Nomatic Travel Pack Review // Brutally Honest // Pros and Cons

Hello. It's Aaron Radcliffe here from nomadsnation.com where we do the best backpack reviews on the Web. Today's backpack review is going to be the Nomatic Travel Pack review. I'm going to show you everything you need to know about this backpack. In this guide, we're going to take it through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, so you can see exactly the way the bag looks, the way that it feels, and most importantly, how it functions while you're traveling in an urban environment.

We're going to discuss every last thing you need to know about the Nomatic Travel Pack. We're going to talk about the specs of the bag, the style, the feel, the front, the middle, and the back, so that you can know whether or not this is a pack for you. Then, at the end, we're going to take this review off the streets and back into my coworking space. I'll let you know the overall pros of this bag, the overall cons, and who I think it's perfect for. One last thing, before we jump into it, if you're enjoying what we're doing, show us some love by liking this video and subscribing to our channel. It helps our channel grow, and you'll know any time we make a new video.

First up, let's talk about the Nomatic Travel Pack specs. Two things: price is around $260 (prices may change), and the size is 20 liters that can expand to 30 liters. I'll explain what I mean with the size. If you were looking at this. you would be like, oh my God, that's not 20 liters, and you would be right. That's because right now, I currently have it expanded to 30 liters. But if you close an area of the bag, it shrinks down by ten liters to the original 20-liter size. For context, a 20-liter backpack is going to be great for an everyday carry bag. Think of it like a day pack. It's you going from your apartment to your coworking space, dinner with your friends to kind of carry your day-to-day stuff. A 30-liter backpack can still be used as a day-to-day backpack, but it's also just big enough as to where it can be used for a travel pack for shorter trips.

Think like one to two days if you pack really heavy, or like five to seven days if you're a super minimalist and pack light. That's what's so interesting and sort of appealing about the Nomatic Travel Pack. You get both. If you just want it to be that day pack, you can compress it, take it down to 20 liters, and just use it for your day-to-day carries, and it's pretty small. It works pretty well. But then, in the situations where you need it for a 3, 4, 5, or 6 day trip, you just expand this out, Add a week's worth of clothes, and bam, you got the travel pack. The versatility of this bad boy is one of its best selling points, and while $260 (prices may change) seems like a bit of a hike, it's pretty worth it considering all that you're getting.

Let's talk about the style of the Nomatic Travel Pack. Now, all Nomatic backpacks are sexy. They're sexy because they're designed to be that way. They use this super smooth leathery kind of a feel. We'll talk about what that material is in the next section. More or less, the entire design is meant to be just kind of smooth. It's got that smooth, sexy, leathery sort of a business look, and that's one of the reasons this is one of the most popular backpacks for business professionals. It's just got a good, mature look to it. But with the Nomatic Travel Pack, there's a few things to take into consideration. So first off, when you're in 20-liter mode and it's not expanded, the pack looks great. It's smaller; it's compact; and overall, it has a really nice, subtle flow to it.

Things change a bit when you expand the Nomatic Travel Pack. Right now, we're in full expansion mode. This gives an extra ten liters of expansion. While it works from a functionality perspective, from a style perspective, you're definitely losing a few not a ton, but a few style points. That's the whole thing with expanders, man. It's like the way that the game works. More of or less though, it's not that big of a deal because it still looks good, and it's about functionality with this as opposed to the way that it looks. Finally, the last thing to know about the style are the color options. Nomatic, with all their packs, only has one color option, and it is all black. Their backpacks are styled to be modern, business-like, sleek, sexy, and that's it.

Let's talk about the way that the Nomatic Travel Pack feels. First off, how does it feel when you wear it? It's really important. Is it good? Does it fit? Does it feel okay? The answer to all of those questions is yes. Really, most of the feel of this backpack is awesome. It's tight. It feels secure. It goes on the body really nicely. It's a really comfortable backpack. I will criticize and say the back panel, though, does get a bit sweaty. Yet again, this bag was designed for functionality and style first, comfort for a little bit less, so while the back panel is comfortable, there's not as much ventilation as I wish that there is, especially for a pack this size. This is a bigger pack. When you're wearing this through the streets of Saigon and it's hot and you're sweating, the back gets plastered a little bit, and that's what's happening right now. So A for comfort, C for ventilation.

