8 Best Backpacks for Ryanair, Reviewed

Ryanair’s paid 10 kg allowance is 55 by 40 by 20 cm, which is a completely different box from the free personal item: fifteen centimeters longer, and big enough to hold a week of clothes. This is the bag built for that allowance. At 18 by 14 by 8 inches it fills the space without going over, and it still drops under the seat on the smaller aircraft we flew it on.

What comes with it is unusually complete. Three packing cubes, two storage bags and a shoe bag, plus a built-in wet pocket mean you can separate clean, dirty and damp without buying anything else, and the 18 pockets include a padded compartment that swallows a 17-inch laptop. The main body unzips suitcase-style and lies flat for packing on a hotel bed, and a luggage strap lets it ride a rolling case.

We think it is the right buy for anyone already paying for the cabin bag, with two caveats. At 2.2 pounds empty it is the heaviest pick here, and that weight comes straight out of your 10 kg. The straps are the other compromise: loaded to nine or ten kilos, this carries like luggage rather than like a pack, and they dig in on a long walk through a terminal. For a city break where the bag mostly rides a trolley handle, neither matters much.

Most travel backpacks give a 16-inch laptop a padded slot you have to wrestle it into. tomtoc’s compartment unzips and folds down through 90 to 180 degrees, so the bag lies open in the security tray and the computer never comes out. That single mechanism is why this is the bag we reach for on trips that mix a workday with an airport.

The rest of the build justifies the money. YKK zippers, a 400D and 1680D polyester shell, a clamshell main compartment that packs like a small suitcase, a chest strap and a contoured 3D back panel. At 28 liters it is a three- or four-day bag for one person, and at 950 g it disappears on your back. We think it is the best bag here for anyone whose trip involves a laptop and a meeting.

The dimensions are the part to plan around. At roughly 17.7 by 11.8 by 7.9 inches it sits comfortably inside Ryanair’s 55 by 40 by 20 cm cabin allowance with centimeters to spare on every side, but at nearly 18 inches long it is not a free personal item and it will not compress into the 40 cm frame. The other gap is organization: the main compartment is one big open box, and you will want packing cubes to get the best out of it.

This is one of the cheapest bags here, and it does not feel like it in the hand. Twenty-five liters, nine pockets, six compartments, a wet pocket with a waterproof lining, a separate shoe bag, a padded 15.6-inch laptop sleeve and an anti-theft pocket against your back. The feature list is longer than bags costing several times as much, and that is why it holds a place on this page.

The proportions are slightly unusual and worth knowing about. At about 16.9 by 11.4 by 7.5 inches it is longer and narrower than the 40 by 30 by 20 shape most of these bags share, which makes it easier to press into Ryanair’s free sizer and marginally harder to fit a bulky item into. The 180-degree opening helps, because you pack it like a small suitcase rather than digging down through a tube.

Two things to be clear about. The shell is water-resistant rather than waterproof, so it handles drizzle on a jet bridge and nothing more dramatic. And the body is soft enough that a full load rounds it out, which is the trade for a bag that compresses so easily into a frame. Neither changes our view: as a first travel backpack, or a second one for weekend fares, nothing else here gives you more for the money.

Of everything we packed for this piece, this was the bag that caused the least anxiety at the gate, and the reason is 15 centimeters. Ryanair’s free frame is 40 by 20 by 25; this bag is 40 by 30 by 15. The shallow depth is the clever part, because you have five centimeters to give away, so it drops into the sizer instead of fighting it.

What it costs you is volume. The specifications list 18 liters, which is two or three nights of clothes, a tablet and a wash bag, not a week. Inside that limit it is surprisingly well organized: eight pockets, three zip pockets across the front, a hidden anti-theft pocket against your back and two side pockets, all in a tear-resistant 800D nylon that shrugs off rain better than its place in the price range suggests. At 0.41 kg empty it is the lightest bag here.

One caution. The title calls it a 20-liter bag and the specifications say 18, and it measures smaller than either number suggests, so run a tape over it before your first flight rather than trusting the label. If your packing list is genuinely light, this is the bag. If it is not, buy the HOMIEE instead.

The shoe compartment is the whole idea here. A sealed zip section at the bottom takes a pair of trainers or a pair of shoes for dinner, and a lined wet pocket above it handles a swimsuit or a damp towel. On a four-day trip with one bag, that separation is worth more than an extra pocket anywhere else, because dirty shoes are what turn a tidy pack into a laundry bag by day three.

Everything else is sensible rather than special: a 180-degree main opening, a padded 15.6-inch laptop sleeve, ventilated padding across the back, and a machine-washable shell. At 650 g and about 16.5 by 11.8 by 5.9 inches it is easy to carry and easy to compress, and we liked it best as the bag for short breaks where you want a change of footwear without thinking about it.

The limit is structure. There is no frame, so a full bag rounds outward, and the 25-liter capacity is generous enough that overfilling it is easy. Fill it, check it against a 40 by 20 by 25 rectangle at home, and take a layer out if it will not drop in. That done, this is a lot of bag for a weekend fare.

There is a handle on the side of this bag, and it is the detail that made us keep picking it up. Flip it out and the RealCool carries like a briefcase, which matters more than it sounds in a boarding queue where you want to set the bag down without putting it on the floor.

The rest of the specification is workmanlike. A separate padded 15.6-inch laptop sleeve, a lined wet compartment for toiletries, water- and tear-resistant nylon, compression straps, a luggage belt for stacking it on a case, and a full 180-degree opening. Six pockets and five compartments, fewer than the HOMIEE but arranged sensibly.

At about 16.5 by 11 by 7 inches and 1.5 pounds it is compact and light, and it slides under the seat without a fight. The catch is length: 42 centimeters, two past the 40 the free sizer allows, so this is a bag to pack soft rather than cram. It is also a soft shell with no frame, and a full load rounds the shape.

Where it earns its place is the trip where the bag has to be a laptop case for part of the day. It looks like a commuter bag, it carries like one on the ground, and it is small enough that nobody looks twice at the gate. We think it is the right choice for a two- or three-night business trip, and the wrong one for a week.

Most bags in this roundup look like luggage. This one does not. The Capolo is cut and finished like a work bag, and in beige it does not read as a budget-airline purchase at all, which counts for something when the same bag has to go from the plane to a meeting to dinner.

It is also the most pocketed bag here: 11 pockets and 13 compartments, including a padded 15.6-inch laptop sleeve, a hidden back pocket and a side handle that turns it into a shoulder bag. Four adjustable compression buckles pull a part-full load tight, and the main compartment opens a full 180 degrees.

At 0.65 kg and roughly 17.5 by 13 by 6.5 inches it is light and easy to carry, and it slips under a seat. What it is not is deep. Six and a half inches is shallower than most of the bags on this page, so a thick sweater or a pair of boots is a squeeze even though the pocket count suggests otherwise.

The honest caveat is hardware, and it is why this sits below the top picks. Handles and zipper pulls are where this bag’s long-term record is thinnest, with failures showing up after a few months of use rather than out of the box. We think it is the best-looking bag here and a genuinely good city-break companion for a few trips a year. Fly twice a month and put the extra money into the tomtoc.