Finding the perfect backpack is a seemingly impossible task and everyone who’s reading this has been on a constant and endless mission to find that one perfect bag. Having gone through a ton of bags, I can safely tell you that the perfect bag doesn’t exist. However there are some bags that get pretty close and I believe this Bellroy Venture 26L is one of them.

Materials & Design

The main outer material is a 100% recycled water resistant woven fabric. The zips are solid with a heavy duty weather sealing strip on top of them. This does mean that they are more difficult to open and certainly don’t easily glide like on some bags. This is especially evident when the bag is new although they do loosen up a little with use.

The back panel has a soft memory foam like material that is very comfortable. The insides of the shoulder straps have the same material. The buckles are all metal and although previous Bellroy bags used to suffer from slip, these haven’t caused any issues.

Inside the materials are premium with plenty of stretchy mesh pockets for smaller soft items such as socks, hats etc. Overall the quality of this bag is high and after 6 months of use, I’ve not experienced any issues. The only quality related critique is that on the front lashing point, some threads are starting to show.

Ergonomics

This bag is very comfortable. When I first got this bag I was using Peak Design backpacks and moving to this was a huge relief for my back and neck. The main contributor to this is the back panel that not only curves with your back but also has a solid lumbar support cushion at the bottom. This really helps with heavy loads. The air channel in the middle does an ok job at cooling your back but there is no way of avoiding a sweaty back on a hot day. The memory foam like padding is very comfortable.

The shoulder straps are a little rigid and perhaps a little too thin but are comfortable. They do come with a sternum strap and the attachment point at the top of the bag has a fair amount of flex. This allows the straps to sit more naturally on your shoulders. The top grab handle is big and comfortable.

Overall this bag is comfortable for long days out however given its capacity, I would have liked to see an optional waist strap. You can easily load this bag out to over 10kg with camera gear at which point it becomes rather uncomfortable. I would say 10kg is the maximum for me however for you it might be different.

Features & Space

By far the best feature of this bag is how much room it has inside compared to how big it is. This bag has so far fitted under every single budget airline seat including easyJet and Ryanair. I’ve used it as my personal item on almost all flights this year and not once did anyone say anything. Let’s first start with the exterior and there are various lashing points around the bag and included are some straps. You can use this to attach things to the outside of the bag such as your coat, tripod etc.

On the left side of the bag is a water bottle pocket however it shares the same space as the inside of the bag. This means that should your bag be full inside, this pocket will have no room. For that reason I use it for tissues, hand gel, coins, receipts and random stuff like that. There is another lashing point and strap inside the pocket for tripods I assume.

On the other side of the bag is a large zip pocket with a key leash. This pocket can be easily accessed by swinging the bag to one side however it’s also very secure given that the zip sits right next to your back and is impossible for pick pockets to reach. Here you can keep your wallet, keys and it will even take a small camera like an X100v or a DJI Pocket 3.

On top of the bag there is a giant zip pocket that opens up into two smaller pockets with a divider. I say small but they can easily take a Fuji x100v or even an XT5 with a pancake lens. Here I store anything that I might need such as spare batteries, power bank, charger or even a couple prime lenses.

Moving into the main compartment and the zip goes all the way around to the bottom allowing this bag to either open fully or to only open a portion of it. It’s clear that this bag is designed to be a giant empty bucket that you can fill however you like. In terms of what can actually fit inside, well as you will see quite a lot. First of all I can easily fit a large camera cube that holds all my gear. Alternatively I can fit 2 packing cubes and 2 pouches with room to spare. Depending on how you pack, this bag can easily carry enough items for a week long trip in a warm climate.

Moving to other internal features there is a large laptop sleeve that easily takes my 14 inch MacBook Pro although it looks like the 16 can fit in there too. It has a false bottom to protect the laptop should you drop the bag. There is also a tablet pocket that can take an iPad Pro. On the side there is a small mesh pocket and on the front of the bag there are 2 mesh pockets that are perfect for a hat or a jacket.

Summary

To summarise this is a very versatile bag that can be your camera bag, travel bag, beach bag, hiking bag and even daily office bag if you wish. The best bit is when it’s not 100% full, it compresses down and appears smaller than it actually is. Over the years I’ve owned a ton of different bags and this is by far my favourite. The only thing I wish it had was some kind of removable waist strap for heavier loads.

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