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The best backpacks for striding to the office in style
Whether you’re stowing your gym kit, pencil case, laptop or reading glasses, these backpacks are the best to get you through the day.
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
If there’s one essential item that has accompanied you on your journey through life from your school days up through to your office commute, it’s a quality backpack. Storing your gym kit, laptop or a pair of trainers on your weekend getaway, they are the humble servant ready to carry anything you might need for the day ahead. Grabbing one of the best backpacks, therefore, should be your top priority.
Providing a neat middle ground between briefcase, laptop backpack and gym bag, there’s rarely a situation that doesn’t call for a spacious bag to help you get around without your hands full. They come in all shapes and sizes, from day packs with main compartments that are only capacious enough for a few essential items, to full-on travel backpacks that can double up as carry-on luggage on your travels, so it’s worth taking your time to assess your options.
Every major fashion brand has put forth its take on this versatile vessel but, as with all accessories, some do it better than others. Here, to set you in the right direction, we present the GQ edit of the best high-quality backpacks you can buy, with options for every budget.
What are GQ's best backpacks for men?
You'll find all the backpacks worth your consideration in the gallery below, but first, here's what our editors are carrying:
- Best leather backpack: Harber Leather Backpack, £68 at harberlondon.com
- Best carry-on backpack: Carl Friedrik 72-hour, £495 at carlfriedrik.com
- Best daypack: Antler Chelsea Daypack,
£100£42 at antler.co.uk - Best travel backpack: July Volume+, £175 at july.com
- Best hiking backpack: Levis, £35 at asos.com
- Best laptop bag: Away Everywhere, £124 at awaytravel.com
- Best-looking backpack: Moncler x Adidas, £530 at moncler.com
- Best waterproof backpack: Briggs & Riley, £249 at briggs-riley.co.uk
Skip to: How we test the best backpacks | What backpack is best for my back? | What backpack is best for travelling? | What is a laptop backpack? | What makes a good backpack? | GQ's guide to the best luggage
How we test the best backpacks
We'd never dream of recommending any travel gear without first testing it rigorously through a range of trips and commutes, from far-flung destinations and back to the office. Owen Gough, British GQ's commerce editor and hobbyist traveller also happens to have the longest commute of the team, so he's very tapped into what makes a quality city hopper that can hold his laptop, essential office items and a snack for the journey. To test each piece of luggage available in this list, he took these bags out for either a spin on his train in and out of London, navigating the London Underground at the same time, or he took a bag on his various business trips to locations like South Korea or Berlin, assessing how much capacity was available for longer trips, how lightweight they are to lug around airports, and of course the style points available for the most sartorial bags.
What backpack is best for my back?
Ergonomic value is never far from our minds when recommending luggage, but if you suffer from back pain or you want to avoid a crooked spine with a poorly designed backpack, it's worth learning the various features you need to look out for.
Those who hike will know that a key component to keeping the weight off your back and shoulders is to divert it to your hips with compression straps that sit the bottom portion of your back on your waist. Not all day packs will be big enough to reach your lower back, but if you get aches and pains after a long day of travel, it's worth checking out hiking backpacks with a hip belt to relieve the pressure. Brands like Osprey, Patagonia, and Away make excellent backpacks that distribute weight evenly. Partner this with a sternum strap or chest strap to pull the weight around your shoulders to keep the rest of the weight spread across the top of your torso.
An often under-discussed aspect of buying a good bag for your back is its breathability. When the back sits flush against your shoulders, you lose out on a lot of airflow that can impact your comfort. Not only will a breathable bag that sits slightly off your shoulders – via a mesh divider – keep your back cool, but it also means you won't be tempted to fiddle with the straps to relieve the discomfort.
What backpack is best for travelling?
Most airlines allow you to bring on a carry-on case as well as a small personal bag for your trip, prompting many to hunt for the best travel backpacks that offer comfort, capacious compartments, plenty of pockets for passports and essentials, and also built from quality materials to cope with your jet-setting. Below, we've got a range of sizes and builds, and the vast majority are ready-made to cope with flights, bus trips or a road trip with no problem, but there are a few things to consider.
Waterproof travel packs are an essential grab for anyone travelling to countries with wetter climates, with many hiking backpacks or duffels featuring weather-resistant rain covers to combat water-related headaches. If your destination isn't the deep rainforests, you should keep an eye out for most backpacks with comfortable shoulder straps, a wealth of pockets to hide away essential items, and possibly even space for one or two packing cubes to organise your luggage.
What is a laptop backpack?
Of course, the greatest thing about a backpack is its versatility, from the daily commute to work to a long-haul trip across the globe, a backpack is your willing companion, holding all your vitals regardless of your destination. Because of this, most backpacks will be capable of holding at least a small-ish laptop inside, but there are specialist laptop bags that are perfect for such cargo.
A laptop bag will have a dedicated compartment, either inside or as a set of exterior pockets to store tablets and laptops safely. Most will have protective interiors that bolster your device from knocks as you travel, and some will probably have additional pockets to store chargers or other paraphernalia for quicker access. These commuter bags are often smaller and lighter, so they may not be a great option for longer journeys, but still solid if you need to take your laptop.
What makes a good backpack?
When it comes to backpack shopping, you'll want to pay attention to construction, fabrication and durability before pressing that all-important ‘add to cart’ button. That said, just like with the above, what makes a backpack great depends on what you need it for… luckily for you, we've laid out quite the selection below.
GQ's guide to the best luggage
Keen to expand your repertoire of luggage? Regardless of your destination or travel plans, it's always worth investing in your luggage to avoid travel frustrations – we can't tell you how many times a tote bag has simply not been the right choice for a travel bag. Below, we've collected every single roundup of our travel editors' top luggage picks, from top-tier suitcases to a luxe passport holder to flash at Customs Control.
Suitcases | Luggage brands | Passport holders | Cheap suitcases | Packing cubes | Travel backpacks | Briefcases | Carry-on luggage | Men's holdalls
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