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The 2-in-1 Travel Backpack is Peak Design's latest attempt at making the ultimate travel backpack. Have they succeeded this time? | Purchase the 2-in-1 Travel Backpack
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Table of Contents:
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0:00 - Intro and Concept
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0:00
[music]
0:10
>> Over the past number [music] of years,
0:11
my travel game has had mostly two main
0:15
players. One is Peak Design's travel
0:18
backpack that I use primarily for
0:21
overnight trips or short trips where I
0:23
can pack everything into a single
0:26
backpack. It works in large part because
0:29
you can divide into two sections. You
0:31
can put stuff in the front and then you
0:33
can also zip on the other side. And so,
0:36
in flipping it over, I can put, you
0:38
know, initially some other items here
0:40
and then as I go in the trip, sometimes
0:42
my I start to put my dirty laundry on
0:45
this side to keep it separate from the
0:47
main area where my
0:50
my clean stuff still is. And then the
0:52
second player is kind of from an odd
0:54
source, but it I actually got it at
0:56
IKEA. Can't really find this bag
0:58
anymore, but I've loved it as my
0:59
carry-on for probably at least 5 years.
1:02
It does have a pull behind handle,
1:05
although unfortunately that has now
1:06
broken. And so, I have fixed it a couple
1:09
of times, but it's not working as well a
1:12
anymore, as you can see. But what I love
1:14
about this particular bag is the fact
1:16
that you can actually divide it into two
1:19
pieces. And so, it has a front section
1:22
that can zip off to make a compact um
1:25
bag that you can also carry as a
1:27
backpack. And that's what I take to my
1:28
actual seat on an airplane, whereas this
1:31
is the main storage that I use
1:34
often with my photography gear in there,
1:35
and I want to keep that close to me. So,
1:37
it will go into the overhead bin,
1:40
whereas this comes to me with my seat
1:41
for the things that I need to keep me
1:43
afloat during the middle of the flight.
1:46
Peak Design is trying to basically
1:49
capture the space of both of those items
1:52
with their new two-in-one travel
1:54
backpack. The main thing here is the
1:57
fact that they have followed like my
2:00
favorite bag there and you have actually
2:02
a second pack here that can come with me
2:05
to my seat. Sometimes when I'm traveling
2:07
with this, I'm going to board meetings,
2:09
I can keep my clothes in one bag where I
2:12
can pull this off and take it as my day
2:16
pack to my meetings with just the
2:18
essentials that I need. So in today's
2:20
review, we're going to be breaking down
2:21
how well it actually works and I've used
2:24
it from for some trips just like what
2:26
I've described and I'm going to give you
2:28
a breakdown of the features here and
2:30
whether or not Peak Design's product
2:33
here, which as all Peak Design things it
2:35
tends to be a little bit expensive,
2:37
we'll see if it actually holds up and
2:39
it's worth the investment. All right, so
2:41
let's dive in a little bit closer and
2:42
take a look at the specifications of the
2:45
bag itself. So, this obviously the main
2:48
feature is the fact that we've got the
2:50
two bags in one, which is right there in
2:52
the name. So that breaks down as to a 34
2:55
L for the base bag and then the day pack
2:59
is rated at 16 L.
3:01
So you add that up and that is going to
3:04
get you up to 50 L. However, when you
3:06
combine those together, you do lose a
3:08
little bit of volume because obviously
3:11
you can't put either bag, you can't
3:13
swell them out into each other. And so
3:15
what you actually end up with is,
3:17
according to Peak Design, 40 to 42 L of
3:21
actual usable space when you have the
3:23
two bags combined. So as far as the
3:25
overall weight, it comes out to 5.2 lb
3:28
or 2.4 kg for everything all put
3:31
together. However, again, if you break
3:33
that down, the base pack is going to be
3:36
3.7 lb while the day pack is 1 and 1/2
3:40
lb adding up to that total. Materials
3:43
here used are a weather-resistant
3:46
recycled the outside.
