Bellroy Transit Travel Pack Pro Review

Bellroy’s Transit Workpack Pro comes in two sizes: 22 and 28 liters. While respectable in the world of travel backpacks, they’re not exactly the roomiest if you’re going on long trips lasting a week or more. On the other hand, their modest sizes mean you can still use them as daypacks with reasonable ease. The flexibility is appreciated, but what if you want a travel backpack that leans more toward the “travel” end of the spectrum? Enter the Bellroy Transit Travel Pack Pro.

Featuring even beefier straps, more room, and an expansion system for assurance—all coated in the brand’s signature style—the Transit Travel Pack Pro is shaping up to be the definitive travel backpack among Bellroy’s lineup. So, without further ado, let’s check this bag out.

External Components

Right off the bat, you can tell by looking at the Transit Travel Pack Pro that it is geared towards travel. At its default 30-liter configuration, it’s already quite big and monolithic, especially dominated as it is by one type of fabric: recycled Dura Polyester. You probably won’t notice anything different at a glance since Bellroy always emphasizes eye-catching colorways, with the fabric’s texture playing a minor role in how the bag looks. However, look closer; you’ll notice a distinct sheen with this fabric. It’s slicker than their typical Baida Nylon, which should translate to better weather protection.

Okay, you may think weather protection isn’t very important if you always travel with an umbrella or have insanely good luck. However, slick fabric can still pay dividends in everyday use since it usually translates to stain resistance, as well. Got a bit of dirt at the front? We did, and we wiped it off the bag with relative ease. It also helps that the Transit Travel Pack Pro is only available in dark colorways (Olive and Black) at the time of writing—not so good in terms of options, but still a positive if you want to hide scuffs more effectively in the long run.

Leather accents are a staple of Bellroy bags, and the Transit Travel Pack Pro gets the same treatment. There are some on the zipper pulls, and the branding at the front is also on a leather piece. Fortunately, they don’t overdo it. They don’t really have to either, as the YKK zippers’ AquaGuard style tracks also supplement the looks, providing some decent contrast against the fabric alongside the leather accents. Overall, the Transit Travel Pack Pro still delivers the signature styling we’ve always known Bellroy for.

While we’re talking about zippers, the laptop compartment’s zipper track has a loop on either end. You can use these loops to hang accessories like key chains and carabiners. However, you can also use them to secure the zippers to prevent pickpockets from quickly getting in and out of your bag. If they have to unloop the zippers first, hopefully, you’ll notice before they can do so.

On the right side and top of the bag are grab handles. They’re admittedly nothing too fancy, lacking the thick padding we hoped for. Instead, they’re simply stitched over nylon pieces that are, in fairness, thick enough so you can grasp them comfortably—they’re perfectly serviceable. That said, if we had to nitpick, the top handle is a bit too flush, which makes hanging the bag off shallow pegs (like restroom stall hooks) rather tricky.

Despite the handles’ lack of padding, the harness system has a lot of it. The back panel has four main sections of mesh padding, cut up by a large central air channel and a smaller horizontal one featuring a luggage pass-through. The pass-through is deeply embedded, so you’ll have to stretch it out if you plan to put the bag on a roller. Strangely, Bellroy didn’t implement a retracting mechanism for this pass-through, a feature we quite liked on the Transit Workpack Pro.

The shoulder straps are large, thick, and curved, befitting the Transit Travel Pack Pro’s size and purpose. What’s interesting is how Bellroy has two seemingly separate layers here. The top layer is the same color as the rest of the bag, but it’s also thin and almost entirely decorative in nature. Save for the part where the top layer anchors the sternum strap, it’s not the part that does the bulk of the cushioning and support.

Instead, there’s a very thick layer of meshed foam underneath. Why did Bellroy do it this way instead of using a more homogenous design? For what it’s worth, they say the harness system is designed to be more stable rather than tending to slide around. Stick with us: we’ll tell you how that translates in real-world testing in the next section.

For added support, there’s also a sternum strap mounted on a rail. We like this type of mounting because it makes very minute adjustments very easy. Compared to fixed mounting loops, you can really find the ideal position with this. You also have the option to attach a hip belt, though there’s none included, so you’ll have to source that yourself.

