The Best Packable Daypack for Travel (2024)

I’ve covered aspects of travel luggage and bag design for Wirecutter for four years and have personally researched, tested, and compared hundreds of bags in that time. As members of a remote team, our editors and writers travel a lot and are continually testing the gear we recommend.

For this guide, I built on previous years of experience and research by a writer and two editors who have, among them, worked remotely from every continent except Antarctica. We also developed a lot of our earliest criteria for this piece after doing an interview with Sara Morrow, an archaeologist who spends summers working expeditions on a small island off the coast of Ireland; she uses a packable daypack to transport her tools, notebooks, and personal items between the base camp and dig sites, and considers it a necessity in the field. Personally, I try to pack lightly and almost always travel with at least one packable bag to use on small day journeys once I’ve reached my destination; I’ve incorporated much of that experience into my reporting here.

Who this is for: Anyone who needs a spare lightweight bag that can stand up to the elements while taking up very little space. The Matador Freerain24 2.0 Packable Backpack is great in wet climates or anywhere where you might realistically expect to get caught in the rain—think trips to hike around Seattle or touring London in the fall.

Why it’s great: The Freerain24 packs down so small (to about the size of a pocket camera) that it feels like a magic trick. Made from 30-denier Cordura nylon (an abrasion-resistant nylon), the Freerain24 kept our things dry even in a rainstorm, although a small amount of humidity and moisture did get in on occasion while we were hiking around Hawaii. (Denier is a measure of the fiber thickness in a fabric.) In addition to using this pack for travel and hikes, we also liked to throw the Freerain24 into a jacket pocket, in case it rained during commutes around town. During testing we found that it worked pretty well even on hikes. This pack’s mesh shoulder straps, though both very breathable and wide enough to distribute the weight, are like two pieces of hosiery: barely there. And though they are wide enough to resist pinching, there’s only so much that a thin strip of fabric can do to protect your clavicles.

The main compartment of the Freerain24 opens and closes from the top with a roll top that buckles down on the sides like a dry bag. It’s the best possible design if you’re serious about keeping out water. The Freerain24 also has two side pockets for water bottles, with side buckles for securing the containers in place. Other than that, there isn’t much organization. But that’s not why you buy a bag like this. The Freerain24 is best as a “just-in-case” bag. It’s so small that you can bring it with you everywhere, and when you need it, you’ll be glad you have it.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The compromises that are necessary to shrink a bag this small also become its flaws. The shoulder straps are so thin and insubstantial that it’s impossible for the Freerain24 to be comfortable over long distances, especially when you’re carrying heavy weight (more than 10 pounds). Some of our testers also found that the Freerain24’s shoulder straps, though adjustable, were so long that they couldn’t get the straps short enough to fit their shoulders and frame. The Freerain24 is not as structured as our other picks—it feels more like a reusable shopping bag on your back. If you want a stiffer, more traditional backpack feel, consider some of our other picks.

Expanded dimensions: 19½ by 11 by 9½ inches (LWH)
Packed dimensions: 5 by 3 inches (HD)
Weight: 6.6 ounces
Warranty: 1 year repair or replace

Who this is for: Anyone who values aesthetics over portability. With the inclusion of a pass-through strap for putting over a luggage handle, the AER Go Pack is great as a last-minute under-seat personal item for travelers who like to stay light on their feet.

Why it’s great: The AER Go Pack is the most traditional-looking backpack on this list. It’s also the only “packable” bag we recommend that doesn’t stuff into a stuff sack or otherwise tuck away into itself. Instead, the Go Pack lies extremely flat (about the height of two folded T-shirts), which is excellent if you need a spare bag for travel that you can put in your suitcase, but less useful if you want an emergency daypack to keep in your jacket pocket.

