If you've ever felt like your life needed a complete reset, you'll understand Matador's “Reinvented Collection.” Most brands update a bag or two annually, but this time, Matador went back to the drawing board with their products to create an entirely new, fully connected system.
When we asked him about it, Chris Clearman, the Founder and CEO of Matador, called it “The Grand Plan.”
“Over the years, our lineup had grown into a collection of strong individual products, but not one fully-connected system,” he said. “The Grand Plan gave us a chance to step back and ask: ‘If we were building the entire Matador travel ecosystem from scratch today, what should it look like?”
To that end, Matador redesigned the entire line at once, from travel packs to packable bags, slings to accessories, to help everything work together more cohesively. So, did it work? We tested everything to find out. You can read our full reviews of the entire line, but in this post, we're also breaking down what's changed, what's stayed the same, and which bags are best for you, depending on how you like to travel.
Matador Reinvented Collection | A redesign from the ground up.
For one-bag travel, the Global Travel Pack is the way to go. It comes in 45L and 35L sizes, so you'll find one to suit your style, whether you need to pack a lot of bulky gear (or sometimes overpack), or you're a more minimalist packer who still wants things to fit comfortably.
Both have a beefy harness system that features contoured shoulder straps for a comfortable fit, a sternum strap on an easy-to-move loop system, load lifters, and a stowable hip belt. We took the 35L bag to England and found the harness system makes a world of difference, holding the bag close to your back and transferring weight off your shoulders.
Clearman said they really focused on carry comfort with the redesign.
"The larger packs are built more like trail packs, but designed specifically for travel," he said. "The goal was better structure and load transfer without making the bags feel overly outdoorsy."
Matador 35L Global Travel Pack | The bungee is a nice-to-have you probably won't need every day.
The bags include a large open bucket space for clothing, a mesh-divided section with three zippered compartments for smaller items, a laptop sleeve with a false bottom for up to a 16-inch device, and a front admin panel that can hold a tablet and small tech accessories. Space gets tight there as you pack the main compartment, but that's a tradeoff we're used to making. There's a spot to conceal travel documents and identification on the back panel, too: the well-hidden Smuggler's Pocket.
Be sure to check the carry-on dimensions of your favorite airline, though, since these bags might exceed the allowances. You'll do fine with more permissive airlines, but you might want to downsize further for stricter carriers.
Luckily, Matador has you covered there, too.
The 30L Carry-On Travel Pack will make it on most airlines—though probably not Ryanair (what bag will?). Yet it still has the same clean silhouette as the Global Travel Pack, with the same materials and the same DuraGlide and YKK zippers.
Matador wanted all of their bags to have a similar design so their customers would know where to find each feature, so it's got nearly the same organization, including the Smuggler's Pocket and tracker pocket. The tablet sleeve and a few pockets in the laptop compartment are gone, though.
Matador 30L Carry-On Travel Pack | The harness system.
Since it's smaller, the harness system is more minimal, but we kind of miss the load lifters, even on the 30L bag. The hip belt is more minimal, too, though it does a good job of stabilizing the bag; it just doesn't really take much weight off your shoulders. The bag is a little top-heavy compared to the 35L Global Travel Pack, but it's definitely a more approachable size on smaller frames.
If you like to pack a little differently, check out the 45L SEG Hybrid Travel Pack, which gives you quick access to your gear without digging through one giant compartment.
This iconic Matador bag has a front panel divided into multiple zippered segments you can access from the outside, almost like built-in packing cubes. Need a t-shirt? Unzip one section. Looking for your shoes? They've got their own compartment. Toiletries need to come out at airport security? Find them quickly and keep the line moving. This bag is super satisfying when it's packed well and incredibly light, but unfortunately, that makes it a bit floppy when it's not full of enough gear.
Matador 45L SEG Hybrid Travel Pack | We like having a separate compartment for extra shoes.
Extra fabric bunches up if you don't fully stuff a compartment, and the bag is top-heavy with all of its organization on the lid. However, while it's a backpack, you can also carry it like a duffle, negating that issue, so we find this bag to be best for people who like duffles but wish they weren’t just dump pockets. The external, drawer-style organization is intriguing and works well on Matador's smaller versions of this bag, so check those out if you don't need quite 45L worth of space.
You can get even smaller without sacrificing organization with the 18L Personal Item Travel Pack.
It's got the same bones as the travel pack lineup, with a well-padded, breathable back panel and straps, water-resistant materials, and DuraGlide sealing zippers developed with Zoom, an organized admin pocket, and an external laptop compartment.
It also has dual access to the main compartment, because Matador heard from customers that they interact with their bags differently while on the go than at their destination.
"Previous bags did not always solve both modes as cleanly as they could," Clearman said. "That learning directly influenced the dual-access architecture."
The Personal Item Travel Pack is the perfect travel bag, shrunk down to a size that pairs nicely with a roller bag and is easy to carry daily at your destination.
If you plan to be more adventurous at your destination, you might want to consider the 24L Adventure Pack as your personal item or carry-on instead. Along with the same great internal organization (admin panel, laptop compartment, dual-access), this one has more trail-focused features. There's a front bungee to hold wet gear, loops for hiking poles, and the laptop sleeve doubles as a holder for a hydration bladder.
