Top 10 Travel Backpacks That You Need For Living Off The Grid

If you’re thinking about seeing the world, then there’s no better feeling than travelling in a van. You can take your tiny home with you wherever you go, and you always know that you’ve got a roof over your head no matter where you are.

Living in a van gives you a lot of storage solutions for you to house all store all of your tech and gadgets, but if you’re a digital nomad who likes to get out into the open world, then you need to be thinking about travel backpacks to cart your gear safely and securely into the unknown.

Best Travel Backpacks On The Market

With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of the Top 10 Travel Backpacks to help you with all of your off grid living adventures.  Whether you’re living the van life or camping in the wild, we’ve got backpacks for every occasion and any type of weather.

1. ECEEN Solar Anti Theft Backpack – £70.89

If like me, you do a lot of work on the road and carry around a lot of gadgets, then a solar powered backpack should be top of your travel backpacks list (just like it is ours!). This anti-theft, solar-powered backpack from ECEEN is perfect for living off the grid and a great addition to any rolling tiny eco house. The 10W solar panel on the outside of the backpack is ideal for storing up energy on long walks and is capable of powering most small devices and tables such as smartphones, go pro’s, and digital cameras. Wear it on the go or point it towards the sun; the choice is yours!

This range of ECEEN travel backpacks is exceptionally light, despite having one substantial main compartment and seven smaller ones for all of your gadgets, and with the anti-theft technology, you can be safe in the knowledge that passers-by won’t be able to claim any ‘five-finger-discount’ while on your travels. The main zipper sits against your back, so unless you’re getting super close with strangers on the road, your gear should be pretty safe.

Click below to buy yours from Amazon!

2. Passenger Rambler Backpack – £42.00

You might recognise this range of passenger travel backpacks from our van-life clothing article, and it thoroughly deserves the number two spot in our travel backpacks list. We were lucky enough to receive one of these backpacks to use on our travels around Europe, and we’ve used it pretty much every day since! The main pocket feels as though it goes on forever, and could probably fit a small ladder in there if you pushed hard enough.

This Rambler backpack comes with a padded laptop compartment to keep your computer safe, and it’s also got a waterproof coating to keep the rain off your beloved gadgets. There’s a number of different pockets for storing van life essentials, and a chest strap to keep it secure against your body and to take the strain off your back. We can fit towels, coats, gadgets, food, blankets and more in our Rambler backpack when we go on hikes through the wild, making it a top vanlife accessory and a must-have item on your next campervan gifts list.

Take a trip to Passenger Clothing online to buy your very own Rambler Rucksack in a variety of different colours!

3. North Face Vault Backpack – £43.00

Any top travel backpacks list would not be complete without an entry from North Face. Perhaps one of the most well known outdoor and adventure companies on the planet, North Face make gear that can withstand the harshest of conditions, and the Vault range of travel backpacks is no exception.

A ready-made adventure rucksack, the North Face Vault comes with a reflective bike-light loop for night time rides, water bottle tabs for you to keep hydrated on the go, and shoulder-strap webbing. It gives you a full 360 degrees of reflectivity to increase your visibility in low light or adverse weather conditions, and it does it all while protecting all of the gadgets and items that we as vandwellers use on a day to day basis.

The North Face Vault has a padded laptop sleeve and a large main compartment that’s big enough to store any large files or binders, making it perfect if you like to do a little bit of off grid painting while you’re out and about on your travels. It also has a front compartment that comes with a padded tablet sleeve if you’ve taken your art into the digital realm, and a pen holder to keep you Apple Pencil safe on the trail.

Like the sound of the North Face Vault? Click below to grab one from Amazon!

4. Andes Ramada 120L Camping Backpack – £19.99

We’ve looked at a few small travel backpacks, but now it’s time to show you a rucksack that can hold all of your possessions in one go, including the kitchen sink!

This Andes Ramada backpack is 120l, making it ideal for extended backpacking holidays, festivals, off grid adventures and more. You can use it as a suitcase for your next trip abroad, or keep it packed full of dry clothes for your next trip into the wild. These backpacks are made from durable polyester, making them resistant to all types of weather, and they’ve got more pockets than an IKEA storage unit.

The larger inner compartment is ideal for storing dry goods, tins, clothes, and any other items that can stay out of sight until you hit the campground. Numerous side pockets and a sizeable bottom pocket can be used to hold things that you might need to use more regularly such as waterproof trousers, coats, phones, compasses etc.

It’s a great value backpack for the amount of space that you get and would be an excellent accessory for any tiny house lover that likes hitting the hills on sunny afternoons.

Click below to get yours from your friendly neighbourhood Amazon delivery driver.

5. Osprey Raptor 14 Pack – £121.25

Unfortunately, this isn’t a ‘half-dinosaur-half-polyester’ range of travel backpacks, but the Osprey Raptor 14 Pack would certainly make trekking through Jurassic Park a lot more comfortable (if not less dangerous).

The Osprey Raptor is one of the most comfortable backpacks on our top travel backpacks list, with a patented ventilated back panel that keeps you cool in hot conditions — there’s nothing worse than a sweaty back while you’re trekking through the jungle (well…maybe man-eating snakes, but you get the idea).

The Osprey Raptor 14 Pack has space for you to store a helmet on the outside, so it’s perfect for mountain biking or bouldering, and there’s also an easy-to-access toolkit section for any gear that you might need to help you with your craft on the road.

There’s even a pocket on the front that comes with a drainage hole for any wet gear that you might be carrying. But perhaps the most exciting feature of this range of travel backpacks is the 3-litre water reservoir that melds seamlessly into the overall design. Now you can keep hydrated on the go without being laden down with water bottles, leaving your hands free to take snaps or forage for firewood. If you like creating van life stories with an extreme sports twist, then the Osprey Raptor 14 pack is the only rucksack for you.

