Have you ever traveled to a location and had to reuse your travel backpack that’s much larger than you needed? Or have you jumped on a flight and attempted to fit your bag under the seat in front of you only to find out it doesn’t fit? This is precisely where a daypack comes in.
I was looking for a smaller backpack that could still fit my laptop, cables, and water bottle, and I also needed it to be light and low profile so I could pack it into my larger travel bags. The Timbuk2 Rapid backpack has been perfect. Rather than carrying a 30+ L bag around a new city for a day, this 14L size is excellent for walking around, heading to the beach, or going into an office.
My latest trick has been to pack this daypack up with the devices I want accessible for flights and then pack this into my larger travel backpack (to stay within carry-on baggage limits). When I get to my seat, I pull this out, put it beneath the seat, and put the travel backpack in the overhead storage. This makes things easier on smaller planes or if you’d rather not have to go into your overhead luggage during the flight.