3:50
That's a nylon recycled nylon canvas. On
3:53
the bottom of the bag, it is actually a
3:56
thicker 900D material. And so, there is
3:59
both some padding there, but also a
4:01
little bit more thorough weather
4:02
sealing. Peak Design is big on
4:04
sustainability, and so that shows up in
4:06
the various materials that they use in
4:08
the backpack itself. My one complaint on
4:12
the bottom is that I wish it had a
4:14
couple of plates to help with balance,
4:16
cuz as you can see, if I don't catch it,
4:19
it likes to tip forward. Another
4:21
highlight here is the fact that there
4:23
are grab points handles on
4:26
basically five of the different air
4:28
areas, all four sides, on the back. The
4:31
only place missing is on the front. So,
4:33
you have lots of options for grabbing
4:34
onto it. And of course, that back strap
4:37
can be used to slide as like a luggage
4:40
trolley type design to help to hold it
4:42
in place there.
4:44
Peak Design zippers tend to be pretty
4:46
fantastic. And so, they call these their
4:49
ultra zips, but they're made in
4:50
partnership with Zoom. And I've never
4:52
had a Peak Design zipper fail. The
4:55
zippers work well, and they hold up.
4:58
I've been using the
5:00
basic travel backpack. I look back, and
5:01
I did my review of that in 2019.
5:04
And so, that means we're going on 7
5:06
years. And not only are all of the
5:08
zippers still working well, but also the
5:10
pull straps
5:12
have held up over all that time. I
5:14
certainly can't say that for a lot of my
5:16
other bags. There are three finish
5:18
options. There is the basic black, which
5:20
we can see here in the two-in-one. I
5:23
don't have the sage finish here except
5:26
for in the original travel backpack, but
5:28
this is a similar color. And I love this
5:31
new stone look, which is actually my
5:33
favorite. In person, it's my favorite
5:36
look of the bag itself. I think it has a
5:38
really sleek look to it that shows off
5:40
the lines a little bit more than the
5:41
traditional black. And I definitely like
5:43
it better than the sage as well. Price
5:46
here is not cheap. $400
5:49
is what the
5:51
expected retail price will be, although
5:52
the early bird with the Kickstarter has
5:54
been $319. It does come as with all Peak
5:58
Design products with a lifetime
5:59
guarantee. So, let's talk about what's
6:01
improved relative to the original Peak
6:04
Design Travel Backpack, which I actually
6:06
liked fine. A lot of people didn't
6:09
necessarily like it all that much and
6:11
felt like while it was nice and big,
6:14
lots of space there inside, that it just
6:16
kind of lacked certain features and
6:18
purpose. And one thing I will say is
6:20
that the straps were never all that
6:23
comfortable. And so, if you had this
6:24
thing really weighed down, I actually
6:27
found that it would put pressure
6:28
specifically on my traps in such a way
6:30
that I would start to feel a little bit
6:33
of a a headache just from pressure
6:35
points on there. It's a vast improvement
6:37
on the new two-in-one travel backpack.
6:40
The
6:41
actual straps themselves have a much
6:44
better padding to them while still not
6:46
looking overstuffed. And they have a
6:48
little bit better contour to them as
6:50
well. And so, right now, I've actually
6:51
got this weighed down pretty heavy. It's
6:53
got a laptop. It's got lots of camera
6:55
stuff in it along with a tech pouch in
6:57
here just that we'll demonstrate in just
6:59
a moment. I feel like it actually sits
7:02
and
7:03
travels much, much better. And the way
7:05
that it actually puts pressure here at
7:07
my kind of like sit bones, hip level, is
7:10
better as well. You do have the option
7:12
of using
7:14
the waist strap as well.
