but it does offer plenty of room for one in its cavernous main compartment.

—Sarah Witman, associate staff writer

Dimensions: 24 by 16.5 by 7 inches
Weight: 2.5 pounds
Water bottle holders: none
Warranty: lifetime
Maximum laptop size: 15-inch MacBook Pro
Colors: black, khaki, red

Also consider: Timbuk2 Custom Prospect

Also great

Timbuk2 Custom Prospect Laptop Backpack

Slimmer, more organization

The Custom Prospect is as slim and stylish as it is comfortable and durable. It’s not as big as our top pick for bike commuters, but it has lots of slots and pockets for organization.

Who this is for: Most people in our panel test said the Chrome Urban Ex Rolltop was much too big and utilitarian for their needs. If you have a short, leisurely bike commute and don’t need to carry lots of gear, go with the Timbuk2 Custom Prospect.

Why it’s great: Like our top pick for bike commuters, the Timbuk2 Custom Prospect Laptop Backpack meets all of our major requirements. It has a limited lifetime warranty, offering peace of mind on a purchase that will need to withstand a lot of wear and tear. Its rolltop closure allows you to extend the main compartment or make it smaller, depending on how much gear you’re carrying. The version we tested had both waterproof paneling and an internal plastic liner, ensuring that our laptop and our other important office supplies stayed dry. The chest straps are easy to adjust and buckle, keeping the pack securely attached to your torso while you’re riding or walking. And reflective details on the straps help with visibility, keeping you safe during low-light rides.

The Custom Prospect has a sleek exterior and a slim profile that some people might like more than the Urban Ex Rolltop’s hefty, industrial-chic look. Plus, it has water-bottle pockets on either side, whereas the Urban Ex Rolltop has none. As for ventilation, this Timbuk2 bag has mesh on the shoulder straps and back while the Chrome bag has it just on the straps, though the geometric padding on the back of the Chrome bag still offers plenty of breathability.

The Custom Prospect is also a bit more organized than the Urban Ex Rolltop. It has padded, Velcro-latched slots for a 15-inch laptop and a tablet or notebook inside, with external access through a zipper at the top of its back panel. Plus, a zip-up pocket and two other fabric slots inside the main compartment can hold other accessories such as a phone, a power bank, pens, and charging cables.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The Custom Prospect doesn’t have loops to hold a helmet or U-lock, but you can make do by clipping your accessories into the straps on top. Also, as on our top pick, the closure is a little fiddly—you have to fold the top over once, Velcro it, and then buckle the straps—but handling that takes only a couple of seconds. One of the biggest drawbacks of the Custom Prospect is that it takes a few weeks to ship because you have to get it custom-made (since Timbuk2 bags are not normally waterproof). This delay is a major bummer, but the bag is ultimately worth the wait for most people since the waterproofing keeps laptops and other important work-related items protected from rain. Also, Timbuk2 doesn’t allow returns of custom-made bags, though the company still covers them under its warranty. Lastly, although this backpack can fit a 15-inch MacBook Pro, a water bottle, a sweatshirt, and a few other small items, you’ll need more space if you want to pack a change of clothes. But if you’re a casual bike commuter—and if you hate the bulky, industrial look of the Chrome Urban Ex Rolltop—the Timbuk2 Custom Prospect is the better option for you.

—Sarah Witman, associate staff writer

Dimensions: 22 by 11 by 5 inches
Weight: 1.5 pounds
Water bottle holders: two
Warranty: lifetime
Maximum laptop size: 15-inch MacBook Pro
Colors: black, army green, charcoal, beige

Our pick

Fjällräven Räven 28 Backpack

A plane commuter’s laptop bag

The Fjällräven Räven 28 looks like a minimal backpack but has the organization you need while you’re running to catch your next flight out of town.

Who this is for: Check out this bag if you need one that has enough space for an overnight business trip and enough organization for you to grab things quickly in a TSA line, plus a structure and style that’ll still look good when you show up at the office after a red-eye.

Why it’s great: The durable Fjällräven Räven 28 Backpack has a water-resistant exterior and a plethora of pockets, and it’s extremely comfortable to wear. Interior and exterior organization spots are plentiful and convenient, including a pair of external water bottle pockets that are equally handy as holsters for travel documents such as a boarding pass or a customs form. It’ll fit neatly below your seat as a personal item, yet it has the room for a 15-inch laptop, your business gear, a change of clothes or two, and a pair of slim shoes or flats.