But when it comes to the feel of a backpack, it's not just like, how does it feel when you're wearing it. It's also like, what do the materials feel like? What do the zippers feel like when you're interacting with it on a day-to-day basis? The exterior of the Nomatic Travel Pack is tarpaulin. That's what gives it the smooth, leathery feel. The pros of tarpaulin, it looks smooth and looks sexy. The cons of tarpaulin, If you scratch this, it's permanent. On my Nomatic Travel Backpack, I accidentally grazed it against the table or something, and I got a slash right through there, and you can't buff that out. You can't do anything, so this material is durable in some ways, but strangely, like, super sensitive in other ways.

That's something really important to keep in mind. You want that business look, but if you want to maintain that business look and keep your Nomatic Travel Pack looking fresh, you got to take care of it. As for the interior materials, which I would argue are just as important, think about it. You're opening the bag all the time. Your hands are going in there. The good thing is that all of the interior materials on the Nomatic Travel Pack all feel great. We'll actually go into a bit more detail on them when we open up the pack, but for now, just know that they feel like they're very high quality. Finally, we got the zips. Nomatic zips are pretty good with one caveat. Most of which they're great because they're YKK, weather-resistant.

The whole lining they have adds to the sleek, leathery look, but it also means it's water-resistant. Ain't no water is going to get in there. That water-resistant sleek look matches the sleek exterior of the tarpaulin. I think it works really well together, and YKK, zippers are the best in the business. However, with every pro comes the cons, so while the zippers look great, and they have a sleek sort of a leathery look that matches the tarpaulin, and it's weather-resistant, unfortunately, these zippers of the Nomatic Travel Pack get a little snaggy. This is because of this water resistant material. It's pinched so close together. It's great to make sure water doesn't get in, but it's not great for a smooth zipping experience all the time. With that, though, I want to clarify, the zipping experience is smooth, like, 75% of the time, like perfectly smooth. It's a part of the process. It comes with the territory.

In my opinion, the front has a lot to say about the style of the backpack, probably the most, but from a functional perspective, it has to do with quick access. This is where things are. That when you need them quickly, you can grab them quickly. The Nomatic Travel Pack executes that perfectly. First up, before we get into the pockets, we have a little bit of nice branding here from Nomadic. It's not too big, not too small. It's a big improvement over their previous branding, too. They used to have these imprints of little triangular mountains, plaguing the entire bottom of the backpack. It was a mess, so nice clean up job there, Nomatic.

On that theme of quick access, we have this pocket on the Nomatic Travel Pack, which I refer to as the quick access pocket. This is a soft lined pocket, which makes it perfect for things like your cell phone or your shades. In the quick access pocket, we have a cord pass through hole. What this means is that you can keep a battery in there, which we'll discuss in the next section. Just pop the cord through there, slide it through, and keep your phone charging while it's still in the soft protection of this very nice material. It's a great pocket. It's everything you need a quick access pocket to be. That sort of quick access pocket is fairly ubiquitous amongst backpacks, but here is a pocket that is not.

The front pocket brings out next level organization. Nomatic does two things really well, that's functionality and that's style, and the functionality here shows what they are committed to, and that is next level organization and compartmentalization. That means that this front area of the Nomatic Travel Pack literally has more pockets than some backpackers do in their entirety. Here in the top, we have two elastic mesh pockets, good for things like health stuff, such as hand sanitizers and sunscreens. The whole point of this is making accessible things that you need to grab quickly.

