Topo Designs Global Pro Backpack Review

Do you commute by foot or bike, or do you just like your everyday carry bag to handle the weather? Whether you’re looking for a daypack or a small travel backpack for quick trips, you might prioritize weather resistance, comfort, and organization. If so, Topo Designs has you covered.

We’ve been using the 24L Global Pro Backpack for a few weeks now for our daily commute, and we’ve found it easy to keep track of our gear and pack for the day, no matter what we need to carry. Want to learn more? Read on.

External Components

So the exterior of the Topo Designs Global Pro Backpack doesn’t look very different from other bags, but the main material is a bit of a mouthful. It’s an X-rip exterior fabric with an interior TAF coating. Don’t feel bad if you don’t know what that means; we needed a little clarification, too. Topo Designs says it’s a dual-ripstop material with a 105D recycled nylon Oxford ripstop laminated with an industrial-strength ripstop yarn and a TAF coating. TAF coating is a physical water repellent made from polyurethane, as opposed to a top-coated fluoropolymer-based DWR spray. The former is stiffer, but the latter can wear off and need reapplication. So, what does all that jargon mean for you? It means that this is a really durable, water-resistant bag, but it’s a bit stiff and crunchy. It may look like a traditional nylon backpack from afar, but, up close, it doesn’t, and it certainly doesn’t feel like it.

Topo Designs uses YKK AquaGuard zippers here, too, for beefed-up weather resistance. They have cords for pulls with metal barrel ends that are textured for easy grabbing. They are easy to find and grab, but the zippers are stiff, especially around corners. This isn’t the type of bag you can open one-handed while driving with it on the seat next to you. Trust us, we tried. You need two hands.

If you need more places for gear than you find inside, there’s a daisy chain of attachment loops on the left side of the front pocket. We didn’t use them, but they’re nice to have if you need them. The familiar Topo Designs logo patch is on the front, too. It’s not too large, considering what we’ve seen on other Topo Designs gear, and the black patch is rather unobtrusive on the Midnight blue colorway we’re testing. Obviously, it blends in on the Black colorway, and it doesn’t look out of place on the Dark Pine (a very deep teal), either.

The daypack has a padded carry handle to make it easy to pick up and move around, and it’s not so fat that it won’t fit on a hook. There’s also a luggage pass-through, which runs behind the back panel. That means it’s a very large pass-through that should fit on the handles of most suitcases, but you’ll have to lay the bag horizontally on your suitcase to use it.

As for the back panel, it is pretty thick, with two large sections of micromesh-lined padding and a vertical air channel between them. It’s not super airy, but it’s not super sweaty, either. If you’re a bicycle commuter in Manhattan in July, you’ll need to change shirts once you arrive at work, but since that can be the case with just about any bag, we won’t hold it against the Global Pro.

The shoulder straps are thickly-padded and lined with the same micromesh. They are comfortable enough, but they’re so thick that they’re a bit stiff when you’re wearing them. There’s also a sternum strap that can clip into one of four loops on a daisy chain. It’s nice to have when you overload the bag or are being more active, but we didn’t feel much need for it when walking to and from home, our vehicle, and the office. What’s nice is that it’s there when you do need it, but you can remove it entirely if you’re the type of person who just doesn’t love sternum straps (there’s a tester here at Pack Hacker like that, too. Don’t worry, you’re not alone).

Fit Notes

The Topo Designs Global Pro Backpack looks very much like the heritage backpack you had growing up. It’s got classic lines and a clean face, so it doesn’t look out of place in the office, on the road, or while exploring a new city. With the built-in weather resistance, you could even take it hiking if you wanted. We think it would get a bit sweaty after a while, but not much more than other backpacks.

It’s a bit stiff, but still fairly comfortable, so we don’t mind wearing it for a while. That makes it a good travel bag and everyday carry, but again, you might want a bit more support if you’re hiking and climbing for miles on end, and this bag just isn’t designed for that.

Inside The Backpack

It is designed for users on the go who want to get to their gear fast. For that, it works well.

The top pocket is what we used most, simply because of its convenient location. It has two zipper pulls and opens horseshoe-style around the top of the bag, giving you a spot for what you need all the time: phone, wallet, keys. There’s a large pouch-like pocket inside to lock down smaller things, like earbuds, and it also includes a key leash, which we toss inside that pocket. Then, there’s space in front of it for other gear. We’ve been using it for our glasses case, but it’s also the most convenient spot for a phone, as long as you tuck the keys into the pocket to keep them from scratching it.

The front pocket is larger, but it lacks organization. It opens vertically on the right side of the bag and is where we toss other small items we carry with us daily, including a small toiletry pouch and a battery bank.

On the same side, against the back panel, is another vertical zipper. This one opens the well-padded laptop compartment. It’s rated for up to a 16-inch device, but you have to angle your computer inside, and we weren’t able to fit such a large laptop inside when the rest of the bag was packed. We’ve been using it with a smaller 13-inch MacBook Air and haven’t had any issues; we just want you to be aware that a larger computer may not fit. However, if you stow it here, it’s protected from everything else in the main compartment.

That is more relevant when you unzip the left side of the bag. This zipper opens to an elastic-topped pocket that serves as an internal bottle holder in the main compartment. So, while there’s another sleeve here for a laptop that’s actually a bit easier to access, you might not want to use it if you’re also carrying a drink.

You’ll see the pocket when you open the main compartment, and you can slide your bottle in through this direction, too, without using the side zipper. But then you’ll also see what we mean when we talk about keeping your computer away from your beverage. There’s another sleeve against the back panel that can easily accommodate a laptop or tablet of the same size. It’s even slightly raised off the bottom of the bag to protect it if you set it down roughly. But it’s not padded on the face, and it’s right next to the bottle pocket, so we prefer to keep our computer and our water separate when we can.

On the face of the large sleeve is another daisy chain of loops to connect pouches or carabiners holding other gear, as well as three stretchy slip pockets. The center one is wide enough to hold an e-reader or a small tablet, while the others are narrower for battery banks or thick cords. They’re rather deep, so we don’t use them for a wallet, and they’re not wide enough for a passport or phone. We didn’t really find a great use for them, but all three pockets lie flat when empty, so they’re not in the way if you can’t find a good use for them, either.

The remainder of the main compartment has plenty of space to hold whatever you need that day. We’ve been using it for our Bellroy Cooler Caddy and our Aer Split Kit, along with some travel clothing, a Logitech Casa Pop-Up Desk, and books, so you can see that there’s a decent amount of space to fill. If you’re looking for an everyday bag that also works for short trips or as a personal item with a larger carry-on, it just might be the thing for you.