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Jan 9, 2020

Backpack Community Sourced Features Revealed

Shop the Pakt Travel Backpack here.

As you may or may not know, we’ve been keeping ourselves busy designing our number one most requested product since launching The Pakt One – the Ultimate travel backpack, with gear guru Chase Reeves. We have to say, it’s a seriously badass travel backpack, and we’re finally ready to reveal some of the features inspired by Pakt users that will make it into production.

We’ve carefully combed through 300+ submissions from the Pakt community, identified the top concerns and must-haves, and designed a set of features that we think you’ll be pretty stoked about.

The Pakt Backpack in Green

Top concerns and requested features

From hip belts to sternum straps and every strap in-between, nearly half of the submissions expressed very strong feelings on the various straps of their packs.

With a community full of strong opinions and travel preferences, we wanted to make sure we got each feature right for those that would want it and completely optional for those that don’t.

Hip belts

Person fastening a removable hip belt on a backpack

“Unless you are lugging a shitton of stuff, hip belts are just unnecessary.”

- Rhonda V

“To save my back, shoulders and neck, the most important thing for me is support and weight distribution - so a hip strap and breastbone strap are musts.”

- Mike S

If you hate hip belts and are a minimalist packer like Rhonda, no problem. Leave it off completely or use it as needed on a trip by trip basis. If you’re a hip belt evangelist – rejoice, friend! We designed ours to be comfortable as hell, supportive, and even managed to design a bonus feature (but we’ll show you that later).

Sternum straps

Man fastening sternum strap on a black Pakt travel backpack while wearing a white t-shirt

Person adjusting sternum strap on black travel backpack across their chest, close up showing buckles and padded shoulder straps

Similarly to hip belts, sternum straps were a highly divisive topic in this community, split 50/50 into the “completely necessary” camp versus “annoying dangly things.” We’re happy to report that we’ll be accommodating both parties with a functional, yet totally removable sternum strap that is adjustable for all sizes and shapes.

Compression straps

Person carrying a large black backpack with a rolled-up green accessory attached using compression straps, standing on a city street with pedestrians and vehicles in the background
Person fastening a jacket to the exterior straps of a black Pakt backpack while walking on a city street

“I detest compression straps because they always get in the way and they look terrible.”

- Anonymous

Well, anonymous, we kind of agree with you. We find most compression straps to be ugly, dangling, and in the way. We made our set of straps completely detachable and customizable, sized perfectly to stretch either across the front of the backpack or on the side of the pack with minimal dangle.

Here, Malcolm demonstrates the ability to pack on a jacket using the straps, but they’d also come in handy to strap on a skateboard, tripod, or yoga mat.

Luggage pass-through

Side view of Pakt One travel backpack showcasing pass-through sleeve secured over a rolling suitcase handle at a curbside
Person rolling camo suitcase with black Pakt backpack attached to handle via luggage pass-through on crosswalk

Not only was this mentioned 27 times in the survey results, but a luggage pass-through was our number one most requested feature for Pakt One users, so this was top of mind when designing the backpack.

If one-bag travel is your thing, don’t worry, we designed this luggage pass-through to be undetectable when the backpack is worn, so it won’t get in your way.

Pie chart with a highlighted red segment labeled 'Security'

Lockable zippers

Close-up of Pakt One travel backpack top zipper pulls showcasing lockable metal double pulls with holes for a padlock on a blurred background

Security is on the mind of many Pakt users (76 of you, to be exact), so we included durable outer-lock zippers on all three of the exterior zippers (YKK, of course, shout out to all the bag nerds in the house).

Secret pocket

Close-up of Pakt One backpack in cypress showing hands inserting a card into a hidden back pocket behind the laptop sleeve

“Know what I want? A flat pouch that directly touches your back. You could put flat things like documents, money, passport in it and have it not lumpy and uncomfortable on your back (because it only fits flat junk) but safe and secure toward your person.”

- Rosa V

We got you, Rosa! Our secret pocket is the perfect spot and size for all of the above. Not only is it discreet and undetectable, unless you know it is there, it’s also completely inaccessible when the backpack is on your back.

Pie chart showing a small red slice labeled 'Water proof' representing a minority of requested features

Water resistant material

Close-up of Pakt One travel backpack fabric showcasing water beading as water streams off a black panel

We’ve coated both the black and green fabrics to make them water resistant. Here’s a shot from our visit to our fabric supplier demonstrating the fabric post-coat.

Interior waterproof pocket

Interior water-proof pocket
Close-up of Pakt One travel backpack interior showing waterproof zippered pocket with a pink toiletry bag and hands opening it

One fateful trip about a year ago, Malcolm had an incident where an entire bottle of oregano oil leaked into his bag. Not really an ideal cologne for a two week trip (or really, any length of time)… Since then, he’s been brainstorming solutions, and it seems like many of you may have been looking for the same:

“Space for lunch that is waterproof from the rest of the bag if it leaks.”

- Marcus

“Internal waterproof section for liquids (saver if they do spill)”

- T O’Connell

We created this top loading waterproof section on the front panel of the backpack to stash your oregano oils, your toiletries, oversized water bottles, burritos, rain soaked umbrellas, and wet bathing suits.

Pie chart showing 'Water bottle holder' highlighted in red representing about one quarter of community feature requests

Side view of Pakt One travel backpack showing exterior water bottle pocket holding a blue water bottle with urban street background

Person wearing a black backpack with a blue water bottle in the exterior side pocket, standing outdoors in an urban area.

Ok, initially we thought we came up with a clever solution for a water bottle holder in the above mentioned interior waterproof pocket. We knew we didn’t want your run-of-the-mill water bottle holder that took away from the sleek design of the pack, or one that would allow the water bottle to slip out if you wanted to carry the bag by the handles on its side. So, waterproof pocket, perfect solution, right?

Well, when we put the feelers out in a previous post with some photos of the prototype, the people of Pakt spoke out. We got many messages like:

“I love the look of this so much but just don't know if I can go without a classic side water bottle pocket”

-Bobby

To make everyone happy, we added an external water bottle pocket, but we gave it a little extra love. It lays flat against the bag when not in use, and when it is in use, the water bottle is held secure, and won’t fall out.

Thanks to everyone who has been involved in this process from start to finish. The Pakt pack has spoken, and this is your bag!