I got this bag for a one week trip and I love it. Its design is a simple, efficient use of space with just enough organization. I don’t usually need it, but the hip belt is very effective at transferring the pack’s weight to the hips and off the shoulders.
I purchased a 35L Setout on sale when they were being discontinued and I thought it was a mistake for them to discontinue such a good bag. It looks like this is a worthy replacement with a few upgrades. My setout is still going strong though.
Setout was good, they slimmed their lineup down over Covid but now they're reintroducing more packs, they have a new expandable bag that's coming out soon as well also similar to the Setout.
Great review as always. Especially appreciate your packing peanut test. I have a review request for you, I would love to hear your thoughts on the new Alpha one niner Evade 1.5. I think it's a really interesting backpack which balances large EDC and travel needs.
That's a nice looking bag, I think you're right that it could be a good EDC/weekend travel bag. I've had my eye on for awhile, I have a backlog of packs but I'll eventually get around to it
Not sure why they did that move but I personally like it, 45L is a little bit too big, 40 is large enough to get the benefit of a larger carry-on, but it's a little more manageable than 45.
Great review. The 30L is a constant companion domestically. It is just a tad too heavy for international travel. I am also not a fan of the admin feature in the 30L. For me and my packing style, it is a waste of weight and space. Great bags from a great company!
@@TortugaBackpacks Ideal size for international travel is 30L with a weight as close to 1kg as possible. The organization I need is an easy access dump pocket and a laptop sleeve.
I like that they're coming out with options for different packing styles. Pro is good if you want a lot of organization, but for your style of travel the extra pockets aren't needed. They're coming out soon with a hybrid of the Air and Setout that may fit what you're looking for. They haven't released details, but the specs on the older bags were 27-34 expandable which I think fills that 30L niche.
Thanks for your review! All of your videos are super helpful. Would you happen to know if this bag has more capacity than the Aer Travel Pack 3? This bag has a higher liter rating but the TP3 has larger dimensions. Thank you!
The dimensions are similar, Tortuga is a little wider, but AER is a little deeper. I'd guess the Tortuga 40 can hold more than the TP3. The Tortuga is a much simpler pack, big main compartment and not a ton of other organization or pockets that take up space. For as much as I love AER packs, they have a lot of organization and pockets that eat up room meaning you get less actual volume inside the pack than a bag with similar dimensions.
Slightly off topic and I have researched, you often mention your puffy and windbreaker jackets. They seem very very compact. Please share what you are using as this is a struggle for me. Thanks.
I have an older model of the Arc'teryx Atom LT, which I think is just called the Atom now as well as a REI down puffy jacket. My windbreaker is the Patagonia Houdini, which packs down very small and is a good windbreaker but isn't incredibly waterproof.
Would love a 25l bag. Had the old outbreaker laptop backpack and it had been the most comfortable backpack. Could not find anything close to it using ariaprene. Is these packs still using ariaprene material?
They're coming out with something similar in the fall according to the "coming soon" section on their website. It's a blend of the Tortuga Air and the Setout Divide, both which were expanding 27-34 liter packs. They haven't made these bags in years so I think they're intending to cover that ~30L simplified pack niche. Those were both great bags so I'm excited to see what it looks like.
It feels like an overall upgrade/streamlined version of the Peak Design 45L Travel Backpack + Packing Cubes. I also see that its around 1kg lighter. Between PD and Tortuga, which one do you like best?
I like the Tortuga Lite better. It's lighter, and has a better carry system. PD bags are good for tech and camera gear, they have a lot of compatibility with cubes and camera clips, but for a general purpose travel pack the Lite is so much simpler.
Thanks for the review! Would you happen to have your hands on the new Cotopaxi Allpa 35L with the improved strap system? Would you still prefer the Tortuga Lite over the Cotopaxi due to better strap system with load lifters at the cost of less organization?
Tortuga is comparable to Osprey in terms of quality and comfort. Their Pro series has a comparable if not better carry system than Osprey. The Lite 40 here is a simpler pack so doesn't have the adjustable shoulder straps, but it's still very comfortable. Design is a little different, more of a clamshell suitcase on the Tortuga Lite, but more of a panel style on Farpoint/Fairview. I prefer the Tortuga setup here, it's bigger and easier to pack.
