Premium quality underseat backpacks, ideal as your personal item for your next flight.
Most airlines allow you to take a carry-on bag and a personal item on the plane, making these backpacks a great way to keep your essentials close during your flight.
Top Picks
Want a quick breakdown? Here are our top picks:
- Best Smart Leather Backpack: Liberty Backpack (click to view) - the ideal stylish underseat backpack, handmade in Italy from full grain leather.
- Best Stylish Laptop Backpack: Prime Backpack (click to view) - a stylish laptop carry-on backpack made from full grain leather. Handmade in Italy.
- Best Convertible Backpack Briefcase: 10X Laptop Travel Bag (click to view) - a versatile backpack briefcase that can be converted from a messenger bag, to a backpack, and can be used as a briefcase too. Made from full grain leather.
- Best Mini Backpack: Bella Small Leather Backpack (click to view) - a cute mini backpack that's ideal for work school, or travel. Made from high quality full grain leather.
Best Underseat Backpacks for 2023
Liberty Women's Leather Backpack
Shop Liberty for Women | Shop Liberty for Men
Best for chic city breaks with hands-free convenience - Liberty leather backpack is perfect for exploring new destinations in style.
Liberty Backpack Product Highlights:
| Product | Liberty Backpack |
| Material | Full Grain Leather - Certified Vegetable Tanned |
| Laptop Size | up to 14 inch |
| Lining | Durable Cotton Canvas |
| Zippers | YKK Zippers - Italian-Made |
| Handmade? | Handmade in Florence, Italy |
| Straps | Adjustable Straps |
| Carry-on Compliant? | Yes |
| Width | 33 cm (13 in) |
| Height | 40 cm (16 in) |
| Depth | 12 cm (5 in) |
| Weight | 1.4 kg (0.6 lbs) |
| Personalization? | Custom Laser Engraving |
Watch the Liberty product video below:
Prime Women's Leather Backpack
Shop Prime for Women | Shop Prime for Men
Best for chic city explorations with hands-free convenience - Prime Leather Backpack.
Prime Backpack Product Highlights:
| Product | Prime Backpack |
| Material | Full Grain Leather - Certified Vegetable Tanned |
| Laptop Size | up to 14 inch |
| Lining | Durable Cotton Canvas |
| Zippers | YKK Zippers - Italian-Made |
| Handmade? | Handmade in Florence, Italy |
| Straps | Adjustable Straps |
| Carry-on Compliant? | Yes |
| Width | 27 cm (11 in) |
| Height | 40 cm (16 in) |
| Depth | 12 cm (5 in) |
| Weight | 1.2 kg (0.5 lbs) |
| Personalization? | Custom Laser Engraving |
Watch the Prime product video below:
10X Women's Leather Laptop Travel Bag
Shop 10X for Women | Shop 10X for Men
Best for business travel with a touch of elegance - 10X Leather Laptop Travel Bag is perfect for carrying your essentials in style.
10X Women's Leather Laptop Travel Bag Product Highlights:
| Product | 10X Women's Leather Laptop Travel Bag |
| Material | Full Grain Leather - Certified Vegetable Tanned |
| Laptop Size | up to 15.6 inch |
| Lining | Durable Cotton Canvas |
| Zippers | YKK Zippers - Italian-Made |
| Handmade? | Handmade in Florence, Italy |
| Straps | Backpack Straps and Adjustable Shoulder Strap |
| Carry-on Compliant? | Yes |
| Width | 31 cm (12 in) |
| Height | 42 cm (17 in) |
| Depth | 17 cm (7 in) |
| Weight | 2 kg (0.9 lbs) |
| Personalization? | Custom Laser Engraving |
Watch the 10X product video below:
Bella Women's Small Leather Backpack
Best for hands-free city exploring with a touch of elegance - Bella Small Leather Backpack.
Bella Small Leather Backpack Product Highlights:
| Product | Bella Small Leather Backpack |
| Material | Full Grain Leather - Certified Vegetable Tanned |
| Laptop Size | |
| Lining | Durable Cotton Canvas |
| Zippers | YKK Zippers - Italian-Made |
| Handmade? | Handmade in Florence, Italy |
| Straps | Adjustable Backpack Straps |
| Carry-on Compliant? | Yes |
| Width | 22 cm (9 in) |
| Height | 27 cm (11 in) |
| Depth | 13 cm (5 in) |
| Weight | 0.6 kg (0.3 lbs) |
| Personalization? | Custom Laser Engraving |
Watch the Bella product video below:
Why Use Underseat Luggage?
Flying, let’s face it, can be a pain. Many things could go wrong, such as the crowds, security checks, and weather delays. Any trip would be ruined by the nightmare of checked baggage fees and missing bags, anyway.
Carrying your luggage on board is one method to make life a little bit simpler, particularly for a brief business trip or weekend getaway.