You're walking around your Italian skin and bronze in the sun. You're like, I could use some sunscreen. You pop the backpack down, unzip, squirt some sunscreen on, pop it back in, and keep moving on with your day. It's the same thing with my headphones, two pairs of headphones. I need my jams or maybe a battery in case your phone starts dying on you, your iPod starts dying. We also have a notebook pocket. I have more notebooks than I do nicknames, and I got a lot of nicknames, so the Nomatic Travel Pack is great because there's a spot for all of my notebooks.

On the flip side, we got a couple of pen holders on the Nomatic Travel Pack. You can never have too many pens, in my opinion. Also, there's a little pocket where I like to keep a little extra cash. There are a couple of mesh pockets here. They're elastic as well. On the top, we have an RFID safe pocket. This means that anything that is scannable, like a credit card or a passport or anything with chip technology in it that hackers can scan and hack into, you can keep it safe in here. It's great for your passport. I've got a key in there, not that it's scannable. I just put it in there. It's also a perfect spot for your wallet.

All in all, this pocket illustrates why Nomatic and the Nomatic Travel Pack in particular is so great. This pocket is so cool. It's so easy to grab. The whole thing is like I said, guys, it's the point. You're walking along, you got your backpack, you're moving, you're like, oh, my God, I want to kick out some jams. You go in here, you're just like going there, grab my headphones, done, got my headphones, and you just keep on moving. That's functionality in a pack that's Nomatic thinking about how somebody uses their pack and making it as easy to access as possible or, oh, my God, the sun setting. I no longer need my sunglasses. Right there, where it's easily accessible is my sunglass holder because it's where the soft UNCLEAR material is. That's why Nomatic has done such a great job making this backpack functional and just making it have an awesome user experience.

Now, let's talk about the middle of the Nomatic Travel Pack, because in essence, it's the most important part of the backpack. First up, let's talk about the sides of the backpack. The sides are the exact same. We have a handle and an interesting water bottle holder. The handle itself is on the average side. It looks great. It sticks with the sleek sort of a style this backpack has. But on the cons, it's not that comfortable, and it's not that easy to grab. It's just not a great side handle, but it does look good. I'll give it that.

The water bottle holder on the Nomatic Travel Pack is one of the most controversial in the game. First off, like I said, it's magnetized, so when you are not using it, there's a strip a magnet on both sides, and they connect, keeping it nice and tight. When you're not using your water bottle holder, it's not flapping around all over the place. It stays nice and sleek. So yet again, for aesthetics, just like the handle, it looks great. But, how does it function? When you place a water bottle in there, the results are a little bit mixed. The reason being that if you look at it straight on, now you went from this really sleek backpack to, oh, my God, does it have wings?

It looks like a fish tail, and it's just popping out. That's why it's controversial. Some people are like, wait, so you put so much effort into making sure it looks good like this, which it does, but then you completely neglected the fact that when there's a bottle inserted, it just looks bizarre. But I will say, from a functional perspective, it works really well. The water bottle is nice and snug. You have a little bit of elasticity right here, so you can fit a larger bottle. Keep in mind, this is a smaller one. This is like a 300 milliliter, so this one's a little tight. You ain't going to fit more than a 500 in the Nomatic Travel Pack, probably, or at least I wouldn't recommend it.

Let's jump to that good stuff, and by that good stuff, I mean the main compartment. First off, the main compartment has a different sort of a zipping experience. It zips up and then in the Nomatic Travel Pack and then back out a little bit to reveal the compartment. Now, remember, we are currently in 30 liter modes. You're seeing the backpack at its utmost capacity. In here, I just have some packing cubes. I have a peak design tech pouch where I keep most of my tech stuff. I'll put a link to this in the description here, it's awesome. I also have a laptop stand. Okay, now we're cleared out. Let me run you through the inside.

On the flaps panel is the pass through cord that I mentioned earlier. You can use this with your charger in there. Just pop the cord through, so your phone can stay charged in this pocket. It's pretty nifty. We also have two mesh pockets, each with really nice zippers, which are great. In here, I have a small little notebook. I wasn't lying about that. I've got a lot of notebooks, guys. I've used these pockets for a lot of different things. I like them. They don't take up a lot of extra space. And like I said, those zippers on the Nomatic Travel Pack are amazing.