There are some advantages to this design, however. The Go Pack has more internal organization (closer to that of a full backpack with internal pockets and a divider sleeve) than most packable bags—in fact, more than any other bag we tested (besides the Triple Aught Azimuth). The Go Pack also feels more like a traditional backpack (especially in the shoulder straps), which makes it easier to carry over long distances.

Similar to the Azimuth, the Go Pack also looks and feels like a backpack you would carry every day. However, the Go Pack is 30 percent less expensive than the Azimuth. Additionally, the Go Pack includes a luggage handle pass-through, so it can sit securely on top of your carry-on suitcase if you’re using it as a personal item while you travel.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Of course the Go Pack’s biggest flaw, from this review’s perspective, is that when it’s packed down, it can’t fit into a pocket or a handbag. Also, the Go Pack is not fully waterproof, although it is water-resistant. You wouldn’t want to take it out in a downpour, but it will get through a light rain just fine.

Expanded dimensions: 17 by 12 by 5 inches (LWH)
Packed dimensions: 17 by 12 by 1 inches (LWH)
Weight: 16 ounces
Warranty: “Practical lifetime” repair or replace

Who this is for: Anyone who needs a light, spare bag that they can take with them anywhere, anytime. The Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Travel Day Pack is perfect to keep in your pocket or in the glove compartment of your car—making it handy for when, say, you need a spare bag at the market.

Why it’s great: The Ultra-Sil is the smallest and lightest packable backpack we recommend. Packed up, it is very discreet: nearly the size of a keychain accessory. The bag itself is a no-frills sack made from a paper-thin siliconized Cordura nylon, which means it’s very light and water-resistant. It has reinforced stitching at stress points, allowing the Ultra-Sil to carry more weight than you would expect. That said, since this pack is made of such thin, light material, carrying large or awkwardly shaped loads is somewhat uncomfortable, especially when compared with our more structured picks.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: With a bag this small and light, any flaw is an aspect of its narrowly engineered use. Are the shoulder straps thin? Of course! Would it be nice if this bag—which deploys from a small sack that fits in the palm of your hand—had more back padding? Yes. But that would also make it larger and heavier. If you’re not willing to trade some comfort to get the smallest possible carry, this isn’t the bag for you. All of these tradeoffs also mean the bag won’t keep your things dry in the rain like some of our other picks, such as the Matador Freerain24.

Expanded dimensions: 11 by 8 by 19 inches (LWH)
Packed dimensions: 3½ by 1½ by 2 inches (LWH)
Weight: 2½ ounces
Warranty: Lifetime repair or replace

Depending on whether you plan to scale cliffs or tour museums, different features become more or less important when you’re choosing a daypack. To help make sense of what to prioritize among the dozens of available options, we pored over articles across many outdoor publications, and consulted other comparative reviews and advice from sources such as REI and GearLab. We also considered our own experiences to determine what makes a great packable daypack. Below, we list the criteria that we consider to be important in a packable daypack.

Using these criteria, I narrowed down the dozens of possible options out there to just 18 of the top bags to test. The best way to determine the quality of a backpack is to pack it and carry it. With that in mind, I packed each daypack with all the things one might typically carry for a day of travel: camera, phone, charger, wallet, keys, notebook, pens, energy bars, water bottle, sunglasses, sunscreen, and an extra layer. This combination of items weighed just shy of 11 pounds.

To test these bags, I distributed items among the extra compartments of each pack. Then I took a hike with each bag. Afterward, I added another 6 pounds of weight to see how the bags fit and felt with heavier loads—you wouldn’t want to travel with much more than 17 pounds of weight in these bags unless you had to. I also used each bag for several days instead of my usual backpack, to see how each pack fared over a few days of extended wear, unpacking, and repacking.

To test whether and how our selections lived up to their packability claims, I unfolded and refolded each pack several times, noting the time and effort I had to put in to take a pack from its compressed form to its expanded form and back. Although I was eventually able to fold all of them rapidly and efficiently, some models required more forethought, tricks, or brute force. For water-resistance tests, I packed the main and exterior zip pockets with towels and took the bags out into a Hawaiian downpour to see whether any water leaked through.

