In Europe, most airlines, especially Ryanair, Easyjet and Wizzair, let you have a free small bag which you can put under a seat. The dimensions are more-less 40cm of height (16 inches), 25-30cm of width (10-12 inches) and 20cm of bulk (8 inches). Most of my backpacks are between 20-26L and they are just too big. Normally I’d get away with it, but recently the airlines started paying more attention to these bags’ sizes. So I checked if my favorite bag/pouches company Peak Design had anything that would work and I think I found it. It’s Everyday Backpack Zip 15L.
- Small but a very practical backpack
- What can fit in a 15L ZIP Backpack?
- Carabiner for practicality and security?
- Perfect under-the-seat free backpack for airplanes?
- P.S. Video walkthrough of this backpack by Peak Design
Small but a very practical backpack
As most things from Peak Design, the backpack is very well made, very well thought out and surprisingly capable. Its height is only 2cm more than the officially allowed size (42 vs 40 cm) but I heard from the people that it still fits the airlines’ measure box. The rest of the dimensions are perfect.
In the past I was reluctant to getting one of these bags because they’re mainly tailored at photographers and I don’t identify as one and I don’t carry my DSLR or lenses with me all that often. However, thanks to this positioning it has these great zippers that let you open it all the way and have size access to the bag which turns out is pretty handy.
It also features a separate laptop compartment which can be accessed from the outside (which I love!) and it just fits my M4 iPad Pro with Magic Keybaord. It is tight, but fits my iPad just so. It also features a separate place for documents and a small pocket for gadgets like AirPods or iPhone.
What can fit in a 15L ZIP Backpack?
I love pouches from Peak Design. I have several of them:
- 1 Tech Pouch where I have all my go-to accessories.
- 2 Small Packing Cubes I use for my clothes and I usually fit all of them for a week in these two.
- 1 Ultralight Mesh Packing Cube XXS I use for my toiletries.
- 1 Ultralight Fabric Packing Cube XS I keep in case I need to pack some additional things.
- 1 Packable Tote I use for going shopping.
Now, I wanted to know how many of them would fit in this backpack. Obviously, not all of them, but what is possible?
Load 1. Tech Pouch and Packing Cube
My next trip is going to be a weekend trip so for a short trip like this, if I were to take all of my cables and gadgets, I’d put in the Tech Pouch and I’d fit all my changes of clothes (boxers, socks, shirts) in one Packing cube and it fits perfectly:
This backpack also features these cool Velcro-based dividers which photographers use. I’m not sure I’ll be using them as they are not needed when I have everything packed in cubes.
So it can fit:
- 1 Tech Pouch
- 1 Packing Cube
- 1 XXS Mesh Pouch with toiletries
Perfect for a weekend away.
Load 2. Two Packing Cubes - more clothes!
Can I fit more clothes in there? Good question! So instead of taking my tech pouch, I decided to put my Anker 2xUSB-C Nano charger and an Apple Watch USB-C cable and a 3-in-1 USB-C cable in the side pockets of this bag. This way if I don’t need any more cables, I can just get away with these to charge all of my devices and I have more space in the backpack. Turns out two Packing Cubes fit just fine:
The only thing is that the Packing Cubes cannot be loaded 100% in length. So you can stack many clothes but make sure they are not filled up to their full length:
- 2 Packing Cubes with lots of clothes
- 1 XXS Mesh Pouch with toiletries
- Charger and cables in side pockets
- 1 XS Pouch in other side pocket as a spare
Perfect for a longer weekend where I might need more clothes and not too many gadgets.
Carabiner for practicality and security?
This backpack has many hooks and two straps, the typical Peak Design style. And they made special security hooks on the zippers. However, I still prefer to add a carabiner to be able to hook up all the zips together to keep pickpocketers away.
There is also a hidden pocket on the top of the backpack and they even give you a nice key ring for it. I have my house keys in there and an AirTag so I never lose my backpack.
Perfect under-the-seat free backpack for airplanes?
So it would seem. In two weeks I’ll be flying away for a weekend and I’ll take it through its paces. I will be hiking a lot so I also appreciate very sturdy and comfortable straps on this backpack as well as a shoulder strap for a more relaxed carry.
Unless the airlines change their rules yet again, I think this backpack will be my go-to choice whenever I have to fly on short distances and will not need too many things.
P.S. Video walkthrough of this backpack by Peak Design
This is not a sponsored post. I’m just a big fan of Peak Design and their video comparing the ZIP 15L and 20L actually convinced me to give this backpack a try: