Pakt Anywhere Travel Bag Collection Review

Pakt has just launched their fourth crowdfunding campaign, showcasing their newest lineup of travel gear: the Pakt Anywhere Travel Bag Collection. With bags ranging from 5L to 120L, and with a lot of ways to carry and combine them, this new collection lets you customize your setup to fit your travel needs. 

With the pandemic, the way we travel has changed. The team at Pakt took that into consideration as they built their new collection that stays versatile regardless of what your travel looks like these days. 

Something I really appreciate about Pakt is their commitment to environmental sustainability. Their mission is to “produce products as responsibly as possible, building them to last, and designing them to be versatile, so the buyer can minimize the number of products they need.” This versatility was apparent during my testing; I could tell the design of each piece had been carefully considered. The main fabric used in this collection is PET that has been recycled from single-use plastics.

5 Liter Sling

First up is the Pakt Anywhere sling. This is designed to be your quick-access pouch while en-route, and work as an everyday carry item once you get to where you’re headed. It is spacious enough to fit common travel items like your phone, wallet, and passport, as well as a couple of larger items like over-ear headphones, a glasses case, and a snack. While testing out the bag I mostly used it as my everyday sling. But it also quickly attaches to either of the two duffels which makes it a really great travel piece. Carry the two together through the airport and then once on the plane, slide off the sling and toss the duffel in the overhead bin. You can easily tuck the strap away and it becomes a pouch/organizer.

25 Liter Duffel

At first, this bag seemed small for a travel duffel. But after carrying it a few different ways I found it really useful when paired with a wheeled carry-on. You’ve got the duffel handles and a removable shoulder strap, plus a luggage pass-through on the back. Like the sling, it’s great for your quick-access travel items, but is large enough to carry work gear as well. It just barely fits my 15″ MacBook and has a bit of extra space for cable and toiletries pouches. When you’re not using it with wheeled luggage it works as a small overnight bag, as long as you’re not trying to pack any large boots. 

50 Liter Duffel / Pack

I think that this is the piece that really deserves the “Anywhere Travel” name. It gives you multiple ways to organize your gear, multiple ways to access your gear once packed, and multiple ways to carry it while traveling. The main access works a lot like a suitcase with a center zipper and interior dividers that are great for organizing. But those interior dividers can also be taken down, letting you use the bag as one large duffel. Whether you pack it like a suitcase or a duffel, you can get access to each of the compartments from the exterior. 

While using it I always carried it like a backpack or used the duffel handles. But it does also come with a removable, padded shoulder strap. The designers sized it right so that it just fits within the carry-on dimensions. The focus on versatility means this bag has a bit less structure and padding than a typical travel backpack would. But I still found it fairly comfortable to use even when loaded up.

Gear Hauler

This bag is both interesting and strange. To start off, this thing is huge. I can literally climb inside of it. It starts as a 60-liter tote and can expand into a 120-liter duffel. It arrived packed flat with these plastic panels that you are meant to zip into the lining of the bag to give it structure. Once those are installed, it really turns into a useful gear crate. 

I will say that I see this as a car travel accessory. It just seems too big to carry, fully loaded, through an airport. But in the back of your car or SUV, this thing is great. Find yourself going on frequent car camping trips? This is a great way to store your tent, sleeping bags, ground pads, and camping chairs all in one place. Just toss the thing (get a partner to help you) into the back and you’re ready to go. Or like I found myself using it, you can keep it in the back of your car and place your groceries in it, so they don’t roll out onto the ground when you open the back end.

Verdict

The Pakt Anywhere Travel Bag Collection has an interesting line-up of bags that can be used together in a bunch of different ways to fit your different travel needs. Their form is boxy and won’t win any real style awards, but there’s a utility to the collection that would appeal to folks who put function first.

Check out their Indiegogo campaign for some great image and video explanations of all the little details of each of these bags. 

Many thanks to Aaron Puglisi for this article.