Onto the actual main compartment, this is awesome. This is a great example of Nomatic going the extra mile. A hardshell sunglass container is included with the Nomatic Travel Pack. In here, I've got my reading glasses, and this little linen pouch comes with it as well. This is Nomatic just again going the extra mile, saying, hey, what the hell does everyone carry either sunglasses or reading glasses? Here is a container with a pouch. It fits perfectly in there.

There's another one of those elastic pouches on the Nomatic Travel Pack as well where you can put another container or something else. I love these little side pouches. On the other side, we have elastic pockets as well, but these are smaller. I like this for things like my watch to pop in there. But really, this can fit a ton of stuff. Here's something else that's also interesting. On the bottom one, Nomatic supplies you with a key ring holder that comes on a retractable leash. I both love this, and I'm also simultaneously confused by this. I love this because the whole point of a key ring is to be functional. You want it to be able to unlock your door and then go back.

That's exactly what a retractable leash allows you to do. In the speed of lightning, it's retracted back into your Nomatic Travel Pack, into the safety zone. That's the good side. The bad side, though, is I wonder, is this the easiest place? Is this the simplest solution for where to put the key ring holder? For instance, I feel like the quick access pocket or the organizational pocket, would have been a better location for the key ring holder. Just to be clear, you can unhook this and put it somewhere else. There's a little nylon strap there that this is hooked into. Nomatic clearly designed it in a way where they think that this is the best location for it. In essence, I love the idea. I just don't know if I like the location.

Now let's really get into what the Nomatic Travel Pack is all about, and that's the whole expandable middle section. There's a lot to talk about. Let's just talk about the mesh divider first. This thing is phenomenal. It's a great zipping experience. The mesh is nice. It's not the softest mesh. Have you ever touch mesh and it's like super firm like it's like a sheet of metal? I'd like something like that. This is a nice mesh. It's pretty soft. It's malleable. It's got a little bit of a stretch to it, good mesh job. The whole point is that this mesh compartment gives you access to the next part.

The main compartment number two opens like a traditional clamshell. Now, we're getting into the expansion system, which is really only ten liters, because remember, this helps expand the Nomatic Travel Pack from 20 liters to 30 liters. In here, you have 10 liters of storage. Inside, we have an elastic compartment. I've never used it. I think I would have been happier without it being there, so it would have been less in the way. I just would have eliminated it all together. On the other side, you've got a little bit more space, and because of this mesh compartment, it can push in a little bit further. We have more of a less.

This is just it. It's like you unhinged this, and then you create a bigger area. This is a really good area for packing cubes. I have been a big packing cube guy recently. You can pop a couple of things in the Nomatic Travel Pack and close it shut. Then, this is like the stuff that you need for your 3, 4, 5, or 6-day trip. Like I said, if you're a light packer, you can fit a week's worth of stuff in here, no problem. When it comes to how many days worth of stuff you can pack in here, the numbers are always dependent on how often you do laundry, so keep that in mind. If you do laundry every two days, you can just keep using a week's worth of clothes over and over and over. But more or less, for the average Joe, you're looking for a 3 to 7-day trip maximum.

To bring the Nomatic Travel Pack back to a 20-liter pack, I need to close the clamshell style opening. We need to zip it up in a circular fashion that goes around the entire backpack. It's actually not that bad. You can do the whole thing in about 15 seconds, and once you go full circle, you have now closed the expansion system, and you now have a 20-liter backpack. This is everything when it comes to the Nomatic Travel Pack. This feature is so important. This is what takes it from just a day pack into a pack that you can take on a week-long trip somewhere. The best part is that transitioning from a 20-liter to a 30-liter and back and forth is pretty easy stuff.

