Rab Adrift 24 Review

The Rab Adrift 24L daypack has a spacious 24-liter capacity that’s perfect for quick weekend trips or daily use while exploring a foreign area. Its flexibility makes it ideal for a wide variety of use cases. The pack inherits many of its design elements and materials from the brand’s most robust lineup, matching the durability of some of its other climbing and mountaineering-focused backpacks.

Despite its rugged construction, the ultra-light material provides excellent durability while offering flexible organization and convenient storage. The minimal interior organization provides extra storage without compromising the pack’s overall capacity.

External Components

The Rab Adrift 24L daypack is made with ultra-durable 210D nylon ripstop material, making it resilient against just about whatever you throw at it. That includes rocks, trees, and weather, yet it maintains a lightweight profile that does not weigh you down. The YKK zippers glide fairly smoothly with basic zipper pulls, though they lack an AquaGuard coating for weather protection.

The top grab handle uses stiff nylon webbing that provides durability but drops the ball when it comes to comfort. Across the front face are four dedicated attachment points and a secondary grab handle, all made with the same nylon material as the top grab handle. At the bottom of the bag are two additional attachment points, although these don’t seem to be as robust. The pack includes a dedicated attachment loop at the bottom specifically designed for bike lights for added safety. While it lacks compression straps, the Rab Adrift 24L features prominent branding on the front and accent details throughout.

The shoulder straps feature a nicely contoured shape that provides moderate comfort despite minimal padding. The foam padding also includes a layer of mesh for breathability. The densely padded back panel has perforations and a minimal air channel for increased breathability. An adjustable sternum strap is discreetly hidden underneath a flap. It connects to dedicated attachment points using a simple plastic buckle, though the adjustment mechanism isn’t very intuitive or quick to use. Deal breakers may include the lack of shoulder strap attachment points, strap keepers, and a luggage pass-through, though your mileage will vary.

The pack includes a removable hip belt that provides stability but not much extra comfort. It connects with a simple plastic buckle similar to the sternum strap and uses an unpadded nylon strap construction. While fairly basic in design and material, the hip belt is an additional means of securing the back if you want to hang it upside down. You can remove the hip belt by feeding the strap through the attached buckle if you don’t want to use it.

Fit Notes

The Rab Adrift 24L daypack has a fairly outdoorsy aesthetic, with its design and fabric choices seemingly drawing inspiration from hiking and mountaineering gear. Available in multiple colorways—including an all-black version that looks the most professional—the pack maintains a casual and somewhat rugged-looking appearance. The monochromatic color schemes are thoughtfully balanced, with primary and secondary color accents.

The pack remains pretty comfortable, particularly when fully loaded for weekend adventures. Its 24L capacity makes it an ideal option for weekend getaways or short trips, especially if you lean towards the more minimalist type of packer. The thoughtful organization, including an admin panel and side-access laptop sleeve, provides ample space for clothing, toiletries, everyday essentials, and tech gear without compromising accessibility.

Inside The Pack

The Rab Adrift 24L daypack features a quick-access zipper pocket with an attached key clip. This pocket is perfect for storing everyday essentials or gear you need often. However, it’s worth noting that the compartment only uses one zipper pull, so accessing it from the opposite side is not always convenient.

The pack features two side mesh pockets that accommodate water bottles of various sizes or other gear. The elastic material is incredibly stretchy, allowing the pockets to expand significantly while maintaining a sleek profile by snapping shut and sitting up against the pack when empty. This design secures contents effectively and allows for easy one-handed access, making it particularly convenient for grabbing water bottles or other gear on the go. They also work well as a temporary place to store a phone or wallet if you need to free up a hand.

A dedicated laptop sleeve is accessible from the side and fits devices up to 15 inches. While the sleeve offers minimal padding and protection, accessing it can be slightly awkward or annoying since the zipper travels behind one of the shoulder straps.

The Rab Adrift 24L daypack has a main compartment that opens with a dual-headed U-shaped zipper that provides top access. Inside, you will find an internal zippered mesh pocket at the top that, while not very stretchy, offers a nice amount of capacity and keeps smaller items readily accessible.

Against the back wall, a dedicated tablet sleeve with hook-and-loop closure provides secure storage, though it only extends halfway down the bag. This design makes it more suitable for storing tablets horizontally rather than vertically, and it can easily fit an 11-inch iPad Pro with a Magic Keyboard. In front of the tablet sleeve is a large stretchy mesh pocket, a medium stretchy mesh pocket, and two pen or stylus pockets. These pockets sit flush against the back when empty but remain readily accessible when needed, which is always nice to see.

The rest of the compartment is a spacious cavern for various gear, accommodating everything from loose clothing to pouches, kits, or any combination thereof. In our testing, we fit plenty of clothing for a weekend trip, a toiletry kit, some chargers, and the ALPAKA Flight Sling.

The Rab Adrift 24L daypack is a versatile and durable backpack for both outdoor adventures and everyday use. Its design features include stretchy water bottle pockets, a simple organizational panel, and a robust construction that can stand up to trees, rocks, and anything else you encounter along the way. It is a reliable choice that adapts to various use cases. Its balance of durability and functionality offers enough space and organization for weekend trips while maintaining a relatively lightweight profile thanks to its materials. While its outdoor-ish style aesthetic might not suit a professional setting, its intuitive features and durable construction make it a solid choice for those looking for a daypack that can handle both urban environments and outdoor excursions.