Bellroy Transit Workpack Pro 28L Review

The Bellroy Transit Workpack Pro 28L is designed for travelers who already have their own set of packing cubes, pouches, and other organizers. The brand says so, and it’s evident when you see how its compartments have huge spaces where they can snuggly fit. It’s a familiar design mindset that we’ve heard about before, and we approve of it since we advocate using such organizers. That said, we were also keen to see how well this bag’s other parts function.

The harness system is a key part of any travel backpack, so we paid attention to it. Spoiler alert: we’re pleased to see how thick the padding is, but comfort is lackluster due to its stiffness.

External Components

Starting with its aesthetic, the Transit Workpack Pro looks somewhat unique within Bellroy’s lineup in that it’s quite practical and more conventional. For starters, it doesn’t have the unique shape of the brand’s zanier designs like the Apex Backpack, nor a brain-and-body pill-like shape that more conservative variants like the Venture Travel Pack 26L have. You still get hints of Bellroy’s usual motifs like leather branding and leather zipper pulls, though, for the most part, the Transit Workpack Pro keeps everything lowkey, inoffensive, and we daresay fittingly professional, especially in this Black colorway we’re reviewing.

Another seemingly different aspect of this bag is its recycled nylon fabric. It doesn’t have the coarser look and texture of Baida nylon, nor is it lightweight like their diamond ripstop fabric. Instead, the Transit Workpack Pro has a more ballistic nylon-like fabric that feels thick and more abrasion-resistant than we’re used to seeing with other Bellroy bags. Yes, it’s missing out on a bit of personality with this kind of fabric. However, this is an appropriate choice for a bag designed to be tossed and carried around frequently, and we wholeheartedly agree.

It’s worth noting that, in case you’ve spotted a few blemishes in the photos, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. Indeed, there is some fraying on the zipper pulls, and there is a dirt spot front and center of the fabric. The former is explained by the fact that we’re testing a pre-production sample, though we’re confident that this is a minor flaw that will get ironed out on retail versions (they usually do). Meanwhile, the dirt mark is simply a leftover from the rest we’ve scrubbed off after we took this bag camping (we promise to finish the job soon). Otherwise, this bag is built just as well as any other Bellroy bag, and it’s robust enough for the rigors of travel.

Next up is the harness system, though we’ll start with the smaller details before we get to the good stuff. At the top is a grab handle thoughtfully positioned along the back panel’s edge. In theory, this should make it easier to hang the bag on bathroom door hooks and such fixtures. In practice, though, the handle’s thickness and low-profile design make this trickier, and that’s also the case when grabbing it with your hand. Still, it gets the job done when you just need to grab the bag in a pinch, so we won’t harp on it too much.

Like most travel backpacks, this one also has a luggage pass-through that lets you slide the bag on your rolling luggage when you’re traveling with one. It’s mounted vertically within the back panel’s central air channel. The twist is that one end of the pass-through strap is elasticated to retract when not in use. It’s a nice little touch that makes sure the pass-through stays cleanly flush against the fabric, preserving the bag’s neatness.

The most interesting aspect of Bellroy’s approach to the harness system is their restraint. It’s simply a pair of trusty shoulder straps accompanied by a sternum strap—and that’s it. You won’t find load lifters, a hip belt, or an adjustable back panel, features you’d find on travel backpacks like the Aer Travel Pack 3 Small or Tortuga Travel Backpack. Having said that, there’s no strict formula for a comfortable harness system, so we’ll have to see in the next section if this bread-and-butter-only approach is at least sufficient for the purpose. Before that, let’s see what exactly we have to work with.

The shoulder straps are slightly curved to flow more naturally from your shoulders to the back. For comfort, there’s thick padding that’s seemingly a separate layer from the straps themselves. For their part, Bellroy makes the claim that these straps were designed not to shift around much on your shoulders, and so the separated padding might be intended to help with that. That said, they’ve also implemented rough-feeling mesh here, which, while grippy, feels scratchy if you wear a tank top.

There’s also a sliding sternum strap, our favorite kind since it makes micro-adjustments very easy. Further, Bellroy put a magnetic buckle with it to make things even easier. That said, we’re still skeptical whenever we have to use a magnetic buckle since they tend to be more finicky than conventional side-release buckles. Magnetic buckles are neat, but they’re more likely to disengage by accident once they’re not tensioned, based on our experience.

The back panel shows just how much padding this bag has, which is a lot. It’s thick to the point that it’s borderline overkill, even for a travel backpack of this size. That’s fine, and we wouldn’t mind having too much if the alternative is having too little. At the same time, though, we wish all this padding was just a bit softer. There’s a noticeable stiff feeling whenever we wear this bag.