I'm going to take a look at what the Nomatic Travel Pack looks like with that area closed off. It looks the exact same way, but as opposed to opening this and there being a lot of space, now, if you open it, there's this a smaller space. When you're closed down to the 20 liter, there's no real reason to use the mesh divider. I mean, I guess you could have access to that pocket, and that's pretty cool. However, I never use that whole compartment unless I'm expanding it, using the Nomatic Travel Pack for the 30-liter and using it for a larger trip where I need to pack more clothes and more stuff in general. Okay, so that's all for the middle of the pack.

Last but not least, before we take it back to the coworking space, let's talk about the back of the Nomatic Travel Pack. There are some really important things here. Although I'm a big fan of this backpack, the back of the pack is where I get a little more critical. First things first, let's talk about the top handle. The top handle is good in terms of being able to grab it. You got a decent amount of air room there. Your hand can easily slide in and grab it, which is what you need it to do. The whole point of a top handle is quick access. You walk around, it's like, oh, my God, I got to run grab it. A lot of the handles like this, and it's like, I got to grab it like a crowbar to pry it up to actually wedge your fingers underneath, not this one.

On the bad side, it's not the most comfortable handle. On top, there's a lot of plastic that you can feel. Although the bottom is a really nice squishy and comfortable material, like, when you're grabbing it, it just doesn't work in terms of comfort very well. Additionally, it's not attached to the top of the backpack. It's actually attached to the shoulder straps, but we'll get into that in a minute. Let's unleash this baby and look at the tech compartment, so right here, a nice zipper experience, and boom, you can unhinge the last compartment of the Nomatic Travel Pack.

This is a stellar tech compartment for a few reasons. One is simplicity. There's not a lot going on, which is nice because you don't need too many things. You've got a pocket, which I like to use for my mousepad and for my wrist protector. You can use this for anything. You can use this for documents. You can use this for maybe a book, a bottle of gin, choice is yours. Up next, we have the tech area. It's protected by a nice Velcro strap, which will keep your stuff in place. We have a tablet compartment on the Nomatic Travel Pack. I don't have a tablet, so I use it for my Bluetooth keyboard and notebook.

We also have the actual laptop compartment, and it's good for up to a 15-inch MacBook Pro. Now, here is something that's really important for a tech compartment that Nomatic nails, and that's like an overall sense of tightness and security. Some tech compartments, you just feel like the stuff is flopping around in the back, not the Travel Pack. Once you secure the Velcro strap, everything feels nice and secure. This is important because obviously, my laptop is worth like $1,500, and I want to keep that super protected. This is a really nice tech compartment where I just feel like nothing bad is going to happen to my stuff. Overall, a simple and great tech compartment.

Let's bring our attention out of the shoulder straps. The shoulder straps on the Nomatic Travel Pack are great. There's a nice comfort to them. The mesh padding right here is super nice. It offers enough breathability and enough comfort to it. I swear there's no complaints. Down below we have a sternum strap that connects on both sides. The sternum strap is removable, but here's an important note. I removed the sternum strap on my smaller Nomatic backpack. I can't get it back on. One side, I was able to get it on, but on the other side, I tried for an hour, trying to do everything Boris and I tried together, and we were unable to re-hook it.

For that reasoning, I'm leaving this guy on because I'm a big fan of sternum straps, especially for a larger travel pack like the Nomatic Travel Pack. It's super important for taking weight off of your back and redistributing weight across your chest. Another negative I have about these straps is on the sternum strap, we've got a lot of dangle going on, and on the bottom part, we've got a lot of dangle going on as well. When this is all going around flapping in the wind, there's nothing more annoying. You'd think with like a sophisticated backpack maker like Nomatic, they would have implemented a very simple solution where you can add like a little nylon thing or circular strap, and you can just tuck it in or maybe even some sort of system where these aren't flapping all over the place. Come on, Nomatic.

Let's go to the actual back panel, or as Boris calls it, the turtle belly. I can't get this out of my head now every time I see it on my own I see a tender belly of a Tortuga. Here are two things to know: padding and comfort, great. The Nomatic Travel Pack has got a nice feel like it's really comfortable. When you got a lot of stuff packed in your backpack, it's really important to have that comfort to kind of take the blow and it's just comfortable.