Head over to Amazon and bag a bargain today!

6. Berghaus Remote 28 Backpack – £42.00

If you’re used to taking your tiny homes into remote, hard to reach places, then you need a backpack that is easy to reach in remote places (that sounded much better in my head). Alternative living just got a whole lot easier thanks to the Berghaus Remote Backpack, the all in one solution for campers who thrive in the wild. It doesn’t matter whether you’re heading out on a weekend trip or whether you want to use it for your everyday commute, the Remote 28 is the perfect companion 365 days round.

Like the Osprey Raptor, this range of travel backpacks has a ventilated mesh section to keep your back cool, and a hydration kit to keep you topped up on the road. It might not look or sound as cool as the Raptor, but it still packs a punch where it counts; the storage department. With more secret compartments than Harry Potter’s school trunk, you’re sure to have room for everything that you might need the next time you climb aboard the adventure bus.

Click below to purchase your Remote 28 backpack from Amazon remotely!

7. Mr Journey 40L Backpack £41.99

If you want to become the next Bear Grylls in an off grid van, then you need a range of travel backpacks with the proper title.

This 40L backpack from (get ready) Mr Journey can hold all of your van life gear and top cooking accessories, and it has room for as many dry pairs of socks as you can throw at it. With 1 main pocket, 3 front pockets, 1 mesh pocket in the side, 2 smaller pockets in the straps, and 3 pockets situated on the front face, you’ll spend hours looking for where you put your keys (but at least you’ll know that they are there somewhere!).

Made with high-quality terylene, this range of travel backpacks are built to withstand heavy weights without breaking at the first hurdle. Tension points are reinforced with specialised bar tracking, and a waist belt helps to take the pressure off your back.

There’s room for a 17” laptop in here too, so whether you like watching Netflix under the stars or working on the go, you can travel without the worry of damaging your expensive gadgets. You can even fit walking poles inside the Mr Journey backpack too.

Click below to make a journey over to Amazon.

8. ZOMAKE Unisex Travel Backpack – £11.99

This multi-purpose, unisex bag is very different from the rest of the travel backpacks that we’ve covered so far, but it’s just as lightweight and durable as the best of them. ZOMAKE have reinforced this foldable bag in twenty-six places to make sure that it lasts the test of time, and the water resistant, tear resistant fabric can withstand any crazy activities that you might find yourself doing on your next journey.

This 20L backpack comes in a variety of colours, and it folds down to the size of a sandwich when it’s not in use, making it a perfect accessory for anyone who is living the van life. It’s great for sticking in your coat pocket when out on a walk, and it’s strong enough to carry any firewood that you might find on your travels too.

The ZOMAKE range of travel backpacks are cheap, reliable and easy to store; sounds like you need to put one on your campervan gifts list!

Click below to get your own foldable backpack from Amazon.

9. Thule Crossover 2 Backpack – £195.44

I never take my laptop anywhere unless it’s in my Thule Case; it protects it from insane heights and is completely shockproof, which is the kind of protection you need if you’re working at rocky park-up spots or hiking to that perfect viewpoint to finish off an article.

This Thule range of travel backpacks combines that same level of protection for all of your belongings in one handy pack. It’s not cheap, but then again, it’s a lot less expensive than replacing all of your belongings when they get damaged!

The Thule Crossover 2 Backpack allows you to protect and organise all of your smaller gadgets and belongings in Thule’s patented ‘crush-proof safe zone compartment’ with zippered storage pocket. There’s a specific compartment for a laptop up to 15.6” which is also made from safe-edge construction methods, as well as a separate padded area for your tablet.

The entire backpack has been built with raised walls and durable outer fabric for extra protection, and it even has an area with RFID blocking to keep your contactless cards and passport information safe.

In short, this range of travel backpacks is perfect for anyone who takes a lot of expensive or personal items on the road, especially if they are going to be using them on a regular basis for work.  Click the link below to check out more about the Thule Crossover 2 Backpack and to buy one for yourself.

10. S-Zone-3 Vintage Backpack – £29.95

All of the other travel backpacks on our list so far have looked as though they were made for the outdoors, and that’s ok if that’s the kind of style that you like. But sometimes, you might want a multi-purpose backpack that doesn’t make you look like a wanderer, and that’s where the S-Zone-3 Vintage range of travel backpacks comes into play.

It’s designed for the digital nomad who likes to look stylish, but it’s also incredibly functional too. It has a tonne of storage space for your phones, tablets, notepads and pens, making it a great addition to any travel writer who spends a lot of time off the grid.

There’s a padded laptop compartment too, giving you access to your work or your Van Life Instagram while you’re out and about. The S-Zone-3 would be perfect for day to day life too, so this could be a good choice if you’re a weekend warrior who likes to keep van life separate from work life.

Van Clan’s Top Picks

• If you live for the wild and your work represents that, then you should get the Thule Crossover 2 Backpack. It’s sturdy, durable, and won’t let you down if you trip or fall.
• If you’re a keen rambler who needs storage more than anything else, then you should go for the Ramada Backpack. With 120L to play with you can’t go wrong.
• If gadgets are your weakness and you can’t live without them then go for the E-CEEN Solar Anti-Theft Backpack. You can charge up on the go and not worry about greedy fingers nabbing your goods

More Content From The Van Clan Team!

 

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• This Nestbox converts your car into a camper!
• Vanlife Cooking just got even tastier thanks to this portable pizza oven!