REVIEW – Feel good and look good on your daily commute! The Troubador Apex Backpack 3.0 is an award-wining design that promises all-day flexibility in a thoughtful and sustainable package. Does it meet The Gadgeteer’s standards? Let’s explore. To the review!
What is it?
The Troubador Apex Backpack 3.0 is a lightweight work/travel/daily backpack that will fit up to a 17″ laptop.
Tech specs
Click to expand
18.9″ by 12.6″ by 5.9″ deep
25 liter capacity
2.2 pounds
Waterproof & tear resistant
Made from recycled fabrics and hardware
Fits up to a 17″ laptop
Design and features
Hailing from the UK, the Troubador Apex Backpack 3.0 presents with an understated style. While it’s a bigger bag at 25 liter capacity, the corners and edges are smoothed out for a softer profile. A bit of mixed material and some interesting stitching breaks up the black-on-black color scheme (other colors are available). It’s a good looking bag that adapts well to business or casual situations.
Sustainability is a core value for the Troubador brand, and what they have done here is pretty impressive. Even the zipper hardware is made from recycled material! The primary fabric, called FortiWeave, is recycled from plastic bottles. It’s thick and feels softer than Cordura, but still provides water/tear resistance in addition to being super lightweight. Vegan leather is used for accents and finishing throughout the build. Coupled with excellent finishing and detail work throughout the design, this is a bag that feels upscale while still serving its sustainable mission.
This bag is deceptive when it comes to sizing. It measures 25 liters and can handle a 17-inch laptop, but the lightweight fabrics bring the total weight in at a mere 2.2 pounds. Couple that lightweight with the slim profile, and the bag feels much smaller than it actually is. The structure is such that the bag will also stand on its own.
The bag sports two bottle pockets that wrap slightly around the front of the bag. They also each have a flap of collapsable material on the back side that runs on an elastic rail on the top edge. This means that each pocket can handle up to a liter-sized hydration bottle, but the pockets effectively collapse tight against the sides of the pack when not in use.
The top-carry handle is another example of attention to detail in this build. The thick, layered assembly uses vegan leather on the exterior to match the dapper style of the bag and a rubberized/textured surfacing underneath. It’s a pleasant little surprise that’s actually very comfortable and noticeable in use.
Working our way around the back of the bag, you’ll find two top back pads with an extra-thick lower lumbar pad. Big channels between the pads promote airflow to reduce back sweat.
That lower lumbar pad also has a luggage handle pass-through behind it for airport runs.
The shoulder straps are basic padded affairs, contoured to wrap around the torso. I like the way they have handled the strap adjustments with the addition of that plastic clip that keeps the extra strappage from flapping about. Once you lock in your fit, the clips stay where you put ’em. I haven’t noticed any accidental loosening during use.
There’s also a bonus pocket on the left shoulder strap. Unzip the zipper on the inside of the strap to reveal the pocket, which expands to hold a smartphone.
I found that my iPhone 15 Max, in its thicker case, barely fits in there, but it will fit. I suspect that smaller phones (or skinnier cases) will fit perfectly. You can also use this space to store work badges, smaller wallets, travel cards, and the like. You could even get a pair of earbuds in there.
Moving on to the storage and organization, we’ll move back to the front of the bag where you’ll find an external front packet for quick grab items.
This pocket measures 6″ deep by 7″ wide and has a generous depth for holding a variety of odd-sized things. It also has an elastic air tag pocket tucked into the upper corner if you use a tracker.
A 4″ long key leash is tucked up into the opposite corner of this pocket.
Your external zips are sealed for extra water resistance and have integrated zipper pulls that match the vegan leather used throughout the build. Dual zips on the top front of the bag run down to 6″ on either side of the bag to access the main compartment.
It’s not quite a full clamshell opening, but the zips don’t interfere with the side pockets in this configuration. The front face folds down enough that you can get to all the internal storage pockets.
The internal pocket layout is brilliant for sorting out your tech accessories. There’s a big 9″ by 7″ mesh panel pocket on the inside front face that I find perfect for cables and power cords. You can see that they added some extra material around the pocket so that it can be used for chunkier stuff like power bricks as well.
The back face is your admin panel, which deploys pockets of different sizes in layers to maximize the organization’s options. These pockets begin with a front pairing of a 3.5″ by 5″ drop pocket and a standard pen pocket. These sit on the left side of the space as you face the panels, which I believe gives you an option to stash bigger stuff (like a water bottle) in the main compartment on the right side without compromising access to the pocket space.
Behind these pockets is a matching set of 5″ by 7″ drop pockets. Like the smaller pocket in front, each of these is made from elastic material with generous play for stuffing oversized items. They also have the same integrated top lip to reduce wear as you’re dragging things in and out of the space.
