Inatek Travel Backpack review

REVIEW – Can a travel backpack replace your traditional wheeled luggage? Read on to see how the Inatek Travel Backpack can fit in your travel plans.

What is it?

The Inatek Travel Backpack is a 38L backpack that is approved as an airline carry-on. Compared to the normal wheeled luggage that most people use, this is slightly smaller. It has a dedicated laptop section that can accommodate up to a 17″ laptop and an additional 12″ tablet section. The backpack opens 180 degrees and includes a zippered area, along with a dedicated shoe compartment.

What’s included?

• Inatek Travel Backpack

Tech specs

Design and features

I’ve seen “travel backpack” on social media recently and wanted to find out what makes it a travel backpack. The Inatek Travel Backpack is larger than most ‘normal’ or computer backpacks. It’s 38L and is deeper than a traditional backpack. I’m 6’1 and you can see in the above pictures, that it doesn’t look gigantic on me. Going around the backpack, I see a top handle, a side handle, and a strap to attach it to roller luggage, in addition to the backpack straps. There are two big side pockets and a slim front pocket that would be good for magazines, papers, etc. There are compression straps on both sides, great for strapping a jacket or hoody for easy access. The backpack straps were comfortable and easily adjustable.

The Inatek Travel Backpack is roughly the same size as a standard carry-on roller, maybe just a little bit smaller. It would easily fit in any overhead bin and if not over-packed, probably fit under a seat. The material is tough with some texture and dirt or spills should be able to be wiped away easily.

Opening up the bag 180º gives the impression of how much it can hold. On one side, is the dedicated laptop and tablet sleeves with a velcro retaining strap. My 13″ laptop and iPad mini were swallowed up in that space. I believe it can handle up to a 17″ laptop and a 12″ tablet. On the other side is a zippered compartment. I think this design was made for TSA approval. This way, you wouldn’t need to remove your laptop, just unzip the bag to 180º and the laptop would be separate from your clothes in the zippered compartment. Within the zippered compartment, is a separate shoe bag that is built in. Unzipping the bottom of the Inatek Travel Backpack is where shoes can be inserted into the zippered compartment side.

I used it recently on an overnight trip to Santa Barbara and it was plenty of room to hold my laptop, tablet, a change of shoes, and all my clothes and jackets for the two days. It was convenient to carry and freed up my hand to carry other things to the room. I can see the appeal of using a backpack instead of a roller.

What I like about the Inatek Travel Backpack

• About the same capacity as a normal wheeled carry-on
• A lot of pockets, including a few hidden ones
• Multiple carry handles in addition to wearing it as a backpack
• Water bottle, usually not found on luggage

What needs to be improved?

• This particular backpack is not expandable
• External pocket is slim

Final thoughts

The Inatek Travel Backpack is ideal for an overnight or weekend getaway. It’s roughly the same size as the traditional wheeled luggage that many of us are familiar with. With a backpack, you don’t need to worry about wheeling along rough floors and it keeps both of your hands-free instead of using one hand to pull/direction the wheeled luggage around.

Something to keep in mind though, if you already will be using a backpack, then the Inatek Travel Backpack is not as convenient. , I have a backpack for all my camera gear, so while wearing my camera backpack, I was able to carry the Inatek Travel Backpack by one of the handles. It still was easy to carry, but you can’t wear two backpacks. I can see this type of scenario coming up for longer trips. Usually, someone would wheel their carry-on and then also wear a backpack or sling as their additional personal item. I rarely see someone carrying two backpacks.

Overall, it’s a great solution for shorter trips and it’s a little more stealthy if you don’t want to seem like a traveler.

Price: $69.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Inatek. Inatek did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.