Bellroy Venture Travel Pack 26L Review

The Bellroy Venture Travel Pack 26L is arguably hard to distinguish within the brand’s extensive lineup. Naming it “Venture” among Bellroy’s already many Venture bags aside, it has a lot of visual elements that might make it easy to overlook. However, it has unique features we appreciate, and being a bit similar doesn’t preclude it from being a capable backpack.

For a travel backpack, it’s quite well organized with its many compartments and pockets, which means you shouldn’t feel deprived of places to put gear while packing. It even comes with an extra tote bag in case you do. Moreover, thanks to quality fabrics and hardware, you still get the premium feel Bellroy is known for.

External Components

A sense of déjà vu isn’t unwarranted for those who stare long enough at the Venture Travel Pack 26L. Bellroy isn’t starting from scratch with the design, deriving familiar aesthetic cues from other bags in their lineup. The head-and-body split reminds us of their Lite Ready Pack, while the zippers running all the way to the bottom for that peel-away opening is reminiscent of the Apex Backpack. It’s not a bad look, and we’d argue this is a pretty sleek backpack, but it also kind of blends in with the rest of Bellroy’s bags; it just doesn’t stand out.

The colorway we’re sampling in this review is Jet Black, the only one available at the time of writing. Simply put, it’s the way to go if you want to be inconspicuous, though it’s doing too much of a good job hiding three different fabrics at play here. The front area has what Bellroy’s calling their Element Coated Nylon, a material finished with a water-based wax resin and polyurethane coating. Though the mention of “wax” might make you think there’s a Fjallraven-y texture going on, it’s really more like a TPU coating, which is just slick.

The sides have a crunchier texture that’s more familiar, which we’re very certain is Baida nylon. Meanwhile, the bottom fabric feels very similar to the Venture Ready Pack’s Canva Ripstop, so we’re fairly certain it’s the same material. Is it a bit strange to explicitly use ripstop fabric for an area that’ll get scraped constantly? Yes, though, to be fair, the Venture Ready Pack held up well throughout our testing, and that bag is made entirely of the same material. Similarly, the Venture Travel Pack’s base still looks pristine after two weeks of testing, so we won’t harp on this too much.

Otherwise, there isn’t much going on with the Venture Travel Pack’s exterior. The YKK-branded zippers are an ever-reliable choice; these have paracord pulls wrapped in heat-shrink material for a slightly outdoorsy touch. The zippers are notably reverse coil and/or AquaGuard-style, and some of them even have zipper garages at the end to further prevent rain and debris from getting in. There are also four loops scattered along nearby corners in case you want to attach a few accessories.

Up at the top is a grab handle that mostly stays out of the way. We sometimes forget it’s even there since it’s quite low-profile and obscured from the front, but it is. It is a bit tricky to hook onto bathroom stall hooks since it’s so flat, but not impossible since it’s so far back.

The harness system is fairly simple for a travel backpack in that it lacks fancier extras like load lifters and a hip belt. Instead, you get a trusty pair of shoulder straps with relatively thin padding, though it’s made up for by the straps’ width, helping distribute more of the weight. The softened inner edges don’t dig in harshly against your skin. There’s also a sternum strap for a more secure fit, and it’s mounted on a sliding rail so you can make minute adjustments.

The back panel is slightly more padded than the shoulder straps, with a somewhat memory foam-like consistency. Breathability is also quite good, thanks to large air channels in the shape of a cross. Within the horizontal air channel is a luggage strap to slot the bag onto your rolling luggage if you’re traveling with one.

Fit Notes

The back panel has a rather pronounced curvature, particularly around the top area where it’s almost perched onto your shoulders. It makes for a comfortable fit, though the back panel’s length is also on the taller side, so those with shorter frames might feel that impact near the tailbone. Still, the entire bag isn’t as long as its side profile might suggest since the bottom extends further than the back panel, which actually rests on your back.

Try as we might, there’s very little to nitpick about how the Venture Travel Pack carries. We can feel small details, such as the air channel gaps and how the sternum strap effectively pulls weight forward. However, on the whole, the modest harness system does an overall good job of supporting this bag—which isn’t really a big surprise since its 26-liter capacity isn’t particularly huge anyway.

