When looking for the best laptop backpack, my needs are kind of extreme. The requirements of my day job require me to be able to set up and type from anywhere, meaning I need space for the system, all the accessories to focus properly and the portable power to keep it all running.
Add in my extra needs for enough space to pack all of my camera gear, alongside stuff for fun like my ModRetro Chromatic, plus clothes for a couple of nights, and it gets next-to-impossible to find something that’s both comfortable to carry around, convenient enough to organize and small enough to fit in small compartments.
Well, that’s what I thought, until I took the Mous Optimal Travel Backpack with me to Gamescom 2025. It was honestly the savior of my trip in terms of becoming a multipurpose pack for day usage and lugging everything I needed for a week in Cologne.
And for that, I heartily recommend it to college students who need to take their entire lives with them to campus, workers who are always out on the go or anyone who needs a ton of storage when travelling.
My kit list
So, one thing you realize quickly in this job is that multitasking is key. Yes, I headed out there for Gamescom, but it’s also a chance to test so many more gadgets. If anything, I really put the Optimal through its paces with the following:
- Clothes and personal care items for a couple days
- Two laptops: my trusty MacBook Pro and the Honor MagicBook Art 14
- The ModRetro Chromatic + two games
- Rayneo Air 3s Pro AR glasses
- Over-ear headphones
- DJI Osmo Pocket 3 and premium tripod
- My Sony ZV-E10 camera
- EU plugs, 4x USB-C cables and 2x 25,000 mAh portable batteries
- A water bottle
- All of my travel documents
- ProtoArc XKM01 keyboard and mouse combo + a Ugreen laptop stand
Yep, we’re going a little crazy here, but Mous’ backpack barely broke a sweat and kept everything safe. Let me explain.
Space for days
Up to 45 liters of storage space. That’s it. That’s the number. I don’t really need to add any more detail to this, as that is a massive amount of room for all your tech and personal effects.
No matter how much I threw at it in my kit list, there was no stretch to any of the zips that made it hard to pack everything back up, and with AiroFoam tech protection, there’s so much impact-absorption that this is worry-free from drop impacts. Throw in 840D ballistic nylon and triple-layer coating, and it withstood all the elements with the greatest of ease.
It made me more organized
In other backpacks I’ve tried, the many different pocket types have been a bit unnecessary to me. I’ve always been a “stuff it and leave it” kind of guy, but the Optimal Travel Backpack did something to me.
It’s many different pockets, both zip-open ones and mesh options in bigger compartments really helped me organize myself for the day-to-day, whether it was putting my modern-day Gameboy in the front pocket, the laptops in the back, sneaking an Airtag in a private mesh pocket or putting my water bottle in a side pocket, everything is laid out so neatly to the point that I never lost anything in any of the pockets.
Slick looks
My fiancée has an ick for people carrying overly large backpacks, and there have been options I’ve carried where she’s looked at me a little differently — in the kind of way that makes me know she’d rather stay 50 feet away from me.
So, for the importance of being welcomed back into my home, looks matter, and in this Stone colorway, the Mous Optimal nails it. Not only is it compact enough to fit into the overhead compartment on a plane or train, but it’s also got a smooth aesthetic that is pleasing to the eye.
Oh, and some of the carrying mechanisms are modular, too. I found myself removing those hip straps most of the time, as it was just unnecessary straps for picking up and taking off. This all leads to a premium-looking setup that won’t get you any weird looks from your significant other.
Who should buy this backpack?
Of course, I know I’m in a bit of an extreme category. This is a massive backpack for multi-day usage. If you just need something to carry around what you need for a single day, this is overkill. I’d recommend the Troubadour Apex for you!
But if you’re like me, and you find yourself in many situations where you have to haul your entire tech life with you, there’s no better big bag option than the Mous Optimal.
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