In our tests we easily zipped a laptop in and out of the bag while in a TSA line, saving precious seconds and avoiding glares from fellow travelers. The laptop compartment has a spacious open area and a second pocket for organizing documents, tucking in a binder, or holding a tablet for in-flight entertainment.

The zippered middle pocket is roomy enough for a change of clothes, shoes, and a toiletry kit, so you don’t have to push those items out of the way to get to your laptop. The other organized pockets on the front of the bag can help you prioritize access to pens, business cards, adapters, and cables, which would otherwise roll around in the main compartment.

The Räven 28 is made of a durable poly-cotton blend, and it has decent water resistance when you purchase it. If you need more protection, you can have the bag waxed like a storm coat.

The bag is not as boxy as the Fjällräven Kånken seen in schoolyards everywhere, and it has much less obvious branding. You can get one in a businesslike black or a slightly more interesting navy blue, but the company has nine other color choices to fit a multitude of personal tastes.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: While the Räven 28 fit our 5-foot-6 reviewer perfectly, it was a bit large for another tester, who is 5-foot-1.

Both water bottle pockets are sewn close to the sides of the bag. This design ensures that they won’t look flabby when they’re empty, but it also means that your bottles may have a snug fit. A fully loaded bag’s interior space may prevent you from fitting bottles in the pockets. On the other hand, a less-than-full bag means that 1-liter or larger bottles will fit fine.

Unlike on the Briggs & Riley bag (read more below), the Räven’s exterior has no hidden RFID-safe pockets, but the zippered fifth pocket on the top of this bag is handy for quickly storing earbuds, phones, sunglasses, and other items you might not want in your pockets while you’re going through security.

—Joel Santo Domingo, senior staff writer

Dimensions: 19 by 13 by 9 inches
Weight: 2.2 pounds
Water bottle holders: two
Warranty: lifetime, but doesn’t include accidental damage
Maximum laptop size: 15 inches, with room
Colors: dusk, storm, redwood, black, navy, dark olive, blue ridge, deep blue, dandelion, super grey, chestnut

Also consider: Briggs & Riley Kinzie Street Slim Expandable Backpack

Upgrade pick

Briggs & Riley Kinzie Street Slim Expandable Backpack

Slimmer and prettier, for a price

Choose the Briggs & Riley if you need a stylish laptop bag to take to senior-level business meetings, usually in other cities, states, or countries.

Who this is for: Folks who are constantly on the move between home and some distant meeting—and who want a bag with more style and panache, and are willing to pay over double the price of the Fjällräven Räven 28.

Why it’s great: The Briggs & Riley Kinzie Street Slim Expandable Backpack looks at home in a professional office—but it looks even better at the five-star resort stay you’ve earned with all your points. It offers excellent organization for a compact daily commute bag, and it expands to hold a change of clothes for overnight trips. It also has a lifetime warranty that covers even accidental damage. Although it’s typically three times the price of the Fjällräven Räven 28, for someone who travels constantly and needs a bag that looks extremely professional, it’s worth that cost for its refined business-appropriate style, its excellent construction, its travel-specific amenities, and a warranty that will cover it even if it gets run over by a baggage cart at the airport.

Briggs & Riley’s Kinzie Street slim backpack looks like a portfolio bag with two shoulder straps. The flap cover has magnets to keep it in place, so it’s easier to undo than covers with buckles and straps. The finely textured fabric and the soft leather accents on the top handle and flap feel luxurious.

An integrated strap on the back of the bag is designed to slip over the telescoping handle on a rolling suitcase. We were able to run through a hallway with the backpack secured to the suitcase, a nice contrast to having it flopping all over the place like a traditional laptop case just hanging on the carry-on by its top strap. It’s a welcome feature on those occasions when you’re rushing to make a tight connection between flights.

The laptop pocket has enough space to swallow a 15-inch laptop. We suspect that some 17-inch laptops will fit as well, because we had inches of room around the Dell XPS 15 we used as a gauge. Removing the laptop from the case in a TSA line was easy. After we moved the magnetic flap aside, the zippers were among the smoothest to open during our tests.

