Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L Review – Brilliantly Versatile, But Not My Favourite Camera Backpack

I have owned my black Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L for a couple of years now, which gives me considerably more experience with it than either my Roller Pro Carry-On or Travel Weekender 25L.

It has travelled predominantly on wildlife photography trips, carrying substantial amounts of expensive Sony camera equipment, & it remains a bag I like very much.

I would buy it again without hesitation.

Yet there is an important qualification to that verdict: as a dedicated camera backpack, it is not actually the backpack I reach for most often.

That distinction gets to the heart of what the Peak Design 45L does particularly well. It is not, in my view, the ultimate specialist camera backpack. It is an exceptionally versatile travel backpack that can be converted into a very capable camera backpack.

Those are not quite the same thing.

My normal camera setup

For wildlife photography I use a Peak Design Large Camera Cube inside the Travel Backpack.

That has carried my Sony camera system including a Sony FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS, smaller lenses & a laptop. The 400mm is packed separately from the camera body rather than attached.

It fits. Just. The Large Camera Cube effectively consumes the main compartment once the 400mm & supporting kit are installed. That does not stop the dedicated laptop compartment working properly – my laptop still fits comfortably – but there is no pretending there is masses of unused room left.

If I could change one thing about the 45L specifically for my own use, I would make it compatible with the XL Camera Cube I use in the Roller Pro.

The obvious problem is that doing so would presumably make the entire backpack larger, & I am not convinced that would actually improve the product overall.

This is already a big backpack. I would not recommend it to somebody particularly small in stature simply because the physical size could overwhelm them.

The danger is that you can put too much in it

My biggest criticism of the 45L is slightly ridiculous because it is also a compliment:

you can put too much stuff in it.

The thing is sufficiently capacious & well organised that it is extremely easy to keep adding equipment until you have created something you really do not want hanging from your shoulders.

Loaded with a 400mm f/2.8, smaller lenses & a laptop, I regard it as acceptable for moving through airports rather than something I would willingly carry for hours.

That is not because I think the shoulder straps are bad. Quite the opposite: the shoulder straps remain comfortable, the back panel is reasonably comfortable, & the harness itself is not what causes the problem.

The sheer weight of the camera equipment is.

I mostly use the shoulder straps rather than relying heavily on the hip belt, although being able to stow the straps & belt away is genuinely useful when putting the backpack into vehicles or overhead storage.

My travel has often been in business class, where I have never been challenged about the bag. If I packed it to the same degree & turned up for a strict economy flight with a tight cabin-weight allowance, I would be far less confident. The 45L gives you plenty of room to create a baggage-weight problem for yourself.

I therefore almost always keep mine in its smaller configuration rather than expanding it to the full capacity. The larger configuration feels bulkier, I rarely need the extra room & – perhaps most importantly – if I gave myself the extra capacity I would probably fill it.

Camera access is acceptable, not exceptional

The 45L offers considerable flexibility in how it can be configured, but in my real use I do not make much use of the side access.

I normally lay the backpack down, open the rear panel fully & access the Camera Cube from there.

It works perfectly well. It is, however, noticeably slower than using a purpose-built camera backpack.

That leads to the most useful comparison I can make.

Peak Design 45L versus Think Tank Airport Accelerator

I also own a Think Tank Airport Accelerator, & I absolutely love it.

If the only question is, “Which backpack would I rather use to carry camera equipment?”, the Think Tank wins.

It feels better on my back, it holds my camera kit better, it has better padding & it is more comfortable to wear for extended periods. As a consequence, I reach for the Airport Accelerator more often than the Peak Design when I specifically want a camera backpack.

The Peak Design 45L has two major answers to that criticism.

The first is weather protection. I have greater confidence in the Peak Design when conditions turn unpleasant.

The second, & arguably more important, is versatility.

The Think Tank is an excellent camera backpack.

The Peak Design can stop being a camera backpack altogether.

Remove the Camera Cube, drop in packing cubes & you have a proper general-purpose travel bag.

I have actually done this rather than merely admiring the possibility on Peak Design’s website. I used the 45L on a five-day trip to Madrid carrying clothes rather than camera equipment. I used Monos packing cubes on that occasion – I simply like the feel of them – & the bag worked very well.

Even for those five days I kept it in its smaller configuration.

That is the big advantage of the Peak Design over the Think Tank. It is not quite as good at the specialist job, but it can perform far more jobs.

Build quality is excellent

After a couple of years, my 45L still looks very good.

That matters because it has not had a gentle life. My Peak Design luggage has been exposed to rainforest conditions, snow, dusty Kenyan safari environments & the general abuse associated with repeated wildlife-photography travel.

I have had no meaningful concerns with fabric, coatings, hardware or zips.

I wipe the bag down when it needs it & occasionally use silicone spray on the zips as preventative maintenance. That is maintenance rather than a fix; the zips have been trouble-free.

The overall construction is one of the three things I like most about the bag, alongside its appearance & its configurability.

It simply looks good, particularly in black, & the design does not feel dated after a couple of years.

I also like the fact that none of Peak Design’s hardware strikes me as cleverness for its own sake. There are features I do not personally use – external attachment points being a good example – but nothing feels particularly gimmicky.

Where it sits against the Roller Pro

The arrival of my Roller Pro has changed the role of the 45L slightly.

If I am travelling on a wildlife photography trip where I know I will be moving predominantly through airports, hotels & vehicles, with no meaningful hiking or rough terrain, I now prefer the Roller Pro + XL Camera Cube.

There is more usable internal space, organisation is better & the shell gives the camera equipment more protection.

If hiking is involved, the 45L immediately becomes more relevant.

That is the distinction I would use when deciding between them.

The Roller is superb while it can roll. The backpack is what I want when the journey stops being wheel-friendly.

The 45L therefore remains a valuable part of the system even though the Roller has become my preferred solution for many non-hiking trips.

Is it worth the money?

Yes. I think the Travel Backpack 45L represents good value for a premium product.

Peak Design is expensive, but I have enough history with the brand – including its camera straps, which I have used for years – to have confidence in the quality. The bag has backed that up over a couple of years of use.

Peak Design’s sustainability work is also a positive consideration for me. It can steer a purchase, but it cannot make the purchase. The product still has to justify the money through design, manufacturing quality & performance.

The 45L does.

Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L verdict

The Travel Backpack 45L is probably the hardest of these three bags to summarise in a single sentence.

It is not my favourite dedicated camera backpack – the Think Tank Airport Accelerator is better padded, better suited to my camera equipment & more comfortable over long periods.

It is not my preferred solution for camera equipment on smooth, vehicle-based trips either – the Roller Pro has now taken that role.

Yet I would still buy the Peak Design 45L again.

Why? Because neither of those alternatives has its versatility.

It can carry a serious wildlife-photography setup one week, then have its Camera Cube removed & become a five-day clothes bag the next. It is beautifully built, weather resistant, good looking & exceptionally configurable.

Just be disciplined when you pack it.

The biggest problem with the Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L is that it is extremely good at letting you carry more than you really ought to.

Score: 8/10.

See how the 45L compares to the Weekender, the Roller Pro & the Think Tank Airport Accelerator in our full camera bag & travel luggage comparison.