The best backpacks for carrying and organizing all of your tech

Whether you’re a writer, photographer, or someone with a long commute to work every day, backpacks are the most efficient way to carry a full day’s worth of gear without having to fuss with annoying rolling bags or messenger bags that wreck your shoulder. They’re also a huge commodity, with thousands of tech backpacks to choose from, ranging from plain empty bags to more specialized options with dividers, pouches, and pockets galore. These are the best backpacks that cater specifically to tech.

Best Overall: Peak Design Everyday Backpack v2

Peak Design makes one of the most instantly recognizable backpacks around. The San Francisco-based company makes backpacks that put an equal focus on both aesthetics and functionality. The result is a bag that many of us on the Android Central team use every day. The Everyday Backpack v2 is available in 20L and 30L configurations to accommodate different body types and carry needs.

The design is the same on either size bag, and starts with a magnetic latch on the top flap that allows for quick access and helps keep others out. That flap, along with the rest of the bag, is protected by a hydrophobic coating that keeps water away from your electronics. There are four metal bars along the front that you can attach the magnetic latch onto to adjust the storage capacity of the bag, doubling as a security measure that keeps passersby from easily getting into your bag.

No other bag is as easily adaptable as the Everyday Backpack.

Inside, there are several adjustable dividers that you can rearrange to fit your belongings perfectly, and the bag opens from the sides for easy access. The Everyday Backpack v2 is also covered in hidden compartments and expandable pockets that can hold everything from water bottles to small tripods. Peak Design even makes its own travel tripod that’s specifically designed to fit in the Everyday Backpack’s side pockets.

Compared to the original Everyday Backpack, the v2 brings with it a rounder, sleeker design with more flexible mesh compartments and smoother zippers that shouldn’t break nearly as often. The straps have also been upgraded with considerably better padding, and new magnets keep the luggage passthrough and straps tidy when not in use.

The Everyday Backpack v2 isn’t cheap by any means. But if you do a lot of travel and you need a durable bag that can hold up to regular use and adapt to your ever-changing carry load, it’s a worthwhile investment.

Pros:

• Easily adjustable internal dividers
• Water-resistant coating
• Tons of hidden and expandable compartments
• Available in two sizes
• Plenty of theft-preventative features

Cons:

• Side openings are overly rigid
• Expensive for a backpack

Best Overall

Peak Design Everyday Backpack v2

• $208 at Amazon
• $208 at Best Buy
• $208 at B&H

The most adaptable backpack out there

The Everyday Backpack features expandable storage and adjustable dividers that let you organize your things any way you like.

Great Alternative: Lowepro Freeline

Lowepro is one of the largest brands in camera bags, and the Freeline is the company’s take on Peak Design’s Everyday Backpack. It’s designed around a similar system of customizable dividers on the inside, with the same side access to everything at once. The big kicker with the Freeline? Those dividers attach to a removable back panel, meaning that if you just need a simple backpack for a day trip, you can quickly remove the dividers without affecting the arrangement.

There are other convenient features like an included tech organizing pouch, special slots in the side openings for essential items like SD cards, and straps on the front for carrying larger items like tripods externally. At the top is a broad, somewhat hardshell opening for safely carrying smaller items. The Freeline is considerably cheaper than the Everyday Backpack v2 and could be a better bag for some users.

Pros:

• Removable Quick Shelf system
• Side access to everything at once
• Included tech organizing pouch
• Water-resistant coating
• Hardshell top for protecting smaller items

Cons:

• Organizers aren’t as flexible as Peak’s
• No side handles

Great Alternative

Lowepro Freeline BP 350 AW

• $170 at B&H
• $260 at Walmart

Lowepro learned from and, in some ways, even surpassed Peak

The Freeline’s dividers can be removed along with the back panel, turning it into a more straightforward bag for short trips.

Best Value: Lenovo Eco Pro

Lenovo’s Eco Pro backpack is designed for sustainability. It’s made almost entirely of recycled materials, including the equivalent of 34 plastic bottles, which keeps waste out of landfills. Lenovo repurposes those materials into a low-profile, sturdy bag with a soft, fabric-like texture and a breathable mesh to keep your back cool. The bag itself is chock-full of hidden compartments and pockets that make organized storage a breeze, and the padded straps help keep the bag comfortable, even with a heavy carry load.

