Pakt MODE Convertible Bag 14L Review

The Pakt Mode Convertible Bag 14L looks sleek, but it isn’t the most packable daypack that we’ve tested for travel. Still, we appreciate the extra attention to detail regarding its appearance and how well it integrates with the brand’s One Travel Backpack. Still, we’re curious about its practicality if you don’t have that backpack. Let’s dive in and find out!

External Components

The exterior of the bag is made from recycled 420D nylon. It features a matte finish, looks sleek, and has proven to be durable in testing. We’ve tested this material on other Pakt bags before, and it has held up well for everyday use and while traveling. It certainly isn’t waterproof, but it can withstand light rain or snow. If you get caught in worse weather than that, you should head for cover.

The pack utilizes YKK zippers with simple loop pulls. They’re smooth, easy to use, and blend in nicely with the pack. The clips and adjusters are aluminum. They’re durable and easy to adjust, but we worry they may scuff and mark up over time. So far, so good!

There are various attachment points around the pack, on both the front and back sides. These are handy for attaching gear, a Bluetooth speaker, or other items. If you don’t want to use them, they don’t get in your way.

The pack features two handles, one located on top and another on the side. These are handy for carrying the pack from one place to another or sliding it in and out of the larger pack it stows inside. More on that later, though.

There’s a luggage pass-through on the backside of the pack, too, which is handy for trips through the airport with rolling luggage. Though you could wear the pack through the airport, you might as well take a load off and let your rolling luggage do the work for you.

The Pakt logo is small and blends in on the pack, which we appreciate. This is typical of the brand, so no surprises here. There isn’t a ton going on externally, which lends itself to the sleek look employed by Pakt for the bag. It looks nice, but how does it carry?

Fit Notes

The back panel has some padding, but not a ton. It’s fine for most uses, but if you load it up with heavy tech, you’ll start to notice that it isn’t up to snuff for use all day, every day with that kind of load inside. Still, for most uses as a travel daypack, it works as expected.

The shoulder straps have incredibly dense padding, which we dig. It also features a fine mesh for breathability, which helps on warm days, although it’ll still cause sweat. Not all users enjoy the dense padding, although we prefer it to something more flimsy. We find it performs better on a long day than bags without it. However, your mileage may vary.

There are a few ways to wear this pack. Obviously, traditional backpack mode is the most common. That said, the straps are removable, allowing you to sling one across the back and turn it into a crossbody bag or a large sling. We dig the idea of this, but didn’t find ourselves doing it very often in practice. Backpack mode is generally more comfortable, though we did appreciate crossbody mode while cycling.

Overall, the pack is comfortable. If you have an incredibly heavy load to wear all day, it may dig in a bit, but generally, we find it comfortable.

Inside The Pack

The inside of the pack is lined with 210D recycled nylon, which is both durable and sleek in appearance.

Inside the admin pocket, there’s a lot of organization going on. There’s a magnetic pocket up top that works well for a phone or another similarly sized device. There’s a mesh pocket, a liner pocket, and a hidden AirTag slot inside here, too, so you can keep your gear organized and know where your bag is at all times. There are three more small liner pockets that work well for cables, pens, pencils, and other thin items.

Opposite the main organization is a zippered mesh pocket with a key leash inside. This is a solid place to stow items you don’t want bouncing around inside the pack, as it has a zippered top.

The lower compartment lacks organization and has a large footprint. It’s a solid place to store packable gear, such as a puffer jacket, a small umbrella, snacks, and other medium-sized items. There isn’t much protection here, so don’t stow anything too breakable in this pocket.

The main compartment is an ample open space that lacks much organization. There’s a laptop pocket, which will fit up to a 16-inch computer. There isn’t a ton of padding, but it’s dense padding and enough to keep your laptop safe. There’s a liner pocket on top of it that works well for a tablet, notebook, or documents. There’s little padding for this pocket, so keep that in mind before stowing anything breakable here without a case.

There are daisy chains down either side of the lid side of the compartment. You can attach gear here if you’d like—Pakt makes a variety of pouches and extras that work well here. Alternatively, you can attach your own tech pouch using straps and carabiners. If you aren’t into that, the daisy chain doesn’t get in your way and actually adds structure to the pack, so it still serves a purpose if you aren’t adding gear here.

Overall, we dig using this pack, though we realize it isn’t a traditional packable bag. It’s similar to the Aer Go Bag series, which is a small and lightweight bag that you can fit into another bag if needed, but it doesn’t pack into itself. The Pakt Mode Convertible Bag 14L was designed to fit into the expansion pocket of the brand’s One Travel Backpack, making this a solid choice for those who already own that backpack. Or, if you’re looking for a lightweight yet sturdy bag to handle all your adventures upon arrival, no matter what larger travel backpack or rolling luggage you use, this will likely fit the bill for that, too.