Patagonia Terravia Hip Pack Review

The Patagonia Terravia Hip Pack is a packable sling designed for use while traveling or on your daily commute. Often, packable hip packs aren’t the most structured or comfortable, and that affects usage. From the jump, we’ve noticed that the Terravia has more padding than we’ve seen on other models. Will it be a comfortable option for one bag travel, or will we be left wanting more? Let’s dive in and find out!

External Components

The primary materials on this hip pack are recycled nylon and recycled polyester, which is a solid shout from a sustainability perspective. They feel durable and incredibly lightweight, but this doesn’t offer much structure, which can lead to saggyness if you stow heavy gear inside. It’s packable, though, so we were expecting that. The most common trade-off when using packable gear is structure, as making stiff gear fit into a small package is tricky.

When packed, it’s roughly the size of the most enormous burrito you’ve ever eaten. This differs from person to person, but you know what we mean. You can fit the sling (or the burrito) into one hand, but to actually use (or eat) it, you’ll have to get both paws on it. A small strap with a clip is handy for attaching it to your belt, inside your travel backpack, or onto a larger sling. There’s another small loop you can use to attach it to something with a carabiner or strap, too.

The bag uses zippers from YKK, the best brand in the business. They’re small but easy to use, so while that may be challenging for those with large hands, we didn’t have an issue.

The buckle is from Duraflex and is durable, easy to use, and familiar-looking. There’s nothing new to report here; it works without issue. A small loop on the top of the back panel is handy for hanging the hip pack up without packing it away. It’s pretty small, so hanging on a larger hook may be tough.

Overall, we dig the subdued style of this sling, even if you can get the bag in vibrant colors. There isn’t a ton going on, making it easy to pack away, as there aren’t as many moving parts.

Fit Notes

The back panel is well padded for a packable bag and has mesh and holes for aeration, which keeps you cool. Again, the padding isn’t very structured, as this is a packable bag, but it’s comfortable enough. If you put something odd-shaped inside the bag, it may poke out into your side while you’re wearing it. We never had this issue; however, some larger items were noticeable if we wore the hip pack long enough. If you pack everyday items, you’ll be good.

The pack has large hip huggers, which are spaces between the strap and the bag’s body that make it feel like you’re getting a big hug. We dig it because it stops the strap from pinching at the edge. This isn’t as comfortable when you’ve got a water bottle in the side pocket, but we’ll get there.

The simple strap has no padding or aeration, but we don’t mind. If you overload the bag, it can dig in a bit when you’re wearing a thin shirt, but it’s manageable. In testing, we didn’t find this bag suits heavy loads; however, if you had two full water bottles, you might feel it on your waist.

The strap has keepers to ensure there won’t be extra material flailing around, which keeps things organized and looking nice. Small details like this go a long way when packing the bag away, as everything is folded and does not waste space, which can make tucking all the material into one pocket more challenging.

You can wear this hip pack on your waist or across your body; both work well and are comfortable. Using the bag with a water bottle only works reliably in hip pack mode.

Inside The Hip Pack

The hip-huggers we mentioned earlier have side pockets on the front. You can fit a smaller bottle, around 12 ounces, here. If you have a skinnier bottle, you may be able to fit a larger one here. If you don’t want to use these for a water bottle, they work even better for snacks or other small objects. There’s a cinch cord to help tighten the pocket around a water bottle or a large object. Though using them isn’t perfect, we like the inclusion. You can’t often stow a water bottle on the outside of your sling, and this leaves more room inside it for storage. You can’t easily use this feature while in crossbody mode, which may annoy some users. Still, the feature doesn’t get in the way if you don’t want to use it, so we’re here for it.

The front pocket doubles as the stuff pocket. There’s no organization here, though there is a key leash, which is the strap we mentioned earlier that enables you to attach the packed-up sling to your pants or daypack. There’s no padding for gear protection, so we recommend putting sensitive items like sunglasses in a separate case or inside the main compartment. It works well for a phone, snack, or packable nano bag for extra storage.

The main compartment has two mesh pockets on the backside. They’re stretchy and haven’t loosened yet, which is a good sign for longevity. It’s a solid spot to stow your phone, wallet, speaker, or other medium-sized items. Smaller items may bounce out, but we haven’t had that issue.

The rest of the space is open real estate, and you can fit larger items here, like over-ear headphones, a hat, gloves, or similar-sized gear. As mentioned, there isn’t much structure to this sling, so dense items that don’t take up the whole space may cause sagging. If you load a single heavy item, this is more noticeable; however, you can pack smaller, lightweight items inside to fill out the material, decreasing how much it can sag.

We dig this bag for travel because of its packability. It doesn’t feel too thin or brittle, which has been the case for other packable gear we’ve tested. We also appreciate how easy it is to pack, even if that means it isn’t the smallest sling when it’s packed away. Plus, it utilizes recycled materials, a great shout from a sustainability perspective. What’s not to love about that?