FORCLAZ Foldable Backpack 10L Review

The FORCLAZ Foldable Backpack 10L is one of the lightest, most budget-friendly packable backpacks on the market. FORCLAZ made lots of sacrifices to reduce the weight and costs of making this pack. We’re curious whether the price and weight make it worth it or whether we’ll miss the luxuries of offerings from brands like Matador. Let’s dive in!

External Components

The primary pack material is 100% polyester. It’s extraordinarily lightweight and has the feel of ‘90s wind pants. Ask an older family member if you weren’t alive to remember those. They probably still have theirs!

The material has a polyurethane coating on it, although it’s hard to notice that it’s there. The exterior feels like polyester, not much more. With that said, this fabric does an excellent job of keeping your gear dry. It will get wet if you get dumped on, yet it will weather the storm in most conditions.

Since it’s a packable bag, it stays wrinkled for a while, creating pools for water to hang out if you get caught in the rain. Once you’re out of it, give the pack a shake to eliminate any water pooled in nooks and crannies created by wrinkles.

There are only two zippers on this pack—both from KCC. We don’t have much experience with KCC zippers, though they feel adequate. As we continue to test this pack, we’ll update the Usage Timeline below if we have any issues.

The pull on the main compartment zipper is a paracord-like material knotted at the end. It’s easy to grab onto in all weather conditions and doesn’t add much weight to the pack.

We’ve got the Black colorway on hand, and at the time of writing, there’s a Purple colorway available too. FORCLAZ is a Decathalon product, and we’ve noticed that their options and colorways change frequently, so it’s worth checking back to see what’s available.

There’s a black FORCLAZ logo on the front of the pack. It’s secured with a few thread stitches and looks a little DIY. We dig the look, though it might not be for everyone.

Apart from that, there isn’t much happening on the exterior of this backpack. There are no water bottle pockets, external compartments, or loops to attach gear. It’s as simple as it gets and comes in at just 1.6 ounces to make up for it. This thing is wicked light, and we’ll get into how packable it is in a moment.

Fit Notes

The shoulder straps on this pack are basic. There’s no padding, aeration, sternum strap, or attachment loops—it’s just a double layer of the thin exterior pack material.

When you cinch the pack tight, there’s a fair amount of leftover strap material. There aren’t any strap keepers, so it just blows in the wind.

The adjuster stays put reasonably well while you’re wearing the pack, although we’ve noticed it moving around a bit when you put on or take off the bag, especially when carrying heavier gear.

The back panel is just as simple as the shoulder straps. There’s no padding, no aeration, and no channels for airflow. Whatever you put inside the back becomes the back panel, so we recommend putting flat, soft items on the back side to ensure your carry is comfortable.

The pack is comfortable, like feathers, when empty or filled with lightweight gear. Once you get into medium weight, the shoulder straps start to dig in slightly. For most uses, it is a comfortable-enough carry. We’ll get into that shortly, though.

Inside The Pack

We’ve got just one secondary compartment to work with, and it’s the stuff sack, too. This minipocket is on the back panel when the pack is in use. It’s pretty small—not even large enough for a modern smartphone. You could slide a wallet or set of keys here, though you’ll feel whatever you slot here on your back since there’s no back panel padding.

To stow the pack in the stuff sack, force all the materials inside. We recommend loading the shoulder straps first because if you leave them until last, the straps like to poke out and get in the way of the zipper track.

The stuff sack has a small logo, a picture of a backpack, so you know what’s inside, and “10L” printed on it. Decathalon and FORCLAZ make a few packable pieces of gear, so the information ensures you know what you’ve got in your hand. There’s a small attachment loop, so you can hook a carabiner or strap through it and clip it onto your pack or sling.

When stowed away, the pack fits into the palm of your hand. You can compress it even more by applying pressure. It will fit in your pocket, sling, or between items in your daypack without much fuss.

Transitioning back into daypack mode, all 10 liters of storage come into play with the main compartment. It’s an ample open space with no organization inside.

It does better with lightweight items because the exterior materials don’t offer much structure. If you were to throw a couple of potatoes inside the pack, the entire thing would look stretched and awkward. The odds are that you won’t do that, though any small and heavy item will have the same effect.

You can fit a good amount of gear inside. However, there isn’t any way to organize the bag once it’s there without using external help from packing cubes, and we feel that defeats the pack’s purpose. It’s a packable daypack to save space; if you need to add packing cubes, you should go with a more heavy-duty packable backpack.

You’re best off using this as a just-in-case daypack for trips where you’re trying to save weight. At 1.6 ounces, you won’t even notice this is in your pack. We wouldn’t recommend using it on a few-mile hike.

Still, for an adventure around a new place, it’s a versatile piece of gear to throw in your pocket or sling just in case you buy something, you want to take off your travel jacket because the weather warms up, or you want to stop at the local market on the way back to the hotel or Airbnb. Plus, at the time of writing, the pack comes in at under $10. If you lose it or it rips, you won’t be out of a ton of cash!