Customer reviews from Peak Design
Peak Design - Travel Backpack 45L - Black
Average customer rating
4.8
(1,126 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 1,126 reviews
5 Stars
947
4 Stars
130
3 Stars
34
2 Stars
9
1 Star
6
96%of customers recommend this product.
(
625 out of
652)
Customer Reviews for Peak Design - Travel Backpack 45L - Black
Customer Rating
5
Sleek design
on December 3, 2021
Posted by: Kapie
from Birmingham Alabama
Love the way the straps fold away, fits perfectly on the airline overhead bins, enough room for a weeks business travel
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
5
Rugged and perfect for travel
on November 19, 2021
Posted by: Derrick
from Florida
I bought this backpack with a large camera cube and rain fly in anticipation for a trip to Kauai. I looked at videos and reviews for months and finally pulled the trigger thinking it was still a little to expensive. Man I was wrong. It is so well made and durable. The bag held my Sony a7siii with a 24-70 gm, 14mm gm and a 35mm gm with much much more room to spare in just the cube section. I brought many accessories and a peak design tripod as well. The details on the bag are just amazing as well. The back strap you can pass through on your luggage handle was a life saver. Every time I picked up this backpack there was more pockets, handles and accessories I didn’t know about. The first hike I took this on absolutely down poured rain. In Kauai you never know when it’s going to rain and it came down hard. I pulled out the rain fly and it covered my bag within 30 seconds. I proceeded to hike for 2 more miles in the rain and mud. I then got to a river crossing and literally slipped on a rock and fell partially into the water, submerging 1/4 of the bag. After hiking the rest of the trail and back it was a total of about 4 miles in the rain. I opened the bag to check my gear and it was COMPLETELY dry. This bag literally saved my gear. Now onto the second hike I basically risked my life rock climbing down a cliff to a waterfall. I remembered this bag had hip straps so I deployed those and the chest strap. Not one time did the bag get in the way on the way up or down the climb. I highly recommend this bag and I will be doing a YouTube video of all the peak design stuff I got for this trip. I am blown away at the quality and you will not be disappointed. If your thinking about buying any of their photography gear just do it. It saved me thousands!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
5
Just Amazing!!
on November 18, 2021
Posted by: Anonymous
from Jacksonville, FL
The versatility of this bag is outstanding! I purchased it recently for a photoshoot trip in Washington State. I had zero issues with access to equipment and everything fit with room to spare. I had all my camera gear in the Peak Design camera cube (Large) and was able to fit several lenses and my D850 with ease. The Tripod (also Peak Design) fit perfectly in the side pocket and the included straps kept it secure. I also had my 16" laptop and 12.9" tablet in the bag.
Just an amazing backpack!!!!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
5
My Favourite Travel "Must Have"!!
on November 17, 2021
Posted by: Anonymous
from Malacca, Malaysia
My favourite "Must Have" item whenever I travel.
Wish it could be "more" Scratch-Proof. Love the bag so much that I want it feel brand new all the times.
Wish it could be "more" Scratch-Proof. Love the bag so much that I want it feel brand new all the times.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
4
Not the perfect backpack they claimed but close
on November 15, 2021
Posted by: secateurs
from Alice Springs, Australia
I have had this backpack for a few months now. As you can see, I give it 4 stars and I really like the bag. Most of the features of the bag I really like. I won't go into them here because they have been covered by other online reviews.
However, I do have a few niggles that you don't hear much about online:
* The top carry handle is too small (doesn't stick up enough) so it is hard to grab the bag from the top, especially from beside the bag. For example, when grabbing it off the passenger side seat when I jump out of the car. I didn't think I'd use side grab handles much, but they're good for this - as long as I don't have anything in the side pouches. Even carrying the bag from the top carry handle can be annoying/painful because of the lack of clearance to the padded rear section of the bag. But maybe if it were bigger it would rub on your back/neck when wearing it as a backpack? I don't know.
* the buckles look like they will last a lot longer than the plastic ones on most other bags, but what's the point if they don't work? They are too slippery on the seatbelt-like material of the straps so they tend to loosen. This is especially annoying on the shoulder straps. If you let them get to the biggest setting it is difficult to tighten them up again as you can't get your finger in the loop to pull hard. This means you must take the backpack off to adjust the shoulder strap if it gets too loose.
* Similar issues with the sternum strap. It loosens way too easily. It's also more annoying than a normal sternum strap with a plastic buckle because all the length of the strap is on one side, so with the metal buckle hanging off it, it can really get annoying swinging around if you don't want to hook it on like it's designed to. It can also be difficult (but not impossible) to undo the strap with one hand (whereas a plastic one can be easily undone with one hand).
* The shoulder straps tend to slide off my shoulders if the sternum strap is not done up. I'm not sure whether it's the shape of the strap or whether they're too widely spaced for my shoulders, but this makes the finicky sternum strap even more annoying.
* The press studs at the top of the bag to reduce the volume of the bag are a great idea! Too bad they don't work. They don't hold strongly enough and eventually pop back open.
* The magnets on the front/bottom holding in the straps are spaced too widely or are too weak and a couple of times the straps have come out. I don't use those straps very much so for me it would be better to just have them zipped in. For others who get them out all the time maybe the magnets are more convenient, i don't know.
*ID pouch: Would anyone find it? I doubt it.
* Internal durability: I question whether the internal compartments will last the distance. They are made from very thin material.
