EVERGOODS Civic Travel Bag 26L (CTB26) Review

In the past, EVERGOODS gear has been some of our favorites in terms of design and organization, and the brand is known for using durable materials, which means the products are built to last. We’re curious if we’ll see those same great features we love on the Civic Travel Bag 35L and how they translate into use with a smaller capacity on a personal item bag. Let’s dive in!

External Components

The primary pack material is 420D nylon, which is durable, handles water well, and looks sleek and professional. Seriously, this stuff can do it all. It’s pretty malleable but holds its shape well, which is a good combination for travel. You can work with it to get gear where you need it to go, but it retains its shell, so it looks minimalistic no matter where you take it.

We’ve got YKK zippers throughout the pack, which we’ve seen from EVERGOODS before. YKK is one of the best in the business, so there’s nothing to complain about here—the zippers work well. The pulls are basic but adequate. They stay out of your way when you aren’t using them and are easy to find when necessary.

The plastic hardware is from Duraflex and, similar to the zippers, there isn’t anything bad to say here; they get the job done, plain and simple.

On the bottom left of the pack’s front face, there’s an EVERGOODS logo. If you aren’t familiar, the logo has no words or even an actual design; it’s a square piece of hook-and-loop fastener with a line running through it. You can add a patch here to customize the bag or leave it blank, which looks nice, too. In the office, this is a fairly polarizing feature. Whereas some folks like the customizability and don’t mind the minimalistic logo, others don’t like the look. Depending on your preference, you’ll sit on one side of the fence or the other, though we don’t think it’s a dealbreaker.

On either side, there’s a water bottle pocket made of stretchy mesh. The top is a tighter fabric, which holds onto bottles nicely. You can fit a 32-ounce Nalgene bottle here, which is ideal for travel if you like to stay hydrated. When the bag is fully packed, it can be challenging to slide larger bottles inside. However, if you place the bottle before stuffing the pack, you can still fit it most of the time. Getting a skinnier travel water bottle might make sense for travelers who tend to stuff their backpacks full.

A luggage pass-through on the back panel is easy to use and stays out of your way when you aren’t using it. It’s wide, so your bag won’t bounce around while connected to your carry on luggage or packed bag. However, similar to the CTB35, using this feature negates the use of one of the water bottle pockets.

There’s a handle on the top and side of the pack. Both are pretty well hidden; they don’t get in your way while you use the bag, which is handy. They aren’t the most comfortable to hang onto for extended periods, but after all, this is a backpack, and you’ll be carrying it on your back most of the time. Including two handles is handy for the overhead bin on the airplane and public transportation.

Fit Notes

The shoulder straps are amply padded and feature an S-curve, which will mold to most, but not all, body types. Some users have noted that they’re noticeably wide at the top but not uncomfortably so.

No mesh or noticeable aeration is built into the straps, but they’re still comfortable and don’t get too hot in average weather.

The back panel is amply padded, too, and comfortable. It flexes well to mold to your back, no matter your torso size. It’s crafted from 50D monofilament, which breathes reasonably well for how it looks. You wouldn’t guess that when you first saw it, though, which was a fun surprise for an all-black pack.

Behind the back panel and luggage pass-through, there’s a rigid HDPE plastic frame sheet to add structure and help disperse weight. You can remove it while tinkering around inside the laptop compartment, but it doesn’t add much weight, so we’d recommend leaving it.

Inside The Bag

Speaking of the laptop compartment, you can access it from the side of the pack. Typically, we don’t love this design because it makes us anxious that the laptop can fall out. Although this hasn’t happened to anyone at Pack Hacker HQ (yet), others online have had it happen. Luckily, on the EVERGOODS CTB26, a hook-and-loop fastener holds the laptop in place. Plus, it’s red, so you’re more likely to see if the laptop compartment is open than if it were gray like the rest of the liner. It’s a small addition but a welcomed one.

You can store more than just your laptop here, too. There’s enough space for a large book, notebook, or other oversized flat items. There’s a zipper garage on the zipper track, which is handy to ensure no water sneaks inside to ruin your laptop or other gear stowed in the compartment.

A vertical front pocket acts as a large secondary compartment. All the organization orients towards that opening, allowing you to access this one while you’ve got the pack on one shoulder or while it’s resting on your rolling suitcase via the luggage pass-through. Using it while the bag is straight up and down can feel awkward, but it isn’t impossible. Two liner pockets are inside, one large and one small, and a zippered mesh pocket. This is a lovely spot to lock down gear you don’t want buzzing around in the rest of the compartment, which is big enough that we’ve lost track of smaller items. We’ve also got a key leash inside here, which is handy and red, so it’s highly visible.

We’ve got a top quick-access compartment, too. Although not as big as the other two secondary pockets, you can fit a lot of gear inside here. There’s no organization, but you can house your daily essentials here to keep your pockets free from clutter.

Additionally, a yoke pocket on the top of the pack is perfect for stashing extra goodies while you’re in transit, whether you’re heading through security at the airport or need to snag your bus pass to get to work. There’s no organization here, which makes it suitable for larger items, like a sunglasses case.

The main compartment has a clamshell opening, which enables you to get into the nitty gritty of gear organization. That said, there is some segmentation here to help you out.

There’s a zippered pocket on the lid with two smaller pockets inside, one large and one small. Below that, we’ve got another mesh storage area with a zippered topper. This one is quite large, so you can stow more items here. Because of the mesh, it’s a good spot for socks and underwear for a trip or any larger gear you don’t want bouncing around the main compartment.

On the back side, there’s a stretchy mesh pocket. It snaps back fairly quickly and firmly, so you can put large or small items here. It’s an excellent spot to lock down larger gear that won’t fit inside any of the zippered areas of the pack.

Above that, there are some attachment spots. There are two three-loop daisy chains so that you can attach gear with a strap, carabiner, or other method. If you don’t want to use them, they stay out of your way, which is ideal.

There isn’t any other organization in the main compartment, so you might want to use packing cubes or a tech pouch to stay organized on longer trips. This isn’t a pack that will do your organization for you, but some travelers prefer that. Not including wholesale organizational features makes this pack more versatile and enables users to keep themselves together. Plus, it’s sleek, so you’ll look good doing it.