7:16
Because of the improved comfort here, I
7:18
don't feel like that's necessary and
7:20
that seems to be a consensus among a lot
7:22
of reviewers. But one thing I really
7:24
like relative to the original backpack
7:26
is that you couldn't remove the waist
7:28
straps from that one. These are actually
7:31
removable, which just means you can
7:32
eliminate a little bit of weight and
7:34
also open up just a little bit of extra
7:36
space there that you could kind of fill
7:38
out by filling in main compartment on
7:41
the backpack itself. One thing I've
7:42
noticed as I've had these two bags side
7:44
by side is how sloppy my original one
7:47
looks here as it's kind of laid out. One
7:49
of the things that's really helped with
7:50
that is the magnetic
7:52
strap attachments here that will keep
7:54
everything looking much more neat and
7:56
orderly keeping that in place. You also
7:59
have the option because these can be
8:00
easily
8:02
removed here on the bottom. There's just
8:04
a little clasp here that you can
8:07
release there and then you can actually
8:08
tuck them up underneath if you want like
8:11
a completely sleek kind of look. Let's
8:13
say if you're sliding it into an
8:15
overhead compartment, you can just pop
8:18
that off, slide those straps down into
8:21
this and I'll demonstrate one of them
8:23
here and you can have a completely clean
8:25
surface that you're not going to have to
8:26
worry about anything snagging on. So, a
8:29
nice option there.
8:30
And then it's easy to pull that back out
8:33
and to simply use the little latch
8:36
system here to reattach it on the bottom
8:39
and away you go. You have your straps
8:40
back in order there. Another improvement
8:42
I noticed is just a practical one for
8:44
me. I often will be throwing in my Yeti.
8:47
In the opening segment, I demonstrated a
8:49
bag that I have used that I originally
8:51
got from IKEA. And one thing that I've
8:53
had a serious problem with is that is
8:54
that when I had my actual
8:57
Yeti in there something like that, I've
8:59
actually had as I was putting that up
9:00
into an overhead bin even if it was
9:02
empty, I've actually had it fall out
9:04
which is dangerous number one and
9:06
obviously embarrassing on a much lesser
9:09
issue.
9:10
In this case, however, it not only tucks
9:12
deep down into the space, it actually
9:14
tucks down in there to where it is
9:16
thoroughly secured in there and will not
9:18
come out. What's more, I've been able to
9:20
fill up my tea mug in the morning and if
9:23
I'm about to head out for the drive, I'm
9:25
going to check out. I have actually put
9:27
this on recent trip to Montreal. I put
9:29
that in there
9:31
with my tea mug completely full in there
9:33
but closed and I you know, did my check
9:36
out, got out to my truck. I pulled off
9:39
the backpack. I pulled out my mug, and
9:42
there was no spillage. It had been held
9:44
intact that entire time. So, that's a
9:46
big plus for me on a practical level.
9:48
Now, obviously, the whole point of the
9:49
two-in-one system is that you can
9:51
separate these two. And so, that has a
9:53
couple of practical functions. Uh the
9:54
first is in the actual travel process
9:56
itself. Uh what I have typically used a
9:59
two-in-one for in that setting is that
10:01
when I'm getting onto a plane, the main
10:05
portion will go up into the overhead
10:07
bin, whereas this will be what I take to
10:09
my seat. And so, I've got snacks in
10:11
there, my laptop or iPad, um you know,
10:15
e-reader, things like that. The stuff
10:17
that I want to take to my actual seat
10:18
with me. Secondary function of this,
10:20
obviously, is that it becomes your
10:22
daypack when you actually get to your
10:24
destination. And maybe you don't want to
10:25
carry a full backpack. However, you can
10:27
carry this very slim, low-profile
10:30
backpack, and you can put, you know,
10:32
things that you need for the day.
10:34
For me, the
10:36
what makes this a little less practical
10:38
than what I would like is the fact that
10:39
it doesn't fit a lot of camera gear. And
10:42
so, that is on my list of negatives.
