Peak Design Everyday Backpack 20L review for the everyday commuter

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My name is Eric Welander, and welcome to my channel, all about apps and gear in the Apple
ecosystem.
Today, we're going to look at the Peak Design Everyday Backpack, and how it might fit into
your everyday commute.
So a couple of weeks ago, I shot a "What's in my bag?"
video that shows what I've been taking in my latest backpack, the Peak Design Everyday
Backpack.
So, there's a link up there in a card if you want to check that video out.
Since that video, I've taken this bag on two different airplane trips.
And then many more days as my everyday commute backpack.
So I wanted to wrap all of that perspective up into a review, talking about this bag from
the perspective of an everyday commuter.
So you might have heard of Peak Design.
They're known for making very classy camera bags that don't really look like camera
bags.
And this backpack is no exception to that.
But like a lot of camera bags, it comes with these great Velcro dividers that you can use
to section off the backpack into different parts that fit whatever you want to carry
in it.
So even if you're not trying to carry a lot of camera gear, the flexibility of this
style of bag can be very handy.
Peak Design as well has also done a lot to innovate on their bag dividers.
They have these like, sort of foldable flaps that allow you to even adjust it further and
give you more compartments or ways to divide the bag without having to redo the Velcro.
One of the most unique and striking and noticeable things about this backpack, right off the
bat, is that there's these two flaps on either side that fold down.
And that makes it very easy to load the bag with all the you want, and it also makes it
easy to get to stuff that's sort of inside or in the middle of your backpack.
Because of the dividers, you can sort of open up the side door, and then get into, you know,
that lower or middle level of your gear and get something out.
But the disadvantage is because there's two of those flaps on either side of the bag,
it's sometimes difficult to remember which side you put an item in.
So you'll end up opening one and realizing "oh, wait, it's on the other side of the
pocket".
I'd love to see maybe some way they could make this bag look a little different on either
side to maybe help with that.
So another unique trait of Peak Design bags is the top flap where they have this sort
of metal clasp that makes it very easy to get in and out of the bag.
I've had other bags with different top flaps and other latch systems that are a lot more
cumbersome and slower to get into.
This one makes it very quick to get in and out of that top compartment.
So as far as laptop capacity.
If you're doing an everyday commute, you're probably want to carry either a large tablet
or laptop with you.
I can easily fit a 15" Apple MacBook Pro.
There's also a second slot in there to put, say, a tablet.
I put my 9.7" iPad in there.
If you take your iPad out though, if you're needing to carry two laptops for whatever
reason, you can fit two 15" MacBook Pros in the pocket, but it's going to be pretty
tight.
But it's good to know that you have that option if you need it.
In that same laptop pocket, there's also a small padded pocket that's great to put
important items like maybe a boarding pass or a passport.
But it's even large enough that I can also fit my Kindle if I'm carrying that with
me.
And there's also another small pocket to carry little things in the front area of the
bag.
It's sort of enclosed by a magnet, which is pretty cool.
Another great features is that the backpack straps are super easy to adjust.
I've found on other backpacks you kind of end up just setting those and forgetting it
just because it's such a pain to change those.
But the way they've designed these ones is different than a lot of other backpacks,
and once you get the hang of it, I find myself adjusting the straps, sometimes every day,
just to make sure I have the right fit, and it feels comfortable over my jacket or depending
on what I'm carrying that day.
The straps aren't super cushy, but I think they have enough cushion for every day use.
I'm pretty satisfied with them.
There's also a sternum strap if you like those for carrying something really heavy.
Another great feature is that the side pockets are very sturdy.
So you can easily put a water bottle or a coffee mug, an umbrella, or even a small tripod
in there, and know that it's got a lot less chance of falling out than some other backpacks
I've had, those side pockets can be kind of flimsy, and then, you know, a water bottle
in there can easily go flying.
It's really nice to have, not only one, but two of those side pockets, and know that
they're really sturdy and are going to hold whatever you put in there.
One the back of this bag, sort of underneath, you can pull out these two straps that hook
around.
And you know I guess they allow you to secure some bigger item to the back of your backpack
if you're say riding a bike, you can carry something home with those sort of strapping
that item to the backpack.
It seems a little bit precarious to me and not something I'm used to using.
I would way rather have that spot be taken up by a front pocket that I could just put
extra stuff in, rather than this weird strap system.
But maybe you like it, I don't know.
Let me know in the comments below if you're a die-hard of that kind of a system.
There's also some great anti-theft zippers, given that you're probably going to be carrying
some valuable stuff in this bag.
Basically the fabric lanyards that kind of come off of the zippers…they can loop around
these more secure loops on the bag.
And, yeah, it's not a fool proof system.
Someone could slit that open with a knife probably, but it's going to be kind of difficult
to do that, and it also makes, you know, impossible for them to sort of slip open the zipper,
just with a slight of hand or something.
So you can tell that Peak Design has thought a lot about the ergonomics of the bag and
just how it's used.
The top handle is really great to grab, and very easy.
Of course that's something you use all the time on a bag like this.
It's also really nice that this bag is luggage mountable.
To not have to carry a heavy backpack through the airport and be able to put on top of luggage…I've
found that super nice for traveling.
So in conclusion, I think this bag is really great if you have a lot of tech gear that
you want to be taking from point A to point B, say, into the office.
It's especially great if you have a lot of dongles, a lot of cables that you like
to have on-the-ready, with you at all times, along with your normal gear.
This bag is not great though if you still have a lot of paper that you need to deal
with and carry.
There aren't many places to put the paper, so hopefully you have other ways.
I've used a plastic folder that I put in the laptop compartment, and that works for
a little bit of paper.
But you'll need other ways to carry that if that's an important part of your life.
One of the big advantages I've found of this bag specifically is being able to have
my camera with me wherever I go, and to know that the camera is well padded an safe and
not just thrown in the open part of some other bag.
That said, if you're looking at this bag as a solution for, maybe going on vacation,
and taking a bag out with you during the day, where you have your camera and you're always
grabbing your camera out of the bag to take some photos and then putting it back…that,
I don't think would be a very ideal solution.
I've tried using it a few times, where I would carry, you know, the camera, and get
it out.
And just the way the side flaps work and stuff, it's not a very quick access system.
I think you should probably look at, either a sling, or some of Peak Design's other
things there you can like clip the camera to your backpack strap or belt or whatever,
as far as getting quick access to a camera on the go.
The other disadvantage that I think you should know about is that there's a little bit
of a learning curve if you're coming from more of a normal backpack or messenger bag
set up.
Don't be too disappointed if you can't fit as much as you think you could fit in
the first few times packing it.
It takes a little bit of trial and error to figure out where you want to put the dividers,
and just all the details of what you think would fit in each of the different pockets.
But that said, I think it's a really great quality back pack.
There's great attention to design and detail all over it.
And, I think, overall it's a really great value that I'd highly recommend if you're
looking to, again, take a lot of electronics with you on your day to day commute.
Thanks so much for watching this video.
And let me know in the comments below if you've bought the Peak Design bag, or you're looking
to buy it, have any questions.
I'd love to start a discussion about maybe details I missed or forgot to cover in this
video.
Give this video a thumbs up if you liked it.
Subscribe for more content about apps and gear in the Apple ecosystem, and I'll see
you in the next one.
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Peak Design Everyday Backpack 20L review for the everyday commuter

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