The Osprey Farpoint 40 has been my go-to travel bag for 8 years

As we got Outside the home, gear freak Wired reviews The team writes about our favorite bags and EDCs. Today, reviewer Lauren Strampe She raves about her Osprey Farpoint 40 backpack. You can also read other Bag Check stories where Wired Writers share their right to choose.

During our planning On a 20-day trip to Asia in 2018, my then-boyfriend was adamant that neither of us checked any luggage. As a proud packaging company, this intention shocked and horrified me. I love options and hate cutting corners. I wanted to bring 30 pairs of shoes and 348 pairs of underwear; I certainly didn’t want to painstakingly build a wardrobe and strategically assemble packing cubes. Eventually, however, I agreed to the one-bag trip, and the Osprey Farpoint 40 quickly turned me on to loving the ultralight life.

If you want the perfect backpack, the most durable bag, or the best bag to carry your stuff, my colleagues have plenty of recommendations worth browsing. But if you’re looking for a bag that makes carrying (to the plane, train or car) and carrying (from hotel to hostel to hotel again) a pain-free experience, the Farpoint is my favorite.

During that nearly three-week trip in 2018, my friend and I were constantly on the move, visiting Shanghai, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Busan, Seoul, and Hong Kong. We took many flights and trains, staying in spacious rooms and cramped quarters. In the years since, I’ve taken my Osprey Farpoint to the East and West coasts of the United States. He’s lived in three houses with me, joined me on dozens of road trips, and stayed in hundreds of hotels with me. I’ve used it for trips of up to three weeks and as fast as one night. I’ve thrown it down stairs, sat on top of it on the subway, used it to protect my head from the rain, placed it in full car trunks, and packed it to the brim almost every time I took it anywhere. It still works just as well as it did on that first flight.

It goes without saying that this bag is cavernous. Its 40-litre capacity allows you to load it until it’s too heavy to carry, but I’ve never had a problem putting it on a plane, thanks in part to the compression straps that help you squeeze the silhouette. (According to Osprey’s website, the Farpoint meets local carry-on size requirements.) It offers many pockets that are difficult to keep track of.

The outer shell has two mesh compartments perfect for shoes or water bottles, plus a smaller compartment where I like to store my keys and passport. The pack itself has two main compartments, the first being a laptop compartment, complete with a zippered flap perfect for an e-reader or tablet. The largest body pocket features two built-in compression straps to help you achieve the “sit on top of the bag to close” effect once you’re ready to zip up. On the other side, there’s another zippered mesh pocket that runs the entire length of the shell, which I use to store socks, underwear, toiletries, and other items I need on hand but don’t want to mix with my clothes.

In a way, Farpoint not only makes it possible, but also makes it easy to carry everything I might need. Yes, when you wear a Farpoint stuffed to the brim, you’ll resemble a turtle peeking out from under the shell. But you won’t need to move slowly, thanks to its stable design. The shoulder and hip straps are padded, and there are buckle straps for the hips and chest. The chest strap also has a built-in whistle, which won’t necessarily enhance your comfort, but may come in handy if you’re hiking. (I often use the whistle for fun or to annoy fellow campers.)