In general, each passenger is only permitted to bring one carry-on bag per flight unless they are traveling on one of those ultra-cheap airlines (*cough, Spirit), in which case they are not permitted to check any bags.
We can look at some general rules here, but each airline sets its own size requirements, so you’ll want to check with your airline before arrival to see what they allow.
Personal Item vs Carry-On Bag for Underseat Luggage
Personal Item
This is a little more challenging. The various airlines’ recommendations varied considerably, partly because of the different aircraft and partially because the seat configuration is frequently used to save room and pack in more passengers.
For our purposes, a “personal object” is something you can stow under the seat in front of you, such as a bag or backpack. Obviously, they want everything put away for takeoff and landing so you can quickly deplane if necessary.
Carry-On Bag
A carry-on bag is one piece of luggage that must fit in the overhead compartment and is normally 22 x 14 x 9 inches in size (used by American Airlines and various others).
Every check-in desk has the typical “baggage sizer,” which is the frame that your bag must fit within. I'm sure you've seen them by the check-in desk before, and hoped your bag wouldn't need to be tested.
For now, let’s focus only on domestic U.S. carriers. Anything that works for a local flight should also work for an international flight because international carriers typically have a little bit more room.
|
Airline |
Personal Item size |
|
American Airlines |
18 x 14 x 8 inches |
|
Jet Blue |
17 x 13 x 8 inches |
|
British Airways |
16 x 12 x 6 inches |
|
South West |
16.25 x 13.5 x 8 inches |
|
Spirit |
18 x 14 x 8 inches |
|
United Airlines |
17 x 10 x 9 inches |
|
Delta |
Not specified online |
|
Alaska Airlines |
Not specified online |
Therefore, a smaller backpack (around 16 x 10 x 8 inches) should be able to travel anywhere, but some airlines will accept a slightly larger knapsack (more so if you can squash it a bit). Avoid the temptation to take this too far. They will remove it and place it somewhere overhead if it doesn’t fit.
What to Look for When You Buy a Carry-On Backpack
Price
Since carry-on backpack prices range greatly, think about your most significant demands. You can get a roomy travel bag for about $100 – often for under $50 – but if you’re going to be in harsh outdoor conditions or you care about style, you might want to spend a little extra for a better bag.
If the quality of the material is crucial to you, keep in mind that leather backpacks can cost hundreds of dollars, but are much better quality.
Anti-theft travel bags can also be a little more expensive, but they are frequently necessary for places with considerable tourist traffic.
Related:
- Under Seat Travel Bags
- Best Underseat Luggage
- Best Travel Backpacks for Women
- Best Leather Backpack
- Best Backpack Purses
- Best Business Travel Backpacks
- Cute Leather Backpacks for Travel/School
- Travel Backpacks
- Minimalist Travel Bags & Laptop Backpacks
- Best Travel Laptop Backpacks
- Women's Leather Backpacks
Fit
Find a travel backpack with a removable hip harness if you want to use it for hiking so you can more evenly distribute the weight of your pack while you’re moving.
Look for a design with a padded back and adjustable straps if you only intend to carry your travel bag casually – to the airport or to work. Especially if you’re taking a lot of weight, this will prevent any back strain.
Test the shoulder straps of the backpacks you are considering wearing while imagining how they would feel if loaded with a ton of rocks.
Is the padding sufficient? Is the fabric going to rip into your shoulders? Does the back of the backpack seem to have a ventilation system? Mesh exteriors frequently aid with this latter aspect.
Style
You may spend days sorting through the various backpacks available due to the wide range of models available. It should be brief: How will you use this backpack?
Look for something simple and stylish that doesn’t display a ton of pockets if you’re interacting with clients or business partners.
Lean into the pockets if you intend to spend most of your vacation living out of your backpack. For simple loading and unloading, you’ll want a bag that zips open flat like a suitcase (this also makes going through security easier).
Size
This is the first and most crucial bag selection rule. All that counts is that you choose a bag that complies with the restrictions on carry-on backpack sizes; otherwise, you must check your luggage. It's over.
Beyond following airline requirements, your bag's size also matters. It would be best if you thought about whether the backpack will fit comfortably on your back or whether it will slide beneath the seat in front of you.
Organization
The number of compartments in our backpacks increases as the list of essential goods expands. It would help if you considered how you'd maintain organization with the items you plan to carry in your backpack.
Understanding how you're going to use your bag in advance, will help you to choose how your bag should be organized, and therefore how the compartments and zipped pockets should be.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed our best underseat backpacks post.
If you ever need any help with anything to do with travel, bags or fashion, feel free to contact the Von Baer team, at info@vonbaer.com.
Browse our other travel pages here.
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Author: Albert Varkki
Albert Varkki is the co-founder of Von Baer. He understands leather products as a consumer, supplier, and a manufacturer, helping you with the inside knowledge you need, to choose the perfect leather product for you. Connect on Linkedin
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