You can expand the middle chamber by unzipping around its exterior to free another few inches of space—enough for a change of clothes. This compartment has a padded tablet pocket that fit our 15-inch laptop snugly, so it is possible to carry two full-size laptops in the bag. That same middle chamber is filled with pockets to organize business cards and credit cards, pens, digital styluses, power adapters, and cables.

There are two other pockets of note. The front zippered pocket is handy for dumping everything on your person, such as your keys, wallet, and phone, right before you’re virtually frisked by a millimeter wave scanner in the TSA line. The other pocket is an RFID-shielded zippered pocket on the back face of the bag. The pocket stays hidden while you have both shoulder straps on, and it’s large enough to hold credit cards, a family’s passports, or any other documents you need to keep secure but accessible.

Like the Räven 28, the Kinzie Street slim backpack fit our 5-foot-6 tester almost perfectly, with no bunching or awkward pressure on the shoulder straps. It fit a little better than the Räven for our 5-foot-1 tester, especially in its compact form.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Although you can carry a change of clothes and your laptop in this bag, it will be too full if you also need to carry a binder or shoes. The Fjällräven Räven 28 is a better choice for holding thicker items such as sneakers. No water bottle pocket, either.

The Briggs & Riley Kinzie Street has a lifetime warranty that covers even accidental damage, but that also means it has a high purchase price, typically a $180 premium over the Fjällräven Räven 28.

—Joel Santo Domingo, senior staff writer

Dimensions: 17 by 12.5 by 3.5 to 6 inches (expandable)
Weight: 2.3 pounds
Water bottle holders: none
Warranty: lifetime, including accidental damage
Maximum laptop size: 15 inches, but some 17-inch laptops could easily fit
Colors: gray, navy

If you commute with your laptop, a backpack is the most convenient and ergonomic way to carry your computer, your cables, and everything else you need for the day. Unlike briefcases, messenger bags, or totes, backpacks spread the weight of your gear across both your shoulders, which is more comfortable and better for your back over the course of a long day.

Each of our testers approached their specific backpacks with a different list of requirements—but common to them all was that the bags they considered needed to be comfortable, stylish, able to hold at least a 13-inch laptop (and some much larger), and constructed of durable components.

Each writer then further narrowed their testing list by taking into account factors such as style, size, warranty, availability, and price. The testers then evaluated the bags for comfort, ease of access, and design by commuting through public transit networks in New York City and San Francisco, biking through Central Park, hazarding TSA check-in lines, and traveling through the streets of Cambodia. We then brought in the few finalist bags from these tests for group evaluation to get a broader base of feedback on their style and how they fit on more people.

Slim bags for commuters

We really liked the simple Everlane Nylon Commuter Backpack, which hit the sweet spot of being large enough to carry everything we needed but also small enough to wrangle on crowded public transportation. Unfortunately, during the process of our writing this guide, the bag went out of stock, and Everlane customer support told us: “Right now, we don’t have any plans to restock it.”

We liked the look of the Bellroy Classic Backpack Plus and appreciated its plethora of organizational elements. This bag is chock-full of secret zippered compartments and mesh areas designed to hold specific daily-commute items. But we found that its height (we measured it at about 4 inches longer than the Everlane Nylon Commuter) made it a bit uncomfortable to wear. We also thought that, considering the bag’s size, it was weird to have no natural place for a second water bottle or travel mug.

A former pick, the Everlane Modern Snap Backpack remains a favorite among Wirecutter staff members but presents a few challenges for use as a commuter bag. Although its main pocket (with a laptop sleeve) is likely large enough to accommodate everything you’d need for work, its namesake snap closures are a little tough to open and close while you’re in motion; if you need to access something during your commute, it’s much easier to use a zipper or a normally designed buckle. We also found that the water bottle pockets were a bit harder to stuff than those on the Everlane Nylon Commuter and the Topo Rover Pack.

—Daniel Varghese, associate staff writer

Tech bags

A former pick, the Incase Icon Backpack has a strong organizational structure and comfortable padding. But the pack felt too tall and narrow on our tester’s back, and some of the interior pockets were hard to see way down in the bottom of the bag. Also, the two bulbous hip pockets on the side, while very useful for things you may want easy access to (such as keys or ID cards), look odd.

