It took more than a decade, but I finally found the perfect travel backpack. 

When I first backpacked Europe more than a decade ago, I borrowed a pack from a friend. For two glorious weeks, I lived out of this backpack while traveling by train to London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Zurich, and Rome with with my college best friend and not a lot of money.

That backpack was meant for petite travelers, but is was still too big for me. And it was also just large enough that it had to be checked. Its most annoying feature, however, was that it had one main compartment that only opened from the top. Trust me, having to dig everything out of your bag gets old quick. 

Lugging that backpack through crowded train stations, up narrow Dutch staircases, and through the streets of Berlin on this fast-moving and loosely planned journey showed me just how big a difference having the right bag for a trip can be. I’ve finally found it with the Osprey Transporter Duffel 40L.

The Basics 

The Osprey Transporter Duffel 40L is 21 inches tall, 12 inches wide, and 10.6 inches deep, making it the perfect size for travelers around 5 feet tall. Even the straps land in the right places. 

The lightweight travel backpack costs under $150 and weighs just 2.7 pounds. The bag is both a duffel and a backpack whose straps can be hidden away. It’s made with double-coated nylon, folds up for easy storage, and holds up better than expected in the cargo hold. 

I opted for 40L size because it’s large enough to carry everything I need for a few weeks on the road but small enough that to carry on most airlines. As a petite woman, I can comfortably lug this size backpack around without it feeling awkward. It’s lightweight, water-resistant and has sturdy handles that make it easy to grab and slide into an overhead bin or train station locker.

The Osprey Transporter Duffel 40L feels like the equivalent of the standard 22” rollaboard and converts into a duffel. It offers enough space to live out of comfortably for two weeks, which is how long I lugged it around Costa Rica on our first trip together and how long I lived out this bag on another trip to Los Angeles.

An internal mesh panel makes it easy to access items like passports, wallets and keys, and a U-shaped zipper that allows full access to bag makes sure you’re never digging to the bottom of your pack for the item you need most. The only thing missing from the Osprey Transporter line is a pouch for a water bottle.

What I Love 

The Osprey Transporter Duffel 40L zips all the way around, so you don’t have to unpack it to retrieve things like you would with a traditional top-loading backpack. 

In addition to the main compartment, the Osprey Transporter Duffel 40L has a top pocket that’s perfect for stashing items you’re likely to need during transit. Packing cubes make it easy to maximize space within the main compartment and keep your things organized. 

The Osprey Transporter Duffel bag fits into standard overhead bins, and I’ve never had a problem carrying it onto a plane. In fact, I’ve only checked it once and that was to see how the fabric would hold up. In case you’re wondering, the bag came through without a scratch or tear. 

What I Don’t Love 

The Osprey Duffel Transporter 40L is almost the perfect travel backpack. There are just two things it lacks: a laptop compartment and a place for a water bottle. 

As a travel writer and digital nomad, it’s hard for me to go anywhere without my laptop. With this bag, I’ve adapted by putting my 13” MacBook Air into a fitted Incase sleeve and packing that top of everything else. So far, it’s worked out. If you’ve got a larger laptop, you may not fare as well. 

The other challenge with this bag is that there isn’t an exterior pouch for a water bottle. The first few times I traveled with this bag I kept reaching for a place, anyplace, to stash a water bottle.

I’ve since picked up a collapsible water bottle that I attache to a strap on my pack with a carabiner clip. It works. And having a refillable, collapsible bottle isn’t just better for the environment, it also means I never pay airport prices for bottled water. 

Bonus  

Since it’s soft-sided, the Osprey Transporter Duffel 40 is perfect for African safaris, which tend to have strict luggage requirements. Safari lodges often require guests to travel by private planes with limited luggage space and strict rules. Hard-sided bags and bags with more than two wheels are typically prohibited. 

The Bottom Line 

The Osprey Transporter Duffel 40 is a lightweight travel backpack that’s easy to live out of and comfortable to carry. It’s versatility and affordability make it a solid investment. I love this bag so much I’ve already bought one for a friend.