Peak Design Everyday Backpack 30L vs 20L

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Peak Design took the industry by storm with their latest product, the Everyday Backpack. This backpack comes in two sizes, the 20L and 30L. These bags also come in the two colours of Charcoal and Ash Gray. Having trouble deciding which one I wanted, I ended up getting two bags, one in the 20L and Charcoal Gray which I reviewed and also the larger 20L in Ash Gray.

This time I wanted to truly put the 30L to the test and provide a full and honest review about this backpack and why it makes for a heavenly bag for photographs and travellers alike. In the video you find below, you’ll also be able to see just how the 20L and 30L differ in size which may help make your own purchasing decisions.

Thoughts on the 30L Everyday Backpack in Ash Gray

At nearly 23 minutes long, there isn’t much I didn’t cover in the video above but to summarize, here’s what I thought about the 30L version of the Everyday Backpack.

Noticeably larger than the 20L. It’s a bag where you look at it and go, “yeah I can definitely pack a good amount of things in there”, and I certainly put that to the test.
The Ash Gray fabric is beautiful and the tan leather accents on it give it that modern look while keeping the bag very incognito.
The design and layout of the bag is IDENTICAL to the 20L but with the larger size, I felt that I could comfortably fit my DSLR, my tripod slotted into the side a lot easier and there was so much space to work with at the top.
This backpack went through quite a bit of rain in Hawaii and it performed very well. While the exterior shell did eventually get wet after quite a pummelling, it kept everything inside nice and dry.

30L vs 20L?

Looking at Peak Design’s Kickstarter page for the Everyday Backpack, it was honestly really hard to decide which bag size to pick.

On one hand, the 20L looks nice and form fitting to most bodies and the 30L sometimes looks too big on someone and there’s the question of how much space do you really need when you travel?

I’m probably one specific use case here but for someone that travels with camera gear (happily converted to micro four-thirds now), now a drone and often tries to maximize on carry-on restrictions, I realized pretty early on using the 20L that it was just too small for travel that wasn’t the kind that were day trips from home.

The 20L is great as a bag for work, day in the city, or day pack for hiking. In fact, I prefer this form factor because it doesn’t feel as bulky on my back and man that Charcoal Gray looks good.

The problem is that once you load in the drone, the GoPro, extra filters, laptop, passport organizer, chargers, and thin hoodie let’s say for a flight to somewhere else, the 20L just doesn’t cut it anymore. The 30L Everyday Backpack performed quite admirably in keeping all of that together without bursting at the seams.

I used the 30L for a recent trip to Hawaii and I put all of that in there and more without trouble. I could also put the backpack underneath the seat in front of me on the plane so it easily acted as my “additional bag” to my carry-on luggage.

This is all to say that the 20L makes a great day pack but if you need to use it as a carrier for a ton of other things in transit, you’ll want the space that comes with the 30L and that added security and flexibility when you’re on those longer trips you take.

Honest Criticisms

So not everything was rosy with the Everyday Backpack. There’s not a lot of things that bugged me but these are good things to consider when making/not making your purchase.

Not unique to the 30L but it’s near impossible to get the water bottle from the side pocket if the backpack is on. You have to take the backpack off to get to it.
A little awkward to slot the 30L through the handle of your luggage because of how big it is. If your luggage is too small or light, it will surely topple over.
More of an issue with doing long hikes with a camera attached to a Peak Design Capture on one shoulder but man it get’s tiring and a little painful after several hours with most of the weight sitting on one shoulder.
The sternum strap doesn’t always stay tight. During my hiking, I had to re-tighten the strap every 30 or so minutes.