10:44
That it really is not designed to where
10:46
there's a lot of room or a lot of
10:49
protection. If you're going to drop a
10:50
camera down there, it can be done, but
10:53
considering how much Peak Design designs
10:55
around photography, it's a little bit of
10:57
a missed opportunity here. And so, that
11:00
is my one complaint there. But, far more
11:02
practically, on if I'm going to board
11:05
meetings and things like that, there is
11:07
much more flexibility here because I
11:10
have an option
11:11
of putting my laptop in either
11:14
container. And so, uh for example here,
11:16
I could put the laptop into the daypack
11:19
and slide it in like that. And so, that
11:22
means I can also take that to a board
11:23
meeting or a thing, uh you know,
11:25
something similar. Or if I'm wanting to
11:26
travel with it, there is a secondary
11:28
laptop uh pocket that can seat up to a
11:32
16-in laptop uh here in the main portion
11:35
as well. So, in either the daypack or
11:37
the main pack, I can slide my laptop.
11:39
That's great. Another thing that I do
11:41
like is that when the two pieces are
11:43
connected together, it doesn't look like
11:45
you have like tacked on something to the
11:47
main bag. This being Peak Design, there
11:49
are anchor points all over the place.
11:51
There are tons of pockets and pouches
11:54
and little divided areas in there. Uh
11:57
suffice it to say that if you don't
12:00
think about where you're putting things,
12:01
it's going to be easy to look through a
12:03
lot of different pouches to try to find
12:06
where it is that you are looking for.
12:09
One of the key Peak Design elements here
12:11
is that they do design around
12:12
photography. And so, not only are these
12:15
again, I've got all these extra pouches
12:16
here, but in this main section here,
12:19
I've got the ability to put on a camera
12:21
cube um or something similar. And so,
12:24
I've got And at the moment in here, I
12:26
have got a camera with 1 2 3 4 5 6
12:30
lenses in here, travel strap, things
12:33
like that. And uh I've got space in here
12:36
for memory cards and things like that.
12:37
Now, obviously, the packing cubes are
12:40
something that you you know, either have
12:41
to bundle with it or purchase
12:43
separately. I also have their tech pouch
12:45
here, which is one of the Peak Design
12:48
things that I love. I've got all kinds
12:50
of different cables in there. I've got
12:52
um I've got, you know, AC adapters. I
12:55
have got
12:56
power bank in there. I've got
12:59
headphones. I've got a wide variety of
13:01
different things in here. I've even got
13:03
a mouse that will attach to my iPad if
13:07
I'm trying to pretend that it is a true
13:09
laptop replacement. And so, I've got
13:12
lots of different options that are
13:14
packed in there. I just throw that in
13:15
there. I've also got their um their bag
13:18
that is designed for toiletries that
13:20
I'll throw in there. And ends up being a
13:22
very, very clean design when it comes to
13:25
that. They also have great integration
13:27
with that to where they actually have
13:28
attachment points. I've only attached
13:30
one at the moment, but it just means
13:32
that this isn't going to fall out when
13:34
you're you know, if you're opening your
13:36
bag and so you're not have to worry
13:37
about your expensive camera gear
13:38
tumbling out. And so again, it's well
13:40
designed for integration with their
13:42
other products. Something I've always
13:44
liked about Peak Design is that they
13:45
have a comprehensive design where all of
13:47
their stuff is designed to work in
13:49
harmony with the other. So let's talk
13:51
about what's not so great. One of the
13:53
things just for me practically the way
13:54
that I've used this bag
13:56
in the past original you know, travel
13:58
backpack is I you know, put things in
14:00
the main section and then I also will
14:03
utilize the front compartment as well.
14:06
And the one thing where I don't find the
14:09
new bag quite as practical as you can
14:11
see that this opens up nice and
14:13
comprehensively to where I can utilize
14:15
that space. Sometimes I'll if I have
14:16
like an nicely already pre-pressed shirt
14:20
I put in there. I've even put a suit in
14:23
there before. I don't really have that
14:25
same functionality with the day pack
14:28
here. It will only zip down to about
14:30
halfway on the side and while the space
14:32
of the area might be similar, I don't
14:34
have the way
14:35
as good a way to access it because it
14:37
can only open up that far. And so I
14:39
actually do wish that they had designed
14:41
to where this could open up a little bit
14:43
more comprehensively and so you could
14:45
use it a little more practically to put
14:48
you know, not just something like a
14:49
laptop and you know, some odds and ends
14:52
in here, but also to use it for
14:53
clothing. I do wish that the day pack
14:55
was a little more photography friendly.