There’s plenty of space in the Eco Pro for a 15-inch laptop, a tablet, water bottles, and spare clothes. There’s even a dedicated pocket for keeping track of your passport. Best of all, this bag is just as friendly on your wallet as it is on the environment.

Pros:

• Made of 83% recycled content
• Lightweight, durable, comfortable
• Tons of great hidden pouches and pockets
• Aesthetic will please minimalists

Cons:

• Water bottle pouches are too small
• Only one color option

Best Value

Lenovo Eco Pro

• $60 at Lenovo

An eco-friendly bag with plenty of space

The Lenovo Eco Pro has a spacious main compartment, plus specialized pockets and comfortable straps.

Easily Expandable: Nomatic Travel Pack

The Nomatic Travel Pack is a gorgeous backpack that can expand from 20L to 30L, giving you the best of both worlds between small size and large storage capacity. With a quick unzip, the Travel Pack can go from a lightweight day bag for quick trips downtown to a travel-ready bag that can fit several days’ worth of supplies with ease.

Along with storage expansion and great looks, the Travel Pack also features a laptop compartment that easily folds out to expedite TSA encounters, along with a protected pocket for tablets. There’s a mesh dividing wall inside the bag for separating items, and the Travel Pack even supports compression packing cubes for storing things like small articles of clothing.

Pros:

• Expands from 20L to 30L
• Great-looking design
• TSA-ready laptop sleeve
• Mesh dividing wall for organization
• Cord passthrough for charging devices

Cons:

• Expensive
• Missing the useful removable panel of Nomatic’s other bags

Easily Expandable

Nomatic Travel Pack

• $156 at Amazon
• $156 at B&H

A stylish bag with expandable storage.

The Travel Pack can quickly expand from 20 to 30 liters and offers conveniences like RFID-safe pockets and a TSA-ready laptop sleeve.

Great for Students: Timbuk2 Authority

Timbuk2 has a wide range of backpacks at just about any price point, and the Authority offers a beautiful blend of affordability, style, and functionality. It’s a reasonably slim bag with a variety of color options that, like many of the other packs in this list, is loaded with pockets large and small for organizing your things, including an expandable side pocket on the outside to hold a water bottle.

For added comfort, the Authority includes sternum straps that can be tucked back into the shoulder straps when you’re not using them, along with a mesh back panel to help keep your back and shirt dry. Best of all, the Authority holds laptops as large as 17 inches, because — surprise! — not everyone owns a MacBook. There’s also a spot for stowing away your keys while you’re out, and compression straps at the bottom of the bag let you tote around a large jacket, blanket, or, well, whatever else fits.

Pros:

• Affordable option
• Stowable sternum strap and mesh backing for comfort
• Numerous pockets for organizing small items
• Holds up to a 17-inch laptop
• Compression straps for external carries

Cons:

• Fabric material scuffs easily
• No adjustable dividers inside

Great for Students

Timbuk2 Authority

• From $50 at Amazon
• $129 at B&H

A simple, efficient bag that easily accommodates larger laptops.

The Authority is a nice bag with a variety of color options and 28L of storage, with plenty of pockets for organizing small items.

If we were buying

Any of the backpacks in this list will serve you well, but if we had to choose, the Peak Design Everyday Backpack v2 remains at the top of our recommendations. Nearly half a dozen people on the Android Central team already use the Everyday Backpack because it’s such a versatile bag, and works equally well as a camera bag or a light day pack.

For me, the collapsible dividers have been incredibly useful, since I can adjust the sub-dividers on the fly without having to remove and reposition the velcro walls, allowing me to safely stow away small lenses during travel and access them quickly when needed. The newly padded straps also make it dramatically more comfortable than the previous generation, which is especially nice when you’re carrying loads of heavy gear.

There’s no getting around that it’s an expensive backpack, but that money is going towards a bag that you won’t need to replace for years to come. If you’re someone who uses their backpack a lot, and especially if you’re a photographer or videographer who needs precise organization and quick access to their gear, the Everyday Backpack v2 is an investment well worth making.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Hayato Huseman is a recovering trade show addict and video editor for Android Central based out of Indianapolis. He can mostly be found complaining about the cold and enthusing about prog metal on Twitter at @hayatohuseman.