Matador 24L Adventure Pack | The harness system is beefy, yet comfortable.
The harness system is really comfortable and, even better, breathable. We actually felt a breeze running up the air channel while walking with it in the middle of summer, so it's a bag we're happy to take on a hike. Compression straps cinch down the bag to keep things more balanced when you're on the go, and you can get into the top pocket from the outside or the main compartment, giving you options for quick-access gear or items you need at your destination.
If your adventures are more urban than off-road, consider the 24L Tote Pack.
It's a tote with a bit more organization, thanks to a zippered center divider that creates a protective pocket for electronics or documents, a mesh pocket for a 14-inch laptop, and the Smuggler's Pocket for sensitive gear. There's even an external bungee for holding something like a bike helmet, so it makes sense that this tote also has backpack straps. If you want to hop on an electric scooter or bike around town, it's much more comfortable to wear it that way, and you don't have to worry about your bag flopping at your side as you try to stay balanced.
If you want a smaller bag for daily use or travel, Matador offers two packable options: the 18L Packable Backpack and the 18L Waterproof Packable Backpack.
Both bags have comfortable curved shoulder straps, stretchy water bottle pockets on both sides, compression straps that double as extra security for taller items, and zipper loops that function as a makeshift lock. There's no padding or ventilation on the back panel, so it can get warm on your back during extended wear, but that’s not unique for packable bags. They usually lack back panels because the panels take up too much space when you pack them down, making them less packable overall. These bags do pack away small, as long as you really shove the bag into the corners first to make space for the zipper to shut.
Matador 18L Waterproof Packable Backpack | The shoulder straps are lightly padded.
Which bag works for you mainly depends on what organization you prefer. The regular Packable Backpack has a drop pocket up top, a surprisingly deep front pocket that can fit an e-reader or even a Nintendo Switch case, and an open main compartment you can fill with smaller pouches. On the other hand, the 18L Waterproof Packable Backpack is the one to grab if weather resistance is non-negotiable. The closure seals with a rolltop that zips and buckles shut, taped internal seams, and water-resistant DuraGlide zippers. But it has only one front pocket, with an inner pocket for smaller gear.
Do you ever get to a destination and wish you had more space? That's what the 30L Packable Duffle is for. It's great for dirty laundry, souvenirs, or literally anything else. It packs into its own pocket, and the quad-compression strap system cinches down excess fabric so the bag doesn't look floppy when it's not stuffed full. It has carry handles and an adjustable shoulder strap for duffle or crossbody carry, though neither is padded, so this isn't a bag you want to haul for miles when it's heavy. Organization is basically one open compartment plus a small secondary pocket, so if you're using this for more than a couple of days, bring packing cubes. But for what it's designed to do—solve an unexpected capacity problem on the way home—it does the job really well.
You can also minimize your daily carry with the 2L Lite Sling. It's about as simple as a sling gets: one main compartment, one rear mesh pocket with a labeled tracker spot, and a D-ring for clipping on accessories. The rear mesh pocket is most comfortable with flat items like a phone, but bulkier stuff like a thick wallet gets noticeable fast, since there's no padding back there. Still, we carried a phone, wallet, keys, a snack, and even a small film camera with a spare roll without any issues. It's not going to hold much more than your basics, but that's really the whole point.
“One of the advantages of replacing the full line at once is that we could apply years of learning across every bag, instead of fixing one product while leaving older products unchanged,” Clearman explained. “Some bags in the previous line were designed years ago, before certain travel behaviors, technology, materials, and customer expectations had evolved. This reset allowed us to bring the whole line up to the same standard at the same time.”
Matador Reinvented Collection | The DuraGlide zippers were made with Zoom.
That’s part of why Matador worked so hard on zippers: they can be a pain point for travel gear. Developing durable zippers that glided smoothly and were water-resistant was the goal, and Matador also incorporated internal baffles to take strain off the main zippers, making overstuffed bags easier to close.
The new line also features consistent admin layouts, better laptop protection, smarter quick-access pockets, hidden tracker pockets, and RFID-blocking storage.
“We also wanted to avoid the common problem where a bag has so many features that it becomes slower or more confusing to use,” he said. “So, before designing the final bags, we treated individual elements as their own mini design projects: zippers, handles, zipper pulls, security loops, pocket layouts, frame stays, sternum straps, webbing, and more. We built options, tested them, quoted them, compared them, and chose the versions that gave the best mix of performance, usability, durability, and value. That process let us incorporate customer feedback at a line-wide level instead of making isolated updates.”
Matador Reinvented Collection | The bags include security pockets for sensitive gear.
So, what’s actually worth upgrading?
We love the Global Travel Pack and Carry On. They technically replace the Globerider35 and 45, but we think the organization on the new bags is much more intuitive and versatile. Plus, they’re way more comfortable to carry. The Adventure Pack is beefy, yet has features you’ll appreciate while exploring, and the personal item bag is better if you won’t miss the outdoorsy features. We’re not as sold on the 45L SEG, though we recommend the (not redesigned) 28L version if you like the style.
When it all boils down, whether or not you upgrade comes down to whether you’re happy with your current bag. If you’ve been thinking of switching it up and love Matador’s gear, now is a great time to try something new. And if you love their existing gear, get it now before it’s gone forever.
