Another obvious company to check out is Deuter. I love Deuter backpacks and have been using them pretty much on a daily basis. Despite doing everything from going grocery shopping (on my bike and on foot) to bike trips and international travel, these are amazing. I usually keep them until the zipper wears out. Since I am in Japan, replacing the zipper costs me about half of what a new backpack costs and I pay for a new one. I have two or three with faulty zippers, because I still hope to get them replaced.
My weapon of choice is the Transalp 28/30, but I also have a Compact Exp 12 for bike trips or road bike races.
Deuter (and many other backpack manufacturers) also have backpacks more focussed on commuting and others made for mountain biking (as well as hiking, backpacking, etc.). I bought my Deuters initially for mountain biking, and the name is a homage to something mountain bikers in the south of Germany dream of: crossing the Alps from the south of Bavaria to Lake Garda by mountain bike.
I use an Osprey Radial (I believe the smaller 26L size). It looks pretty bulky, but a lot of that is the suspension and frame of the pack. Not to sound like the brochure, but itâs explicitly designed to be super comfortable on the bike, so when riding it really does feel super light and secure on your back. I was running late one day and was able to do a loop of our CX practice course with the bag on with no issues. It also sits a bit lower, and doesnât have a lot of bulk at the top of the bag so your helmet doesnât hit it. The trade off is itâs not a great general daypack because itâs so bike specific. It can be a bit uncomfortable to walk around with for a while, and the frame can make it a bit unwieldy. If youâre carrying just a laptop and lunch itâs pretty light; but I can also get a pair of size 11 running shoes, 2 sets of clothes, and a 1 qt takeout container of lunch in it if needed. If your commute is multimodal, or you need the bag as a daypack off the bike I wouldnât recommend it, but as a bike commuting specific bag itâs awesome.
I have been using the Inside Line Equipment Radius bag for almost exactly what youâre describing and I love it. All their other bags look great too. They even make a ârace dayâ bag but it looks enormous.
So I really like my Camelbak 2016 SKYLINE 10 LR - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HJW888W found on one of the sites - https://wildproofgear.com/best-mtb-backpack/ . The weight distribution is good for a pack of this size, and there are a number of effective pockets that are easily accessible for things like tools or your phone. The main pouch is big enough for a day trip.
Iâm a bit annoyed that Ortleib dont do them any more Ive an early sports packer plus pannier (the new ones donât have the external mesh pocket) and use their back pack adapter and find it the perfect size and comfort for me. The mesh pocket is also handy for putting things in that you need immediate access too whilst the laptop stays nice and secure and dry.