But on the negative side, I would say that because of the material they use on the Nomatic Travel Pack, it gets a little sticky. When you start sweating, you really feel this sticking to your back a little bit. There's a bit of ventilation with the main spine section and the slashes, but it's not enough. Because of that, if you're taking this around on a hot as sweaty as Saigon, expect to have a little bit of back sweat going on. It's going to be sticking to your back, which is really unfortunate.

Finally, we have the waist straps below. While the Nomatic Travel Pack is similar to the Nomatic backpack, the backpack does not have the waist straps. The waist straps tag on with an easy buckle/unbuckle system. They're really nice waist straps for most of it, but I got one thing I'll complain about. On the good side, we've got the little pockets. These are waterproof, and that makes it perfect for a passport. Right here, I have my second passport. This is great because it's easy to access. You're at the airport. You got your backpack on, and somebody at some random security check asks you for your passport, and you're just like, visit right here, bro. That's nice to have.

Also, the waist straps on the Nomatic Travel Pack are super comfy. It has a nice mesh, similar to the shoulder straps, but with a lot more padding, and they're really comfortable. Also, a good thing about these waist straps is they're not too heavy, so they're not adding too much additional weight to the backpack, which is good because think of Tortuga. Their waist straps are like these Goliath waist straps, and they're super heavy. Unfortunately, though, on the negative side is yet again, we got some dangle going on. Nomatic, this is a super easy thing. This is like Backpack 101.

Create some sort of pocket, some sort of little rivet right there that I can just slide that in because otherwise, I got this dangle going on. Plus, I got the shoulder strap dangle going on. Plus, I got the sternum strap dangling going on. It's just like this is a Lieutenant Dangle ***, and it's annoying. I just wish that they would have created a solution for all of this excess dangle. Let's talk about the last part of the Nomatic Travel Pack, and that is how it transforms from a backpack to a duffel sort of briefcase thing.

First of all, you've got to take the straps off. Look at the little turtle belly high up, and you'll see buttons. If you unbutton these buttons, you can put the straps behind the back panel and rebutton it. One thing I want to note is yesterday we were doing the Nomatic Backpack Review with the same feature, and, oh, my God, it's a nightmare to do the duffel system thing. The buckle system on the Nomatic Backpack, or at least my particular one, is a nightmare. However, I want to say right now, my experience with the Nomatic Travel Pack has been completely different.

It's either A, my Nomatic backpack is screwed up, or B, which is what I suspect. Because the Nomadic Travel Pack is a little bit bigger, it gives it more ability to breathe and it's less tight, so therefore, buckling and unbuckling certain areas is just a little bit more seamless, and there's less sort of friction when you're trying to do that. This is actually done pretty easily. What took me up to a minute on the Nomatic Backpack takes me like 15 to 20 seconds on the Nomatic Travel Pack. While it's easier on this one, I share the same opinion that it looks like UNCLEAR. It looks like a fat gut. It's like, who's got the bigger belly, me or this guy?

That's what this thing does, and if the Nomatic Travel Pack is going for this super sleek and sexy thing, unfortunately, this stuff really doesn't do it for me. To make matters worse, remember when I was complaining about the top handle and how it's connected to the shoulder straps? You're like, oh, I've got an important business meeting to go to. Time to do it, and you grab it, and then all of a sudden, the top handle is pulling the straps out of the back panel. Let's bring it back. So now, you're in a situation where again, you got the dangle sticking out of the side. You've got the little belly thing, and then you've got the top handle where it's a mess.

The bright side is you don't have to worry about it because you just don't have to really utilize this function if you don't want to, which I do not recommend utilizing. On the negative side, it's like, this is obviously more parts and more innovation, and more parts and more innovation equals a higher cost. So maybe, instead of being $260 (prices may change) with this whole system, the Nomatic Travel Pack can be $230 without it, I'd be a much happier camper because I am never, ever, ever going to use this. Last but not least, we have a little secret pocket. I hate this pocket. I hate it for a few reasons.