Timbuk2’s Division Laptop Backpack has many fans at Wirecutter, as it’s a compact bag with a surprising amount of structure and organizational options. But the way it arranges its internal pockets—on the front flap of the front compartment—weighs down the flap and made it a hassle for us when we opened and closed the bag while it was heavily loaded.

The Evergoods Civic Panel Loader 24L looked promising, but its lack of organizational options, stiff zippers, and sky-high price tag compared with the cost of our picks made it less appealing. Its extra open space and various access arrangements might make it more useful as a backpack carry-on rather than as a backpack you’d use every day.

Small and fashionable bags

The Bellroy Slim Backpack was comfortable on our backs, and its foldover aesthetic is cute, but despite its name, we didn’t find it slim enough to make sense for a simple work commute, nor large enough to accommodate an overnight trip. It felt a bit clunky, and its one internal pocket didn’t seem adequate to organize the volume of stuff it could store.

We thought the Herschel Nova Backpack Mid-Volume was comfortable, and its canvas material felt more breathable than most, but its wide straps and extended front pocket also made it look more juvenile than other bags we considered. It would look great on a college campus but not so much on Wall Street.

Like 80 percent of the guys I meet on Hinge, I had high expectations of the Sandqvist Alva based on its online description and photos, and I was therefore all the more disappointed when it didn’t live up to them (though at least the backpack never told me my sister was hot). There’s no doubt it’s stylish, but the rough cotton canvas acted like a magnet for sweater fuzz, subway particulates, and the random detritus of city living, and its drawstring closure was annoying to deal with—it left the bag’s tassels awkwardly dangling from the front.

Fancy backpack

Although both the AllSaints Ridge Rucksack and the Saturdays Hannes Backpack are comfortable and good-looking bags, both offer only a 14-day warranty, which means you’ll have to decide within two weeks whether you want to stick with them for a couple of years or longer. They also have fewer compartments and pockets than our top picks for storing your miscellaneous accessories; ISM’s The Backpack and Knomo’s Albion are both comfy, stylish bags that offer much more in terms of organization, and they have good warranties.

The Bellroy Classic Backpack is comfortable and cute, and it has a three-year warranty, but it has only one compartment and offers fewer pockets than our picks in this category do.

The Timbuk2 Authority Laptop Backpack Deluxe and the Timbuk2 Division Laptop Backpack are both sturdy backpacks that offer lots of main areas and pockets throughout for storing your belongings; they also come with lifetime warranties. But in our panel testing against the rest of our more refined options, they suffered for their aesthetic (or lack thereof). The Authority and Division look like bags you’d take out on the road and take no pity in abusing. That’s why we recommend the Authority backpack for people looking for a tough backpack that can stand some mistreatment: Think hitchhiking outside Seattle.

—Justin Krajeski, staff writer

Gym bags

The Aer Duffel Pack 2 and Aer Fit Pack 2 remain two of our favorite gym backpacks. Their grown-up, minimalist aesthetic caught our attention in previous years, especially since Aer backed that up with a tough waterproof exterior, tons of organizational features, and a lifetime warranty. But every person who tested the egg-shaped Aer bags in 2019 found the aesthetic a little bit too aggressive. More important, those testers thought the bags were a bit more awkward to wear and to pack than the Thule Vea Backpack 25L, despite the Aer designs’ more padded shoulder straps. If you need something waterproof or prefer the Aer aesthetic, we think you’d be perfectly fine with one of these bags, especially the less imposing Aer Fit Pack 2.

Although we like the clean aesthetics of the compact Lululemon City Adventurer Backpack 17L, we think it’s a little too small for most commuters. The bag features a laptop pocket (which can fit only a laptop and perhaps a very thin folder), a separate compartment for shoes (which was too small for my men’s size 12½ sneakers), and a short main compartment with two zippered pouches (an elastic one for a water bottle and a zippered one for small cables). I found that once I had put a 13-inch computer, a small pair of sneakers, an insulated travel mug, and workout clothes in the bag, it didn’t really have any room for my laptop charger, my portable phone charger, or a paperback to read on the subway. The Thule Vea Backpack 25L is a much better option.

