Small Travel Backpack for Short Trips: Away Luggage (Tested & Reviewed)

“The Backpack” from Away Luggage is a small backpack intended for short, weekend trips. Away Luggage makes stylish luggage built for the modern traveler. In this post, I’ll walk you through the main features, show you what can be packed inside, and talk about the pros and cons. Read on to learn more about this backpack.

The main compartment of the backpack has enough space where you can easily fit enough clothes for a weekend trip. There's a zippered, mesh pocket for storing things like electronic accessories, snacks, or other small items.

The middle compartment has a couple of slip-in pockets for your phone or small notebooks. There is also an easy to access zippered pocket where you can put your travel documents. This compartment also sports a handy key clip where you can secure your keys so you always know where they are.

Here is all the stuff that I was able to fit in the main and middle compartments. This filled about 90% of the space in those two compartments so even though this is a relatively small travel backpack. There are 3 shirts, a couple pairs of pants, a medium jacket, toiletries bag, a GoPro and tripod, some socks, and a small towel. Additional things that I can fit into the middle compartment are some books, my phone, and some headphones.

This bag also has a laptop compartment where it can easily fit a 15 inch laptop comfortably and it is situated flush with your back. Since most laptops are relatively heavy, the fact that the laptop pocket sits close to your back helps keep the center of gravity of the bag closer to your back so it’s more comfortable to wear for longer durations. There is some additional padding here as well so it’s comfortable on your back and offers some protection for the laptop.

One innovative quality of this backpack is the luggage sleeve. It functions to secure the bag onto the handles of your rolling luggage so that you don’t have to carry it.

Finally, there’s a small, secret pocket behind the luggage sleeve for storing the most important things like your passport and cash.

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The dimensions of the fully filled pack is about 17 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 8 inches deep. At these dimensions, it will definitely fit under the seat on an airplane.

The backpack is stylish and has a minimalistic feel. It certainly has a premium look that combines traditional leather accents with the modern, sleek color and is very Instagramble. 

The material is high quality. From the nylon fabric to the metal strap adjusters and the leather handle, they all feel great. The zippers are smooth and the metal tabs do not feel cheap.

This backpack is the sea green color option and there are currently four total color options available.

Also, the fabric is water resistant so it should easily keep your contents dry in light rain.

Another pro, though it’s kinda a small thing, is that the bag has enough structure to sit upright by itself. There's no need to lean it against anything when you're at the airport.

The water bottle sleeve doesn’t work great for larger water bottles. The bottle doesn’t fit snuggly and tends to fall out or move around especially if it’s full. The zipper that the sleeve uses isn’t a great design for holding the bottle in place.

The padding of the straps could be a bit thicker. It still feels decent but I personally prefer more cushion.

At the time of this writing, the backpack costs $165 on the Away Luggage website which is a bit pricey in my opinion for this type of backpack.

Is the backpack worth it? I hope this post has enough information to help you decide. There are many options out there for small travel backpacks and this is one data point to consider. Personally, I wouldn’t pay such a price for this backpack but would definitely consider it for a discount which is why, if you’re looking to buy it, you can get $20 off the purchase price with my referral link.

Thanks for reading and safe travels!