One, it's not really hidden. Two, I just flat out forget about it. Three, it's really annoying to have to access. I'm sure you can unbuckle this thing and get in that way, but more or less, I try to forget that this buckle system even exists and therefore access this pocket like I have to do this little finger dance. It's ridiculous. With that, I guess secret pockets can be a little cool like if you want to pop a little extra cash in there. Also keep in mind it's not a secret pocket. You can totally see it. Overall, I never use that pocket, and I wish that it never existed. All right, guys, we are done with tearing the Nomatic Travel Pack apart. Now, let's take it back to my coworking space.

Let's finish this review by talking about the overall pros and the overall cons of the Nomatic Travel Pack. Overall pro number one is the look. I personally think that Nomatic has done a masterful job at creating backpacks that look sexy. It looks great. It's sleek, it's great for somebody who wants a backpack that is more casual, but it's definitely meant for somebody who is looking for a business backpack.

The next overall pro of the Nomatic Travel Pack is the versatility of capacity. The expander helps you go from 20 liters to 30 liters. This is fantastic because as opposed to the Nomatic Backpack, which just goes 20 to 24 liters, which isn't that big of a jump, the ability to expand from 20 liters to 30 liters means that you have a 20-liter day pack and a 30-liter travel pack. You have the best of both worlds, and that's why this thing is so freaking cool because you get both. I think that the Nomatic Travel Pack is one of the few backpacks that really pulled it off.

And overall pro number three is going to be the features. If you like organization, if you like pockets, then you're going to love the Nomatic Travel Pack. All of these pockets in this organization, you got zippers and hidden compartments. There's just so much stuff, and if you value that kind of stuff, especially if you have a lot of tech equipment, then you're going to love the Nomatic Travel Pack. It's what they do best. They advertise themselves as creating the world's most functional backpack. While that is a semi-bold statement, I like their audacity, and I think they're probably not far from the mark. In terms of functionality, this thing rocks.

While I'm definitely a fan of the Nomatic Travel Pack and all Nomatic products, I still have some cons that I want to highlight about the Nomatic Travel Pack. Con number one is going to be this exterior tarpaulin material. This might be confusing because I came across as someone who really likes it and I still do, but it's a double-edged sword. You have to realize that while you're getting this sleek, leathery, sexy look, it's fragile. If you rub this backpack against the wrong corner or against the wrong sharp object, it's going to scratch it, and that scratch is going to be permanent. I have less of a problem with it on the smaller Nomatic Backpack because it's like a day-to-day pack. You're not going to be in those kind of situations as much. I think on a larger travel pack, when you're taking it in and out of planes and trains around the world, then you're opening up a scenario that it's much more likely for it to get scratched. That con is something to keep in mind.

Con number two is going to be the back padding section. Now, while I said that the Nomatic Travel Pack is comfortable, and it is, it definitely gets a little sweaty. I think this is because of these materials, whatever material this is. It's great for comfort, but it's bad for ventilation. This was like pasted my back at one point today, more so than I feel like other larger travel packs usually do.

My last Con is the back panel system turning into a duffel. Now, to be clear, compared to the Nomatic Backpack, which is smaller, we had an easier time transforming the Nomatic Travel Pack from a backpack into a duffel. The buttons worked better. While it was still easier, it didn't look any better. It still looked like a turd. It was still bloated out the ends. There was still a bunch of dangle hanging out the sides. The transformation from the backpack to duffel is advertised as an awesome thing, but the implementation just kind of sucked, and I will without a doubt never use it again. If you check out my Osprey 4.40 review or the Manal Carry On 20 Review, both of which allow you to stow away the straps and use it as a duffel, but they utilize a completely different system and one that I think is superior in every way, shape, and form.

Taking all the pros and all of the cons into consideration, we in Nomads Nation give the Nomatic Travel Pack an overall score of 4.3 out of 5.