At 5:45 it looks like there's a zipper in the laptop compartment, what is that for exactly? Could you put an iPad in there, and a laptop in the non-zipper area like normal?
It's a pocket for the plastic framesheet. It's fairly common for bags to have something like this so you can add or remove the plastic frame. The zipper is sewn in backwards so the smooth end is facing the laptop compartment so it doesn't stick out. You can open the pocket but it's not easy because there's nothing to hold on to with the zipper. You could probably put some papers or a mazagine or something like that in that pocket but it's not very convienent and hard to get to. Usually you would just leave it alone unless you wanted to pull the framesheet out for some reason.
Hey! Thanks for the review! I was about to buy the Pro 40 😅 I might still do it though, as it seems like the laptop compartment on this one could be a bit smaller? I am looking for a travel bag that can fit an 18 inch laptop (actual measurements 15.74" by 10.84" by 0.86" or 39.9 by 27.5 by 2.2 cm) which you kindly told me the Tortuga Travel Pro line could probably handle, even if outside of the "proper" sleeve
The Lite 40 laptop sleeve is about 16" x 12". But that's to the bottom of the zipper. It might fit in the pocket but you may have a hard time getting the zipper shut. It's hard to find bags that hold 18" laptops, so another solution is to just get whatever bag you like the best regardless of sleeve size and put your laptop in the main compartment with a separate padded sleeve.
I've seen another review where the shoulder strap/hip belt slack looked excessive when worn though. Did you notice this here? Excess dangle is a big no for me personally. Evergoods has that elastic strap keeper loop feature that I can't believe more backpacks don't implement!
I'm not sure why that would happen, all the straps have elastic strap keepers on them. I just watched the other two review videos, maybe the one you're referring to. I see the strap dangling issue you're talking about. I think the issue is how tight you cinch the straps down. Some of those reviewers are smaller (woman in orange sweater) so would have to cinch the straps down most of the way. If you look at her from the side you can see the straps are basically completely cinched down and there's almost no space between the shoulder strap and the buckle attachment to the pack. The keeper straps only work when both sides of the webbing have some slack. In that example the webbing is going through the keeper, but it's so high up it's not catching most of the excess strap from dangling. I'm bigger than her and I have much more slack in my straps, so the keeper works fine and I don't really have any dangling. I think if you were smaller so that you had the straps bascially cinched down all the way all the time, you would just cut the excess strap end off and re-melt it since you're never going to need it.
I wish they ditched the laptop compartment. Who travels with a laptop anymore? Usually I travel to get away from that stuff, and these days just take a tablet…
Enough people like laptop compartments that outweights the people that don't carry one, it seems like a laptop compartment is the default these days. Thankfully this one is fairly minimalist, hardly takes up any room, and it works as a general use pocket to hold anything thin.
Any chance you could review the Eagle Creek Tour Travel Pack 40L ? It's a little over 3/4 lb lighter than the Tortuga Lite, can go from 30L to 40L. Rainflap, outside slash pockets, compression strap, load lifters, hip belt, sternum strap, not rigid.
That bag looks interesting. It's been a few years since I've looked at Eagle Creek and I haven't had time to test their new lineup. All those pictures on their page though and nothing showing what it looks like on the inside. I'll add it to my list to check out.
@@marsohlala I haven't tried that bag but it looks nice, and very similar in design to the Tortuga Pro. Generally I'd say Gregory does a good job with their packs but the quality will be noticeably lower than Patagonia or Tortuga.
The size of this bag fits the carry on limits of most carries. Why try to stuff it into the size of a "personal item" (a.k.a. under seat) box without giving it context?
The listed dimensions aren't always accurate, so I think it's helpful to show in real life if a bag fits as a personal item or not. Sometimes bags that say they fit don't, and vice versa.
@@OneBagTravels What I'm pointing out is, the difference between a "carry on" that fits in the overhead luggage compartment and a "personal item" that fits under the seat. Most airlines that I know of (including international) allow bags of at least 22 x 14 x 9 for the overhead but the dimensions cited in the video for under the seat storage.
