Summer is the perfect time to trek across Canada, whether it’s from city to city or mountaintop to mountaintop. Here are six great travel backpacks to see you through your trip in comfort.
Each backpack is designed to provide both comfort and utility, with room to take your tech with you.
I live in Edmonton with quite a bit of family down in Calgary. So, when I was growing up, weekend trips to Calgary were pretty frequent.
I almost always packed my belongings into my school backpack–a pretty big 40L bag. A large backpack is a great size for a city road trip, and multi-pocket travel backpacks work even better. I like to store all of my clothes and necessities into the large pocket, slip my tech into the laptop sleeve and middle pocket, and then pack snacks for the car ride in the smallest front pocket.
Backpacks that zip all the way down to the bottom, like the Lowepro HighLine BP 400 AW 15″ Laptop Backpack, make packing even easier. They open up almost like a suitcase, allowing you to divide your big pockets up with packing cubes. (I only ever feel at home if I know everything I brought with me is nice and organized, so this method is perfect for someone like me!)
I reviewed the Lowepro HighLine BP 400 recently for the Best Buy Blog, and I really enjoyed using it. It’s on the pricier end of the spectrum for a day pack, but it comes decked out with all the bells and whistles. The BP 400 features a CradleFit laptop compartment in the back and an easy-access pocket in the front, plus a tall, stretchy side pocket for things like umbrellas and water bottles. It comes with a built-in AW (“all weather”) cover to protect your belongings from precipitation, and has a moulded, breathable back panel for extra comfort–especially in the summer, when it’s normal for things back there to get kind of hot and sticky.
One of the great things about the Lowepro HighLine travel backpack is that it comes with its own packing cube and TSA-approved liquids pouch, so you’re ready to go as soon as it arrives.
Travel backpacks by High Sierra for multi-day camping
I have never, not once in my entire life, done a multi-day hike–and I’m more than ready to keep it that way. Some people were made for the city, and some were made for the wilderness.
I am not one of the sun-drenched, glistening, Adonis-like mountain-folk. I’m a city dweller who shies away from direct sunlight and tries her very best never to have to go camping. When it does come up, however, I take things as easy as possible: sure, I’ll hike for multiple days, but I always do it in staggered single-day hikes.
For those of us who like to return to the same place to lay our heads each night, multi-day camping backpacks are where your weekend backpack options get really cool. Multiday backpacks are bigger, better, and designed to basically turn human beings into tiny, two-legged camels.
I love High Sierra bags, and they make two that are especially well-suited to be multi-day backpacks for true camping lovers. The High Sierra Classic 2 Summit 45 Frame Multiday Backpack and High Sierra Tech 2 Series Hawk 45 Frame Multiday Backpack feature all the cool stuff you’ve come to expect from High Sierra backpacks: 45L of room for all your essentials, AIRFLOW back panels to keep your back cool and dry, adjustable sternum straps and padded waist belts, rain covers… They even have an adjustable top lid so you can pack in a little extra and make sure your bag is evenly-weighted.
I’ve always found that High Sierra bags are the way to go if you want a durable bag that’s extremely lightweight, and these second-generation bags are no exception. They’re designed for multi-day camping (not for expeditions or long-term backpacking), and they offer room for all of your essentials.
Multi-day camping with ObusForme
High Sierra is far from your only option for multi-day travel backpacks, however, and ObusForme offers a couple of options that are just towering. The ObusForme Explorer backpack fits 60L of space with a lightweight internal frame, and it’s perfect for travel, camping, and adventure. Or, if you need even more space, the ObusForme Trip offers a whopping 90L of space: 65L in its main body, and an extra 25L in the Travel Pack. (Or as I like to call it, the “detachable koala backpack baby.”)
Both bags are fully adjustable and made to load the weight evenly, but they’re serious bags. Don’t take their capacity lightly.
(Did you see what I did there? Yeah. I’m here all month, folks. Leave your cellphones at the door and prepare yourself for some serious bad puns.)
If you’re going to go to the trouble of taking your tech with you, it’s worth it to make sure you’ll be able to keep it all charged, too. I’ve been seeing more and more solar panels & chargers at tech stores and camping shops recently, and the market is really taking off. There are now a plethora of options for solar panels to charge your phone, tablet, and even your laptop while you’re camping, and many are even designed to hang on the outside of your backpack to charge while you hike.
For the serious hikers out there (and, perhaps, for travel bloggers who work on the road), Best Buy even offers solar generators to keep you powered in the long term.
If you’re getting ready for your next hike, make sure to check out a solar panel before you go! Shop multiday backpacks at Best Buy online now.
