Travel and Laptop Backpack

From trips to the coffee shop to being the only bag I carry for multi-day international work trips, this backpack’s thoughtful, nuanced design and incredible quality continue to bring me “travel gear joy.”

Across the internet, there are tons of travel gear reviewers who go deep into their examination of backpacks. They talk about pocket designs. Zipper materials. Comfort of straps. Padding on handles. Resistance to damage. Space for gear. And on and on.

For some reason, you rarely find this Thule featured in gear reviews—it is a bit of a hidden gem in the travel gear influencer sphere—which is surprising because this bag nails all the criteria for a world-class travel and laptop backpack.

Over the past 4.5 years (at the time of writing), the Thule Crossover 2 has gone all over the world with me. In the words of Thule, this “backpack is designed to keep everything organized, accessible, and protected throughout your travels.” They nailed it.

I can do three days of travel with just this bag when traveling for work. Inside the bag, I will fit my 16-inch Mac Book Pro, wires and dongles, snacks, notebooks, a water bottle, multiple packing cubes, and more—and I will still be able to fit it under the airplane seat in front of me.

I’ve dropped it, stuffed it, scrapped it, and generally abused it—and it still looks great and works even better.