We were underwhelmed by the organizational options the Nike Vapor Power 2.0 offered. The bag has two zippered compartments: The primary one is meant for your laptop and other work supplies, while the other is for your workout gear. The workout-gear pouch, which Nike refers to as a shoe compartment, is a bit awkward to pack with shoes because the zipper runs vertically from one side. And once you’ve wedged in the shoes, you’re still supposed to insert your dirty clothes. This might not be a huge deal—using The North Face’s Pivoter might also require some compromises—except for the fact that the main pocket of the Nike bag lacks any organizational features besides a laptop sleeve. We prefer The North Face’s pocket design, which includes an additional pocket and a zippered section.

—Daniel Varghese, associate staff writer

Black-hole backpacks

The brawny Patagonia Black Hole Pack 25L had more organization (read: interior pockets) than the company’s Arbor Classic, as well as plenty of interior space, and its weather-resistant coating stood up to a midafternoon rainstorm in Cambodia. However, its brawniness was also its downfall as a commuter bag: Unlike with the Arbor Classic, you can’t really reduce the footprint of this bag, no matter what’s inside. And I found that it was a challengingly large backpack to travel with on a bus—it was too bulky to sit between my feet on the floor, so I often ended up resting it on my legs.

The Arc’teryx Granville 20 Backpack was one of the most comfortable backpacks I tested; I rode 3 miles through San Francisco with it (filled with about 20 pounds of stuff). However, it couldn’t deliver as the black-hole backpack of my dreams, as the opening at the top of the bag (which inexplicably had a zipper under the flap) was smaller in circumference than the bag itself, which instantly limited how much I could stuff in there. Plus, it’s not an easy bag to open or close in a hurry.

We had high hopes for the futuristic-looking Alchemy Equipment 30 Litre Office Pack, and it delivered on some fronts. The waxed material on the front of the bag means that you immediately skip that awkward brand-new phase and go straight to looking weathered, which may be your jam. The distinctive magnetic catch, which you open by twisting clockwise and pulling, could replace the fidget spinner as your new favorite way to hypnotically waste time. However, the bag’s spaciousness, despite the advertised 30-liter capacity, was severely curtailed by two major issues: The bag had too many internal pockets and dividers and was long and slender, so I found it challenging and sometimes impossible to neatly stash bulky Tupperwares and like-sized items at the bottom.

—Korrena Bailie, senior editor

Bombproof bike bags

After some preliminary testing, we ruled out the Helly Hansen Stockholm Backpack. It has a two-year warranty, in contrast to others, which have lifetime warranties, and the materials seemed flimsy, plasticky, and less durable than those of other bags we tested.

We also eliminated Ortlieb’s Commuter Daypack City and Commuter Daypack Urban for having flimsy, thin fabric and fiddly closure hooks.

We knocked the Thule Paramount 24L (a former pick for this category) off our list for its lack of waterproofing.

After our hands-on testing in Central Park, we determined that the Thule Pack ‘n Pedal Commuter Backpack—although comfortable to wear while riding—was fussy to use and looked too sporty for this category.

Mission Workshop’s The Sanction is made of a thick, rough material that makes it a bit uncomfortable to wear. Plus, it’s expensive and small (only 20 liters, our bare-minimum capacity), and it doesn’t offer much in the way of organization or reflectivity. So we dismissed it too.

—Sarah Witman, associate staff writer

Road warriors’ rucksacks

We wanted to see if a 10-liter bag like the Osprey Arcane Small Day Pack could work as a underseat personal item. I mean, more legroom is better, right? Although it easily swallowed our 13- and 14-inch test laptops, you’d have to choose between carrying work-related items or a change of clothes, not both. Also, its backpack straps bunched at our shoulders, and its looks made it too small and awkward to be a constant companion.

The Thule Vea Backpack 17L was a good daily gym and work bag, but if you’re planning on taking your bag on a trip, you might as well upgrade to the Vea Backpack 25L, so you can pack both a change of clothes and shoes. The Thule EnRoute Backpack 18L almost made our list as a road warrior’s rucksack runner-up thanks to its easy laptop access, its stretchy mesh bottle pocket, and its crush-resistant sunglasses/phone pocket. But its large branding and multiple reflectors made it seem better suited as a bicyclists’ commute bag rather than one you might want to bring between the airport and a business meeting.

The Moshi Hexa Lightweight Backpack had good security features such as a hidden RFID-shielded document pocket and a lockable front compartment. However, its main compartment was more of a giant maw than an easily organized space, and its longish Velcro tie-down strap just got in the way in the TSA line.