Arc’teryx Index 15: An okay bag let down by thin shoulder straps. The index offers a decent amount of organization. But for this pack’s price, we think its shoulder straps are too thin and not nearly comfortable enough.

Baggu Packable Backpack: Pricey for what you get. Much like Baggu shopping bags, this bag is good, and it’s reliable. Is it great? No. It’s not as comfortable to carry as our other picks and feels less durable. We think that for the price, you’ll enjoy the better options we’ve included in our picks.

EMS Packable Pack: Difficult design. The lid of the Packable doesn’t work very well unless the bag is completely full. Our other picks are more intuitive to use.

Eddie Bauer Stowaway Packable 20L Daypack: Feels cheap. This bag was previously our runner-up pick for hikers. However, we think the Patagonia Ultralight Black Hole’s stronger material is better suited to last on the trail. The Stowaway’s zipper and material both felt flimsy enough that I was concerned they would fail with long-term use.

Gonex 20L Lightweight Packable Backpack: Not the best seams but an amazing price. Although the Gonex has rave reviews online, we found the stitching was more fragile than we like to recommend. That said, this bag is a steal at the price. If you need a bag under $20, this is a good pick.

L.L.Bean Stowaway Day Pack: A hiker’s bag. The Stowaway was organized and comfortable enough that we liked carrying it on the hiking trail. But we preferred the Patagonia Ultralight Black Hole for its better-padded straps and sleeker look.

Matador Beast 28L Packable Backpack: A heavy-duty bag for hiking. The Beast is a capable hiking daypack, but not everyone needs a packable bag that’s this hefty. Alone it’s 1¼ pounds, which is heavier than any of our picks. For the price, we preferred the simplicity of our other picks. But the Beast is a good bag, albeit with a large footprint even when it’s packed up.

Mystery Ranch In and Out: A mystery to fold up. The In and Out is a decent bag. It’s made of a 100-denier Cordura nylon, which, though strong, was too heavy for us. The biggest issue during our testing was how difficult this bag was to fold back into its pouch.

The North Face Flyweight Pack: Not comfortable to carry. We wanted this bag to be better than it was. The Flyweight’s material felt thin and unsettling in our hands, like a cheap windbreaker. It was also uncomfortable to carry when fully loaded.

Patagonia Ultralight Black Hole Pack 20L was our previous top pick for the traveler who needs a versatile, comfortable bag for touring a city, a day hike, a spare bag for a picnic, or running errands. This well-built daypack was designed for the elements, being both water-resistant and tough. But it was still sleek enough to blend in at a coffee shop or the hotel lobby. Unfortunately, this bag has since been discontinued, but if you find one, it’s still a great choice.

REI Co-op Stuff Travel Pack - 20L: A Patagonia competitor that falls short. The REI Stuff pack mimics the Patagonia bag in its design—but not in the quality of its materials. We think its flimsier fabric and zipper will fail sooner than those of the Patagonia.

Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Nano Day Pack: Too thin. If you need the absolute lightest daypack that folds into the smallest possible pouch, this is your best option. However, the ultra-lightweight nano-sil material was also so thin that it almost clung to itself like plastic wrap, making this pack too hard to use.

Tortuga Setout Packable Daypack: Well built but underwhelming. The Setout is an elegant packable bag, but we didn’t like the material (too shiny and slick-feeling) or the way the bag sat on our backs when it was full. That said, it’s still a decent choice if you like the look of it or feel drawn to the brand.

Triple Aught Azimuth: A great bag, when in stock. Capable of packing down to about the size of a sandwich bag, this bag still offers enough organization, weatherproofing, and comfort to rival some traditional backpacks. We liked it enough to make it a pick, but it’s gone out of stock. We’ll update this guide when it comes back.

This article was edited by Ria Misra and Christine Ryan.