Finally, let's wrap this thing up with my opinion of who this backpack is perfect for and who it's not. The Nomatic Travel Pack is perfect for anyone who is looking for a day pack that can also double as a smaller travel pack. Because this guy is 20 liters when not expanded, it's great as a daypack and there's a lot of functionality in the organization, and you might even forget that it expands to a 30-liter. I literally did. I was just like, this is just a cool ass day pack, man. But then, you book a weekend trip to Miami and you're like, what bag am I going to use? You're like, oh my God! That's right, I can use the Nomatic Travel pack.

You just unzip the expanders and now you have a travel pack that's good for 3, 5, or 7 days. If you're looking for a type of pack that can do that, then this is my favorite option on the market. That's a bold statement, but I can't think of any other that I do like that doubles as a smaller 20-liter pack and then expands to a larger 30-litre pack. You did a great job with this. The Nomatic Travel Pack is also perfect for you if you're a digital nomad or business professional who travels with a laptop. Nomatic has a relentless commitment to functionality and their features are really a reflection of that, and they're really for people who travel with a ton of laptop and tech equipment.

If you are a business professional looking for a backpack, or if you are someone like me, a digital nomad, and you're looking for a backpack, something that can comfortably carry your laptop, the Nomatic Travel Pack is going to be one of the best ones on the market. It's because it has a professional look to it, and it has the features to get you going on a day-to-day basis. Then also, if you want to take that 5, 6, 7-day trip, it can also fit your stuff for that as well. If any of those sound like you and this is the type of person this backpack is for, please use the links in the description here. Ultimately, use of those links is what funds our channel at no extra cost to you, which is a win-win.

While I'm definitely a big fan of the Nomatic Travel pack, let's talk about a few people this backpack is absolutely not for. This backpack is not for you if you're looking for a larger travel pack. While this 20-liter can expand to 30 liters, 30 liters is good for that 5, 6, 7-day trip to Miami or wherever you're going, but it's not good for long term travel. It's just going to be too small. Is it good for short-term travel? Yes! Is it good for long term travel? No! Personally, I think 40 to 45 liters is that perfect little sweet spot. If that sounds like you, check the links here. I've got some awesome recommendations for backpacks that are a little bit bigger. Don't worry if you're digging Nomatic. Some of my recommendations are the larger Nomatic travel bags.

The second type of person the Nomatic Travel Pack is absolutely not for is if you're looking for a simple everyday carry day pack. While this bad boy can compress, it exists as a 20-liter. That's its primary form, its primary function. It probably has way too many features, way too many pockets, way too many functions for the average Joe. Is it great for digital nomads who have a ton of laptop gear? Yes. Is it as great for just someone who's looking for a backpack to get them from A to B on a day-to-day basis? Hell no man, it's too much. It's going to be overkill. If you're looking for just like a cool, basic, minimalist sort of simple day-to-day pack, check the links here. I got some awesome ones down there man.

The third person the Nomatic Travel Pack is definitely, absolutely, without a shrivel of a doubt not for, is photographers. Photographers can definitely use this backpack. A photographer can in theory use any backpack. But if you're a professional photographer and you carry DSLR equipment, lenses, batteries, the camera body, and all that stuff, there are backpacks that are specifically designed for your awesome photography lifestyle. If you're looking for a backpack that could handle your photography gear, check the links here. I got three brands in particular that I love. Just check the links below. I'm constantly updating it, so whatever the best things that I find, they're there right now.

Thanks so much for sticking around. If you have stuck around this long, thanks a ton for sticking around. But I'm telling you, if you stuck around this long, then do yourself a favor, and subscribe. That means you'll get notified any time we make a backpack review video. Because if you have stuck through this entire review, it means you love backpacks, and we're just going to keep giving you badass awesome content. Please, as I said before, if you do make any purchases, use the links here to make sure that you get the best price and to make sure that we get a little bit of a kickback. That kickback is what keeps this channel running like the circle of life. Travel on nomads, and we will see you next time.