I’m looking for recommendations for a backpack that will be used for commuting to work. What I’m looking for would have one large compartment that I could put a shirt and a pair of pants in, a Bluetooth speaker, a large Contigo water bottle and maybe some miscellaneous stuff. I don’t want a hundred pockets and compartments (internal or external). All I seem to be able to find are laptop backpacks or hiking backpacks that are just too “busy” with features that would just get in the way or waste storage space. I really don’t want to have to resort to buying a laptop backpack and then cutting out all the internal compartments with a razor blade. That’s just dumb, and I worry that what’s left after cutting would start to fray and fall apart. Durability and and convenience are top priority but price isn’t a huge issue (within reason).
TIA.
Don’t overthink it, look at classic Jansport bags. I’d gone through so many different backpack companies looking for a decent, reasonably priced backpack that wasn’t bogged down with useless shit but still had some organization for my daily carry stuff. I commute to work on the train and have to bring tools, not to mention some odds and ends for sporadic use, rain gear. So I got a bigger one, but it sounds like you could go with the medium size and you’d be right as rain.
It seems like bags these days are really pieces of shit, or they’re these super involved and stupidly expensive bags that are just entirely unnecessary. I’m glad I got a Jansport again. I just wish I had thought of it before I tried like four others that sucked.
That’s my problem. The bags that I see that look like they would meet my needs are really basic and cheap looking. Like the fabric would tear in the first week of use. I need to carry my work uniform, a BT speaker, 2 Contigo bottles and maybe have room for some other random stuff. I just need to throw it all in a single compartment and go. I only have to carry it as far as the car, toss it on the back seat and then carry into work from the parking lot. Don’t need chest and waist straps, don’t care how thick the padding is in the shoulder straps, don’t care if it’s waterproof, it will never hold my laptop, don’t need all the useless bells and whistles that seem to be so popular these days.
Definitely Jansport. They have the classic bags that don’t even have the laptop sleeve against the backpad inside the large pocket. Although I found use for that pocket to store my book, so I can always find it quickly and it doesn’t get ripped.
I have the classic Jansport, just broke it out again after my swissgear laptop bag started giving up the ghost. Can’t believe I stopped using it lol, it’s lovely.
@TheFriar @DeepChill As a generally low-income person who recently spent hundreds on a backpack I will defend expensive products lol. To me, if it uses recycled materials, fair trade labour, and the design is something innovative and thoughtful, it’s worth it.
You do pay more for features. I got the WANDRD PRVKE which has a divided main compartment with 3 access points, a handful of hidden pockets, weatherproofing, a very structured and padded harness system and more, because that’s what I like
Fair enough. OP seems like they really don’t need much more than something simple, though. That looks like a great utility backpack for specialized needs and a technical job with many little pieces for specific gear. It looks great, and it’s one of those backpacks that I always imagine I’d really enjoy, but I’m disorganized and like quick access to a big pouch and nothing else. I have a few Klein pouches I keep more specialized categories of smaller stuff in, and I think that’s as good as my organization gets. That bag looks great for professional camera stuff or something.