14:58
From the beginning Peak Design has
14:59
really been for photographers as their
15:01
primary audience and so I wish that
15:03
there was a little bit more thought put
15:06
put into photography in the day bag
15:08
itself. That's one area where it is
15:10
deficient. It as always Peak Design
15:13
stuff is expensive and so one of the
15:15
downsides is that it's a lot of money
15:16
and if you want to get their useful
15:18
packing cubes, obviously that's going to
15:20
add up to being even more money, as
15:22
well.
15:23
Another feature that's missing that some
15:24
competitors have is there is no built-in
15:27
TSA locks. And so, they have designed to
15:29
where you can anchor a lot of your
15:32
basically end up with a lot of your
15:34
zippers ending up at the same point
15:35
where you can use one lock to anchor
15:37
them all, but there isn't any kind of
15:39
integrated locks into the bag itself.
15:41
And as I mentioned previously, there
15:43
isn't a good balance point uh for the
15:46
bag itself when it is standing upright.
15:48
So, what's my conclusion? I've actually
15:50
loved the two-in-one concept for a long
15:53
time. And so, I've been traveling with
15:54
that IKEA bag for probably close to 10
15:56
years at this point. And and so, I'm
15:59
well familiar with the concept and
16:00
that's the reason why I've stuck with
16:01
that IKEA bag over the years. And so, I
16:03
think that Peak Design has done that
16:05
concept well.
16:08
Although as as I've mentioned, I do wish
16:10
that the daypack was a little bit more
16:11
flexibility for the photography kind of
16:13
things. However, I can't say that what
16:15
I've been using from the IKEA bag was
16:18
any better for that. And so, they've
16:20
done a good job with this, and this is
16:21
such a useful thing when you go on to an
16:24
airplane.
16:25
I also noted that there is a lot of
16:27
practical improvements relative to the
16:29
original travel backpack. And a lot of
16:31
the things that other people critiqued
16:33
about it have been improved. But the
16:35
most significant improvement is the fact
16:37
that it's just a this is not nearly a
16:40
comfortable as comfortable a bag as the
16:42
new two-in-one travel backpack to
16:44
actually wear and travel with. And that,
16:47
at the end of the day, is kind of the
16:48
big thing. You want a bag that is
16:50
actually comfortable, that's not going
16:52
to give you a headache to wear it around
16:54
when you have to walk through an airport
16:55
for an hour with it on your shoulders,
16:57
for example. As always, it is expensive.
17:00
$400 is a lot of money, so you're going
17:03
to have to decide whether or not uh the
17:05
value here actually suits your budget. I
17:08
actually think that the $319
17:10
early bird Kickstarter price probably
17:12
feels a little more right for it. That
17:15
original travel backpack was about $300
17:17
to begin with and I would say there's
17:19
definitely feels like a good value of 20
17:21
additional dollars to get this. I'm not
17:24
sure that a hundred additional dollars
17:26
is going to feels quite as good a value
17:28
and so I do think that if Peak Design
17:31
can find a way to make their retail
17:33
pricing on this not all that much higher
17:36
than what that Kickstarter price was, I
17:37
think it would be very helpful for them
17:40
in moving these units. But
17:42
this is a well-designed practical bag
17:45
that I certainly I'm going to get a lot
17:47
of use out of myself. You want more
17:49
information about it, you can check in
17:51
the description down below. I'm not
17:53
exactly sure when these units will start
17:55
to ship to uh customers. It just says
17:58
coming soon on the Peak Design site, but
18:00
hopefully coming soon means coming soon.
18:04
As always, thanks for watching. Have a
18:06
great day and let the light in.
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