I travel into the office on the train 3 times a week (sometimes I cycle) and I carry a bit of stuff
Laptop (Dell ), iPad 11, Kindle Oasis, notebooks, cable pack, personal cutlery, laptop power cable, Headset, Bluetooth headphones. Messenger bags won’t work for this.
Unfortunately the backpacks I have (Port Authority Transit and a generic 35L one off Amazon) while good from a capacity perspective sit directly on my back despite claiming to have cooling space, this leads me to arrive at the office as a sweaty backed mess.
I need something which has at least 25L but that has a gap between the backpack and my back to stop this happening. Does anyone have any recommendations please?
A friend of mine, a regular biker in all seasons, has something called a Vaucluse ventilation frame that fits on her backpack. It looks fairly light and creates that gap for airflow you mentioned. She’s using it with a Waterfield backpack, but the frame looks like it is adaptable for other gear.
You’ve just described my everyday 6k sweaty cycling commute with a hill on each side (work and home). I accept it with the pleasure of setting my own pace and getting to work before all the others on the bus :-). And of course, I don’t cycle in my work shirts, but wear something that wicks better.
You are probably in the realm of hiking or cycling packs. Osprey are great for low-weight and fairly breathable packs: e.g. this one; or this pack I used to ride with until recently and that looks decent even for office or ‘urban’ use.
I recently treated myself to this beauty: Life Behind Bars - The Peloton (S), from a small Indonesian pack maker. Postage was quick and secure, and I love how this pack properly scales in terms of capacity. Small enough for a light commute, big enough for a three day trip. The only criticism I have is it’s wide on the shoulders and can be slippy without the sternum strap. It’s still sticky on the back, but then in fairness I’d probably arrive sweaty even if I wasn’t carrying a pack at all.
Everything I have gotten from Alpaka has been extremely good. I bought a laptop sling, a tech pouch (Vertex, love it), and some smaller items (including their amazing key system). Can’t say enough good things about their products and customer service. They have some backpacks on their site that are so tempting, but I don’t need one. Might get one anyway. https://alpakagear.com
), iPad 11, Kindle Oasis, notebooks, cable pack, personal cutlery, laptop power cable, Headset, Bluetooth headphones. Messenger bags won’t work for this.