Fit Notes

It’s worth noting that there’s also a 22-liter version of this bag, which we also tested alongside this 28-liter version. This brought up interesting observations in terms of carrying comfort. Firstly, both their harness systems have a pervasive heft and thick feel. You may think this is simply because of the 28-liter version’s size, but that’s not the case; our team feels the same way about the 22-liter version. Swapping between sizes within our team’s small and large-torso’d members led to other findings. Unfortunately, the Pack Hacker crew, whether they had small or large frames, struggled to determine which of the two versions felt more comfortable or appropriate for their torso size.

With all of that said, what’s the takeaway here? Simply put, carrying comfort is not the Transit Workpack Pro’s strong suit, so you might as well pick the size variant appropriate for your packing needs. In other words, go for this bigger one if you need to pack lots of gear for lengthy trips, and choose the smaller one if you just need a daily hauler. Otherwise, you may want to consider another travel backpack if carrying comfort is your top priority.

Inside The Backpack

Bellroy was quite keen to point out how the Transit Workpack Pro was designed for users who already have their own suite of organizers and pouches. It, therefore, refrains from being too compartmentalized, though you still get a decent amount of pockets scattered around the bag. Fortunately, there’s still a water bottle pocket, which should put a smile on the faces of those who like packing their hydration (us included, of course). Sticking to Bellroy’s aesthetic ethos, the water bottle pocket (located on the bag’s left) is seamlessly integrated into the bag’s shape, being a zippered compartment instead of the more conventional open mesh or cinched designs you might see on other backpacks.

This cleaner-looking approach isn’t without its tradeoffs, though. For one thing, while it can fit an 18-ounce insulated bottle just fine, something like our 24-ounce Owala FreeSip doesn’t. We could pull the zipper right up to the top, but it was about two inches short of fully closed. We can probably pull it straight to the end if we force it, but we’d rather not risk damage to prove a point. If we couldn’t do it in a controlled environment, we wouldn’t recommend users do it daily anyway. Another thing to note is that a pocket design like this means your bottle will be cutting into the main compartment’s volume. So, while preserving the bag’s clean silhouette, you’re trading packing space for it.

On the opposite side is a quick grab pocket with a sideways opening you can access while wearing the bag (the bottle pocket’s opening is oriented the same way). Although there’s a built-in key leash so you can fish those out quickly, this pocket’s orientation means other everyday carry items will sink to the bottom, where they mix up and are hard to reach. The bad news is that there’s no alternative pocket for quick-grab items; this is it. There’s no top pocket, in case you’re wondering. To be fair, the front compartment has a soft-lined sunglasses pocket, which you can use for your AirPods and such. However, since it’s within a compartment, you have to undo two zippers each time you want to listen to some tunes.

On that note, the front compartment has a passport-sized liner pocket, twin pen slots, and the aforementioned sunglasses pocket. It’s a decent amount of organization, and there’s enough room to fit a slim pouch or even a sling. Being able to fit the latter was particularly useful when we didn’t feel like carrying a sling or wanted just one bag to pick up after going through airport security.

At the back is a laptop compartment spacious enough for big devices like a 16-inch MacBook Pro. The available space stretches to about two inches from the bag’s bottom edge to provide some buffer in case of impacts. Supplementing this compartment is a drop pocket that’s big enough for a tech pouch (of which Bellroy has a few sold separately). As with the front compartment having enough room for a pouch, this drop pocket shows how much Bellroy designed this bag with users who already have organizers in mind.

The main compartment is guarded by chunky AquaGuard-style YKK zippers that run along three of the bag’s four sides. This gives you a clamshell opening conducive for packing large items, such as packing cubes full of clothing and thick layers. It’s an appropriate design for a travel backpack, though having this much zipper length comes with the caveat of being mindful of where you leave the zippers. We try to keep them near the top where they’re easy to reach, making access to the inner mesh pocket convenient.

That mesh pocket serves as the only built-in means of organization. It’s only really good for storing bits of toiletry or small clothing accessories like socks or gloves. The brand tag doubles as a smart tracker pocket, but that hardly counts towards the bag’s overall organization. Otherwise, the main compartment is just an open space with a cross-shaped hold-down strap to help tame your clothing if you decide to pack without packing cubes. For our part, we organized small clothing (underwear, mostly) in packing cubes while the rest, such as tops, layers, and pants, were simply folded and tucked in. In total, we packed a crewneck, two long sleeves, three shirts, a pair of pants, sweatpants, leggings, a toiletry bag, and a pouch full of underwear—enough for a three-day camping trip. Some strategic packing is required, however.

With how roomy the other compartments are, they inevitably have to take that volume from somewhere—that somewhere being the main compartment. Whether it’s the water bottle pocket, the laptop compartment’s drop pocket, or the front compartment, they all cut toward the bag’s center once they’re packed full. With this in mind, you either pack the main compartment or the outer ones first, depending on which you value more: bringing more clothing or everyday accessories.