Best Travel Backpack: eBags Mother Lode

Baggage fees are annoying, and so is waiting to get your bags after you land at your destination. A couple years ago, my wife and I juggled duffle bags and basic backpacks to New York City and Paris. We liked having everything condensed into carry-ons, but those bags wore us out. The next time we were planning a trip overseas, I did some research on the best travel backpacks that could fit our needs AND fit in the plane’s overhead bin.

My search led me to purchase two eBags Mother Lode travel backpacks, and they have served us well on adventures near and far from home. I’ve put together a list of the five reasons I think the eBags Mother Lode travel backpack is the best carry-on travel backpack on the market – and it’s affordable.

NOTE: I am not an affiliate of eBags or their parent companies. I simply enjoy using their bags. There are no affiliate links associated with this post.

Seemingly Endless Space

When I packed my clothes in the eBags Mother Lode travel backpack for a weeklong road trip to the Oregon Coast, it didn’t seem to matter how many pants and shirts I added. There was always room for more. I fit in outfits for multiple days, plus pajamas, sweatshirts, socks and underwear. Since I still had room, I added in a couple long sleeve shirts in case it got a little chilly on the beach or at the campsite.

When my daughter was packing for a spring break trip to central Utah, she felt the same way about her eBags Mother Lode travel backpack. She decided not to overpack, so her bag still had lots of room. That may be the better way to go – just because there’s room, doesn’t mean you need to fill it.

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For the trips where you don’t need to pack a little extra, you can unzip an expander and add an extra 1.5″ depth to your travel bag. The overall dimensions of the bag are 22″ x 14″ x 10″.

Easy to Organize Your Stuff

I’ve seen several people rave about packing cubes. Even though I bought some, I’ve yet to use them. My wife enjoys using her set of eBags packing cubes. Either way, with all the compartments in the eBags Mother Lode travel bag, it’s easy to organize everything in your bag.

Here are the compartments and what I’ve used them for:

• Main compartment: Clothes
• Front-most zipper: Electronics and cables
• Front zipped pocket: Books, odds and ends
• Top front zipped pouch: Phone, wallet, sunglasses, passport, etc. (things I need quick access to)
• Side drink holder: Self-explanatory
• Mesh compartment inside main compartment: Socks, papers or travel guides
• Laptop compartment: Laptop, iPad or books
• Backpack strap compartment: Tuck away the shoulder straps if you want to carry it like a duffle bag
• Miscellaneous smaller compartments in other spots of the bag

If you do decide to add packing cubes to the mix, you can get it even more organized.

Multiple Ways to Carry It

When we were touring Europe, I kept wishing my duffle bag was a backpack. The handles cut into my hands, and when I wore it like a backpack, the non-padded straps were uncomfortable. This was not the case when we took our eBags Mother Lode travel backpack on a trip to New Hampshire for a family funeral. The straps are padded and comfortable. But if you don’t want to wear it like a backpack, you can tuck the shoulder straps into a zipped compartment and carry it by the side, bottom or top handle.

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With all those handles, I also found it very easy to grab the bag from almost any direction. Bags can get pushed around or shift in the overhead bins. But with handles found on multiple side of the travel bag, it’s easy to grab and go. It also works well when trying to pull it from the pile of bags in our family minivan when we go on a road trip.

In summary, here are all the ways you can easily carry your travel backpack.

• Wear it like a backpack
• Carry it from the top (as seen in the tent photo above)
• Carry it like a duffle bag (sideways)
• Carry it from the bottom (you can see the strap in some of the photos in this post)

Compactable When You Need it to Be

If you’re planning to travel on a plane, a travel backpack can help you save money on baggage fees. But it has to fit into the overhead bin. There are several straps, both inside and out, that will help make the backpack smaller, but still allow you to bring the clothes you need for a trip.

After putting clothes inside the bag, there are two internal straps that can help keep your clothes in place. Synch those down, then close the bag and zip it closed. There are four straps on the outside of the bag, one on each corner, that can be synched down for that extra layer of compaction. It’s a great way to tighten up the bag.

If you’re just going for a weekend getaway and don’t need as much stuff, then you don’t have to worry about synching everything up so it can fit in the overhead bin.

Affordable

When I first came across eBags, the cost of the Mother Lode travel backpack was more than $120. But as I followed their site and started receiving their emails, items went on sale. I was able to purchase the backpacks for my wife and I for about $60 per bag. Then, for Christmas, we purchased two more for our two oldest kids for an upcoming trip. We found them for about $70 per bag. When we needed one more for another son, we got them on sale again for about $70.

My recommendation is to follow the site and keep an eye out for any sales. We’ve already used our travel backpacks on a few trips and look forward to many more.

Summary

Overall, we love having our eBags Mother Lode travel backpacks. We have many more trips planned this year alone and look forward to using these bags to save on baggage fees.

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