Fit Notes

You would think a large travel backpack like this would feel at least a bit cumbersome on the back. Fortunately, that’s not the case, as the bag’s length doesn’t feel overly long, at least for the Pack Hacker crew. However, it starts to feel overwhelming with the shoulder straps, specifically if you use the sternum strap.

When not using the sternum strap, the harness system—and the bag, in general—feels more relaxed and settled on the body. However, if you suddenly desire a more snug fit and engage the sternum strap for that reason, the shoulder straps start to feel like they’re cutting in. To be fair, we’re more than comfortable not using the sternum strap anyway, but it can be a letdown if you’re the type who’s used to using one.

Inside The Backpack

On the left side of the bag is a zippered water bottle pocket. We’re more used to open-style bottle pockets made of mesh or elasticated fabric, and that’s for a good reason. Those can typically accommodate large bottles more easily, whereas zippered ones like this are tighter because the zipper also has to go over the top. To be fair, the one here isn’t as tight as the one on the Transit Workpack Pro, and we could fit a 19-ounce Owala without an issue. That said, it’s about as big as we could go, which is a shame because travelers usually opt for large bottles up to 30 ounces in size.

You can also use this bottle pocket as a holster for tall items like a travel tripod or a folding umbrella. If you need to do this, you can keep the top open and simply lock the zipper off to the side by folding the metal pull. Once you fold the zipper pull, it won’t move or pry open gradually over time.

At the back is the laptop compartment. It has a crescent-shaped opening that lets you peer into the deep interior, split into main areas. The first area, towards the back panel, is the laptop sleeve. It can fit up to a 16-inch MacBook Pro. That’s pretty standard, especially considering the abundance of space available to accommodate one. However, the Transit Travel Pack Pro goes a step further with a sizeable pouch area adjacent to the laptop sleeve.

To be clear, space for a tech pouch isn’t new, as we’ve seen other travel backpacks have one in their laptop compartment, as well. What we specifically dig about this one is how spacious it is. The secret is that the area expands and can eat into the main compartment. While this can be a negative, especially if you’re planning to maximize the main compartment, we like the flexibility to make the choice ourselves.

You can also use this pouch area to store a toiletry bag since it’s in a convenient location that’s easy to reach. There’s also a built-in zippered pocket for additional accessories, so don’t think you’re strictly required to use a pouch.

Next up is the front compartment, where much of the bag’s built-in organization is. Inside is a sunglasses pocket at the front lined with soft fabric so your Oakleys don’t get scratched up. Meanwhile, at the back side are twin liner pockets big enough for passport-sized items, plus two pen slots and a built-in key leash. The compartment itself is relatively deep, going as far as the logo at the front. So, while you can put a toiletry bag in the laptop compartment, as mentioned above, you don’t lack other options on where to put one.

Like many respectable travel backpacks, this bag’s main compartment opens fully clamshell-style for the ideal packing experience. With this kind of opening, loading even the largest packing cubes and pouches is a breeze, and we get the feeling that it’s certainly intended that way. Apart from the obvious surplus of room (plus the fact that Bellroy now has their own line of packing cubes at the time of writing), the built-in hold-down strap’s rather low positioning limits the amount of clothing it can actually tie down. So, while we appreciate that Bellroy hasn’t left the main compartment barren of any organization options, we still recommend you use packing cubes to keep your clothing organized here.

Arranging them side by side is easy enough, depending on what kind and size you’re using. For context, we fit three: one each for tops, bottoms, and underwear and socks. We also had a toiletry bag. That said, we tried to arrange them with low priority at the top since we wanted to utilize the pouch storage area in the laptop compartment as mentioned above. Doing so is easy enough, but you can expand the main compartment if you begin struggling.

Running parallel to the main zippers is another zipper that extends the bag’s depth by about two inches. This expands the base 30-liter capacity to 38 liters. We didn’t need this for the amount of gear we travel with for a week-long trip. That said, it proves useful if you want extra gear like another pair of shoes or a camera cube.

As for the built-in organization options, you also get a fair amount of pockets. At the front side (under the lid) is a horizontal zippered mesh pocket we used to store a packable hat. Directly below it is a large zipper mesh pocket that’s fairly roomy. It’s an ideal spot to stow used clothing if you don’t want to use a separate laundry bag. Lastly, there’s also a side pocket for extra accessories like a mini sewing kit or a medicine pouch.