Your Guide for Finding the Best Daypack for Travel

Your day trip bag will follow you wherever you go. Discover the features that the best daypack for your travels should have.

No matter where you find yourself, you’ll want to make sure that your essentials are within arm’s length. From relaxing city strolls to exciting hiking adventures, the best day-trip backpack can be the only thing you’ll have to carry.

But this doesn’t mean that there’s a one-size-fits-all model that will cover all your needs. To find the best day pack, you’ll have to think about a few features, some of which people often overlook. In this guide, we’ll go over the most important things that you need to consider before you make the final decision.

Why Do You Need A Daypack?

Where do you plan on taking your pack to? This question is a good starting point for finding the best bag for your travels. After all, it’s the functionality that sets day trip bags apart from regular backpacks.

Here are the most common scenarios and the daypack features that meet the requirements:

Plane ride – When you have your carry-on with you on a plane, you don’t want to have to get up and rummage through it every time you need something. This is why people often use a daypack for storing the things that they use the most. It should be small enough to fit comfortably under the seat or between your feet. It also shouldn’t weigh too much, as you’ll have to carry it together with your carry-on and/or checked bag.
City trip – When you’re walking around a city, you don’t want to haul a large bag that can weigh you down. For this, the best day bag that you can go for will be lightweight and just big enough to fit all your essentials. You’ll want to focus on the security features here. You never know when someone might develop an extreme liking and covet for the contents of your pack.
Outdoor trip – Unless you’re going on an extended backpacking trip, a small and light day trip pack should be enough to hold everything you need. For any kind of outdoor activity, there’s one thing that your best daypack for travel must have – waterproofing. You’ll use the daypack to carry things that ought to stay dry, so you should cut out the guesswork and make sure that your items will be safe from the elements.

Of course, there are other specifications that you can get into when it comes to your activities. It’ll all depend on where you’re going and the number of items you’re bringing.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the features that the best day-trip backpack should have for wherever you’re going.

The Right Materials

Remember when we said that there’s a day bag for every situation and everyone’s needs? The materials used have a lot to do with it. A day bag materials determine more than its look and quality.

First of all, you need to think about whether you’ll need a compressible day trip pack. This is a common choice for those who use them occasionally on their travels. If easy storage is important for you, then harder materials like leather may not be the best option. You’ll be better off with a flexible daypack, such as one that uses nylon or similar fabric.

Also, you might want to go with a lightweight material. After walking for hours on end, even a small difference in weight can add up. This is especially if you’re not a light packer.

Lastly, it may make sense for you to search for a one that’s made of fast-drying material. You’ll be fully prepared if it rains or if something spills on the bag.

Daypacks With High Enough Capacity

The purpose of a daypack is to allow you to carry everything that you might need while you’re out exploring your surroundings. As such, it needs to be spacious enough to allow you to stock up on all the essentials.

Of course, the definition of spaciousness would be different for different people. While some will be more than happy with a 10L bag, others might need a lot more volume than 10L.

As a general rule, it’s always better to have more than not enough space. For one, you might stumble upon something that you’ll want to buy right away. You might have to take off your shirt and wear just the t-shirt underneath. You might discover a pot of gold… whatever it is, you’ll be ready.

Most packs come with a 20L capacity, so you can use that as a reference point when you’re shopping for yours.

Multiple Compartments

As mentioned, you’re getting a one for its practicality. As such, you don’t want to have to dig through the contents of your dbag to find what you need. Moreover, you may have to protect some items that you keep in your daypack from getting wet, such as keeping your phone or wallet separate from your bottle of water.

For this reason, the best pack for travel should have a good number of compartments. Look for compartments of different sizes and in various locations that can allow you to neatly organise all your items. As a general rule, your pack should have at least three separate compartments to allow for this.

Comfortable Design

While some people choose to focus on the style of their day pack, you might want to go a different route. If you have to make a trade-off, it’s always better to go with a more comfortable and practical backpack. After all, you’ll be wearing it wherever you go, so it shouldn’t stop you from enjoying your trip.

Make sure that the shoulder straps are padded and the day pack sits well on your shoulders. If the fabric rubs against your shoulders, it may become uncomfortable belong long.

Also, the best pack should have a breathable back to prevent excess sweating. Go for air-permeable materials, especially if you’ll spend a lot of time in hot weather.

Security Features

Few things can ruin a trip like losing your valuables. If you’re lucky, you might lose a trinket that you bought at a souvenir store. But more commonly, thieves will aim for much more valuable items.

The good news is that this is often easily preventable. The best day-trip backpacks have built-in security features against theft.

Ideally, your bags fabric should be slash-proof. It might be a bit more expensive but totally worth it if you consider the value of its contents. At the very least, you want to have tough and lockable zippers.

Since people don’t like to think about thieves and robbers when they’re traveling, they overlook or ignore these features. However, as the saying goes, better safe than sorry.

Adjustability Options

A daypack might not fit you perfectly out of the box. Furthermore, you might have to carry different things from one trip to another. If that’s the case, you’ll want to rebalance the weight accordingly. For this reason, the best daypack for travel should come with adjustment features.

The shoulder straps should be adjustable in length to let you move the daypack closer to or further away from your body. You’ll be able to distribute the load to various parts of your back. Also, the hip strap (if there is one on your daypack) should lock comfortably without being too tight or too loose. Of course, it will have to be adjustable in length since people’s bodies vary in girth.

The Right Price Point

The best one isn’t necessarily the most expensive one. If you don’t do your homework, you might overpay for some features that you don’t really need. While you shouldn’t pinch pennies in looking for the best day-trip backpack, many high-quality packs won’t break the bank.

As for the brand, it’s really up to you. Some may have to have a designer label, but others care more about the quality regardless of the brand name. Besides, most recognisable brands are also the biggest thief magnets.

Choose Wisely

While large suitcases and carry-ons will likely stay in your room when you go out and explore a new area, your daypack will follow you every step of the way. This is why you should choose your personal best daypack carefully.

We have described the key features to look for, and everything else is a matter of taste. Keep these features in mind and judge for yourself which of them matter the most to you. At this point, you’re more than halfway to finding the a pack that meets all your needs.

You’ll feel spoiled by the number of choices available. But as long as you prioritise, you should have no trouble finding the perfect daypack for your travels.

It’d be a lot easier if you’re able to browse some of the best daypacks on the market right now. And that’s exactly what you can do at Tentworld. Head over to the daypacks section of our webstore and find your favourite.

Your Guide for Finding the Best Daypack for Travel

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Your Guide for Finding the Best Daypack for Travel

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