Emigre Backpack Review

The Emigre Backpack has a sleek, business-professional look we’re here for. After all, Emigre is French for emigrate (or emigrated). However, we’re curious how this polished, professional bag performs while traveling the world as a digital nomad. Let’s dive in!

External Components

The primary material used on the daypack’s exterior is Robic nylon, made from 100% recycled fabric. In addition to offering durable, water-resistant materials, it’s bluesign® certified, which means it’s more sustainable. Who doesn’t dig that?

The zippers are from YKK and look as good as they work. If you aren’t familiar, YKK is one of the best brands on the market for durable, long-lasting zippers, so you can count on these to last a while.

The zippers have metal pulls, which look sleek, though they can sometimes be a little loud and are slippery when they get wet. They’re still functional, but it might take a little longer to close them than usual, which can be detrimental to the gear you’ve got stowed inside if it’s raining hard. In all other situations, there are no issues to report.

We’ve got hardware from Duraflex, which is excellent to see. This brand is up there with YKK as one of our favorites, at least at the time of writing.

We have handles on the top and side of the pack, which are handy for travel and everyday use. You’ll always have a handle to grab when stowing and removing your pack from the overhead bin, and you can get on and off public transit in a breeze with the durable-feeling handles. This is helped by the fact that you can stow the shoulder straps away, but we’ll get to that later.

There’s an Emigre logo on the top right of the pack’s front face, which is just as sleek as the rest. It isn’t in your face or noticeable if you aren’t on top of the pack. That way, when you walk into a big business meeting, nobody will be too distracted by your backpack to hear your pitch, whether on the 100th floor or in the neighborhood coffee shop.

Apart from that, this pack doesn’t have much going on regarding external features. Due to this lack of extras, it looks and feels minimalistic. Some, though, might feel like there’s wasted space. However, you’ve got to admit, it looks rad.

Fit Notes

These are some of the most minimalistic shoulder straps we’ve come across on a travel daypack. With that information alone, you might think they’re uncomfortable, but you’d be wrong. They’re well padded, shaped like a straight line, and lack aeration or mesh for breathability. On a hot day, they do get a bit sweaty; however, they’re still pretty comfortable. Some larger body sizes may find that they dig in slightly, but the experience is generally good.

On the bottom, there’s a clip to unlatch the shoulder straps. There’s a zipper on the back panel where you can stow the straps when you’re not using them, which is helpful on the airplane, in the hotel room, and for general storage to keep the straps out of the way of your organization. You can stow items inside this pocket when wearing the pack; however, there isn’t much padding here, so it can negatively affect comfort.

The back panel is basic but comfortable. It has little padding and no aeration, which, again, can get hot, but the materials are thick, which adds comfort. The fabric holds its shape well, so you aren’t likely to get poked by whatever you’ve got stowed in the main compartment.

Inside The Pack

We’ve got just one secondary compartment to work with. You access it from the front of the pack through a vertical opening, with all of the organization vertically oriented.

Upon entry, you’ll find two pockets facing the opening. Both have a fuzzy liner, which is ideal for electronic devices. There are two elastic straps for pens or other skinny items, too, so this is an excellent place to access things you want to use during the day, flight, or commute. This pocket is easily accessible by slinging the pack over one shoulder. It doesn’t take up the whole front face of the pack, which feels like wasted space. However, it is pretty large as it is.

The main compartment has thoughtful organization built into the design. On the lid side, we’ve got an admin panel with a large zippered compartment on the top, taking up the whole front face of the pack. You can stow larger items here, but smaller things might get lost.

Below that, there’s a smaller zippered compartment, which is a good size for a book. The backpack comes with a limited edition moleskin notebook with art from UK-based artist R. Fresson. How fun!

Next, we’ve got an even smaller zippered compartment. It’s the perfect size for cash and cards, which is handy. You can keep your wallet in your pocket, but you don’t have to use it for everything in case it gets lost or stolen. You can keep the essential things here, away from the outside world.

Last but certainly not least, we’ve got four elastic pen slots. Two are larger for bigger items like a stylus, and two are smaller for a standard pen or pencil. If you don’t want to use them, they stay out of the way, which we dig.

On the bottom of the bag, there’s a water bottle pocket on one side. It has an elastic topper with an adjuster to cinch down on the bottle. Getting used to stowing a travel water bottle inside your pack isn’t easy, but it’s a handy feature to have. You can use this to store other items if you don’t want to risk your bottle leaking onto the contents of the interior.

On the backside, there’s a laptop sleeve to stow your computer. It has good padding, so you don’t need a separate case. There’s also an additional spot for a tablet or notebook, which is handy. The larger compartment can handle up to a 16-inch computer. When loading and unloading it, sometimes your laptop will rub against the zipper or be challenging to maneuver because of a lip on the top of the pack. It’s doable but feels more complicated than it needs to be.

Overall, we dig using this pack, at least from the perspective of functionality and looks. However, it doesn’t have some of the features we’re used to seeing from a backpack meant for travel. That said, this is one of the sleekest backpacks we’ve come across, and that matters!