However, I do have a few niggles that you don't hear much about online:
* The top carry handle is too small (doesn't stick up enough) so it is hard to grab the bag from the top, especially from beside the bag. For example, when grabbing it off the passenger side seat when I jump out of the car. I didn't think I'd use side grab handles much, but they're good for this - as long as I don't have anything in the side pouches. Even carrying the bag from the top carry handle can be annoying/painful because of the lack of clearance to the padded rear section of the bag. But maybe if it were bigger it would rub on your back/neck when wearing it as a backpack? I don't know.
* the buckles look like they will last a lot longer than the plastic ones on most other bags, but what's the point if they don't work? They are too slippery on the seatbelt-like material of the straps so they tend to loosen. This is especially annoying on the shoulder straps. If you let them get to the biggest setting it is difficult to tighten them up again as you can't get your finger in the loop to pull hard. This means you must take the backpack off to adjust the shoulder strap if it gets too loose.
* Similar issues with the sternum strap. It loosens way too easily. It's also more annoying than a normal sternum strap with a plastic buckle because all the length of the strap is on one side, so with the metal buckle hanging off it, it can really get annoying swinging around if you don't want to hook it on like it's designed to. It can also be difficult (but not impossible) to undo the strap with one hand (whereas a plastic one can be easily undone with one hand).
* The shoulder straps tend to slide off my shoulders if the sternum strap is not done up. I'm not sure whether it's the shape of the strap or whether they're too widely spaced for my shoulders, but this makes the finicky sternum strap even more annoying.
* The press studs at the top of the bag to reduce the volume of the bag are a great idea! Too bad they don't work. They don't hold strongly enough and eventually pop back open.
* The magnets on the front/bottom holding in the straps are spaced too widely or are too weak and a couple of times the straps have come out. I don't use those straps very much so for me it would be better to just have them zipped in. For others who get them out all the time maybe the magnets are more convenient, i don't know.
*ID pouch: Would anyone find it? I doubt it.
* Internal durability: I question whether the internal compartments will last the distance. They are made from very thin material.
All right, all right. So a few things I DO like about the bag then (I can't help myself!):
* cavernous side pouches. They just consume water bottles, no matter how large.
* laptop pouch. in the perfect position. feels very well protected, pretty easy to access
* Size: This bag is massive. I haven't even expanded the expansion zips yet!
* Weight is not an issue for me. For what it is, how big it is, and all the organisational pouches, it's a good weight.
* External durability: So far so good. I'm not gentle on the bag, putting it down wherever I need to. No scuffs or visible wear on the outside of the bag so far. Even after rubbing it against rocks and cement walls as I walk past (because it's so big)
* Security features
* cavernous side pouches. They just consume water bottles, no matter how large.
* laptop pouch. in the perfect position. feels very well protected, pretty easy to access
* Size: This bag is massive. I haven't even expanded the expansion zips yet!
* Weight is not an issue for me. For what it is, how big it is, and all the organisational pouches, it's a good weight.
* External durability: So far so good. I'm not gentle on the bag, putting it down wherever I need to. No scuffs or visible wear on the outside of the bag so far. Even after rubbing it against rocks and cement walls as I walk past (because it's so big)
* Security features
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Posted by: paparazzi83
Verified Purchase:Yes
Took this backpack around to Athens and Istanbul, and it's a great bag! There have been some learning curve parts; like the top handle is not where you'd expect it to be, the front main compartment entry is much harder to use than the back one (but sometimes it the one you need to use), and the middle pockets are weird that you can access them from both sides. I would suggest really doing your research on these bags before buying, because if you don't pay attention you may hate this bag. But for me, it was a great travel bag and look forward to using it on many more trips to come!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Posted by: HeyBiddie_
from San Diego, CA
Verified Purchase:Yes
I bought 2 of these bags recently, one for me, one for my partner for our extensive travel (in US and abroad). We love the bags! My only complaint is the straps are a touch cumbersome to stash - but this is likely user error (I generally do things too quickly and get annoyed very easily, which is my own fault) - I do love the ability to use or hide the straps so I would rather struggle with the straps for a few extra moments than to not have the feature. The magnetic bits do hold everything in place very well and we have not had any trouble moving the bags in and out of overhead bins on, etc and then quickly popping the straps out and getting off the plane. I love the removable straps on the front too - great for holding bulky coats or a blanket! We did have an issue with one of the chest straps being manufactured incorrectly but I contacted PD and they sent over a new one right away :) I love the warranty, especially considering the price tag. If I could change anything, it would be moving the main zipper so it was in the middle of the bag, not the very back so it opened with equal sized sections on both sides and laid out "flatter". We both find stashing our laptops in the front section is easier than the designated area when filling the bag to it's max with clothing packing cubes, etc. Overall, these bags are SOLID while not being bulky or heavy and versatile with the ability to grab handles on all sides, modify the overall size, and stashability of all the straps. Highly recommend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Posted by: Hayden E.
from Colorado
Verified Purchase:Yes
The backpack has a lot of amazing features. I really enjoy the how I can fit a whole weekend worth of clothes and my gear in one bag. The only think that I would find myself not useing as much would be the side acsess panels. other than that I love this bag!! The bulild materials are amazing and I know that i will be beating this up a lot, and feel comfortable to do so. The camera cube and the capture clips are so handy!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design