Inside The Backpack

At the “brain” area of the Venture Travel Pack is a zippered compartment acting as storage for all the everyday carry items you need to access quickly. Rather than a big empty dump pocket, there is some partitioning via a central gusset. This gusset splits the compartment into roughly equal halves and also prevents the front from completely folding over. That said, the opening is quite generously spaced, as is the pocket’s overall volume. We like how this pocket expands outward instead of robbing space from the main compartment.

Organization within goes a bit further. On the left is a liner pocket wide enough for a passport, while the right area has two pen slots. The partitions themselves are wide enough for a Kindle, though getting the compartment’s zipper to close over one is a bit tricky.

The seam just below the “brain” compartment stealthily hides a zippered pocket. What for? We first thought that it was simply an overly hidden (and tight) drop pocket for more gear. However, as it turns out, it already comes with a folded tote bag inside. It’s 15 liters in size, made of ripstop fabric, and there’s nothing fancy about it; it’s a simple no-frills tote for hauling extra gear. And that’s exactly what Bellroy wants you to do with it. They specifically say it’s for “overflow,” such as when you stock up on souvenirs at the end of a trip and have nowhere to put them—handy and pretty forward-looking.

Alternatively, you can leave out the tote and use the pocket to store important items like a passport and some cash since it’s pretty tough to get inside. The zipper is self-locking, so it won’t move once the zipper pull is folded.

On the bag’s left side is a water bottle pocket, albeit a zippered one. This is understandable since Bellroy is a brand that heavily emphasizes aesthetics, which means clean lines and symmetry, among other things. We suppose a cup holder-style water bottle pocket sticking off to the side just wouldn’t look as clean. Regardless, it is pretty roomy inside this pocket, though it still has its limits. Case in point: the 24-ounce Owala bottle we like using just barely fits, and any taller bottle would hit the zipper.

Admittedly, this style of water bottle pocket isn’t our favorite because we want quick access to our drink. Fiddling with a zipper each time is a hassle, and it’s even trickier to do while you’re on the move and wearing the backpack. Moreover, the clean look it achieves isn’t free; it takes space away from the main compartment.

On the other side of the bag is another quick-access pocket. There are no further pockets for organizing gear, so everything inside simply gravitates downwards. Unfortunately, the key leash inside is also long enough to reach the bottom, so your keys sink downwards even if you tether them using the leash. That said, we do appreciate the paracord leash since it’s thicker and more quality-feeling than the ribbon-like leashes Bellroy uses on some other bags.

The bag’s entire front can fold out if you undo the twin zippers all the way to the ends. A full opening like that is useful when packing the main compartment with bulky packing cubes and pouches. However, you’re better off undoing the zippers just below the brain compartment’s bottom edge for everyday use. This grants you a top-loader opening, which is perfectly fine for taking gear out quickly while you’re on the go.

Inside the main compartment are even more options for organizing your gear. Far from just being a plain bucket space, there are two zippered mesh pockets on the front side. We use the one at the bottom for storing small clothing like socks and underwear, while the top one handles extra tech accessories since it’s easier to reach. There’s also another zippered mesh pocket on the right side for even more accessories, like a packable hat, a buff, or a pair of gloves.

Meanwhile, at the back of the main compartment is a laptop sleeve that’s big enough for a 16-inch MacBook Pro. We usually prefer having a separate laptop compartment on big backpacks to avoid obstructions by other gear. However, access to the main compartment is fairly easy, given how wide the opening is, so we’re not too hassled. Partitioned directly in front is a document sleeve, which you can use to store a tablet or a travel keyboard if you’re feeling extra productive.

Overall volume isn’t exceptional at 26 liters. It’s more like a backpack for weekend trips rather than an outright substitute for rolling luggage, for example. Still, with some creative packing techniques, like the use of compression cubes, you can squeeze a lot of gear inside thanks to how wide you can open the main compartment. Having a built-in hold-down strap is quite handy as well, as it helps keep gear cinched down.

If there’s any downside about the main compartment, it’s the rounded floor. It causes the bag to tip over when we try to prop it upright. Granted, we welcome the extra space since some of it gets taken away by the water bottle pocket bulging inwards, but it is something to note if you find bags that tip over bothersome.