Behind the drop pockets is an 8″ by 9″ zipped pocket to secure other items. Troubador does a nice job of finding balance in all these pockets. No pockets are so deep that you can’t find the bottoms with your fingers, and each one is built out so that there is extra room for thicker items so that you can sort things to your liking.
You also still have the remainder of that main compartment to stuff larger items like a packed lunch, a jacket, books, etc. I usually keep my oversized work headphones, a Macbook power brick, and the daily sundries (like snacks) in this space.
Your laptop/tablet carriage is accessed from a zipper on the back panel of the bag, behind the shoulder straps. An extra flap of fabric provides a hood for this zip across its whole length, further protecting the space from intrusive weather.
The opening is designed to slide your laptop in and out of the space. Soft-touch fabrics line the chamber to prevent scratches, and additional padding in the liners and dividers provides extra protection.
The pics show my 16″ MacBook Pro sliding into this space with room to spare. I have my notebook tucked into the tablet sleeve in this pic, but it easily holds my 12.9″ iPad Pro (with Magic Keyboard). You can also get an extra notebook in the remaining space between the dividers and the wall of the chamber.
Performance
The Troubador Apex 3 does some very clever tricks with space that make it feel like a much smaller bag. Check out the side profile below—you’d never know that this is a 25-liter pack.
The rear profile shows a bit more of the bulk, but not much. That slim design is great for moving through crowds, tossing into an overhead compartment, or hauling out of the back seat of your car.
Here’s a pic with a hydration bottle and umbrella stowed in those side packets for reference. I’m a huge fan of these pockets. They will easily accommodate larger water bottles, yet they’ll collapse for smaller stuff. You’ll see some additional pics here where I have my sunglasses case stashed in there, for example. And no matter how you slice it they don’t compromise the main compartment space.
The harness system is deceptive in its simplicity. I was looking for a little more grip padding under the shoulder straps and a sternum strap, but you really don’t need them given the bag’s lightweight nature and slim profile. The contoured straps wrap nicely around even thicker torsos like mine. The lower lumbar pad is excellent. Combine this with the light weight, and you’ve got a bag that’s really comfortable for all-day carry.
It also stands up on its own, which is ideal if you’re doing the mobile office thing.
I will note that this bag is designed for accessibility from the top down. The main compartment and the laptop compartment do not have full clamshell openings, so it is easier to get into it if it is standing up.
The interior of the main space does a nice job of accommodating this approach. The external front pocket and side pockets are plenty big for quick grab stuff. Access to all of the organization pockets in the main compartment sit above the midpoint of the bag, and none of them require you to dig too deep to get to things you may need in a mild hurry.
The internal pocketing is excellent for managing all the tech and accessories. The pockets give and flex so that you can put different sized items in them, and most have extra play to account for odd-shaped items. Other than the dedicated pen slot you can pretty much arrange your gear to your liking.
The shoulder strap pocket is hit or miss for me. I have a larger torso, so that pocket sits almost on my shoulder making it a bit trickier to get to. I also have a big iPhone 15 Max with a chunky case that barely fits in that pocket.
I do like the top handle more than I expected. The wide strap is easy to grab, and the chunky cushioning is comfortable to haul around. Sometimes this is an oversight in bag designs, but this is a good one.
I’ve seen no issues with durability so far. The materials have held up nicely to being kicked around with some car/train travel, including a bit of wet weather here and there.
Speaking of travel, the one qualifier that I would put on this bag is that it is a daypack-style design where the main compartment acts as your administration area and the space for your stuff. Some three chambered designs (like the AER Tech Pack I reviewed recently) have that extra space where you can stash a change of clothes, shoes, and/or toiletries separate from your computer gear and your accessories. This may not meet your needs if you are one-bagging on a business trip. It feels like a great fit for flying with an additional carry-on with room for extras like a jacket, a book, and headphones in addition to your tech. I’ll let you know how that works out next time I fly!
What I like about the Troubador Apex Backpack 3.0
- Excellent usability throughout
- Lightweight and very comfortable
- Swallows all the gear for the work commute
- Understated style works for business and casual situations
- Surprisingly lean profile for the size
What needs to be improved?
- Shoulder strap pop-out pocket is a little small/awkward for larger phones with chunky cases
Final thoughts
This is my first experience with the Troubador brand, and I’m very impressed. I have not seen the previous iterations of this pack to compare, but the Apex Backpack 3.0 demonstrates excellent usability and functionality. Clearly, the folks at Troubador have put some time into working the kinks out in the design. In my opinion, the impressive build quality aligns with the price point. After a month of extensive testing, this bag has snagged the top spot in my regular rotation. I can see why it’s won its share of rewards!
Price: $245.00
Where to buy: Troubador
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Troubador. Troubador did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
