Aer Travel Pack 3 Small X-Pac Review: A Durable Carry-On Travel Backpack

Introduction

Aer has updated its flagship travel backpack several times over the years, and the Travel Pack 3 Small in the X-Pac fabric is the third iteration of the line. It keeps the clean exterior design, the large easy-to-pack main compartment, and the comfortable shoulder straps that made earlier versions appealing, while adding a set of upgrades to the previous model. Some of those upgrades come with extra weight, which is the main compromise to consider.

This version uses the 28-liter Small size with waterproof VX42 X-Pac fabric, chosen over the standard Cordura option because it is waterproof and slightly lighter. It is one of the thickest, stiffest, most abrasion-resistant fabrics available in a travel backpack.

Carry-On Fit and Capacity

The dimensions are about 19 by 13 inches, with a depth that ranges from around 7.5 to 9 inches depending on how full you pack it, or roughly 48 by 33 by 19 centimeters. That makes it work as a carry-on for most airlines. As a personal item it is a little too big: in an 18 by 14 by 8 inch sizer box, a fully packed bag has a hard time fitting. It does, however, fit under the seat on many airlines and looks like it would pass in the sizer, so if you are willing to risk extra bag fees you could probably get away with it as a personal item.

The listed capacity is 28 liters, and a packing-peanut test put the measurement right on the 28-liter mark, so the capacity is accurate.

Exterior Design and Features

Aer kept the general style and aesthetic of the previous generation, so this is more of a tweak upgrade than a complete redesign. The front slash pocket, large front organizational compartment, top slash pocket, and side water bottle pocket all carry over. The front organizational pocket has cascading stretchy pockets that run from medium to small, a large drawer-style pocket at the top, and a small zippered pocket. The X-Pac version uses an extremely bright orange lining fabric that makes gear easy to see inside the bag.

The main compartment uses huge number 10 locking YKK AquaGuard zippers, with smaller number 8s on the front and laptop compartments. Hardware is the usual high standard: nylon Duraflex buckles and adjusters, plus magnetic clasps on some points.

New exterior additions include side compression straps and a small side slash pocket. There are four compression straps, and they do a great job of squishing the bag down, which might help it fit into a personal-item sizer box. The side slash pocket is tall but very slim with almost no volume; it will not fit a travel tripod, so it is best for thinner items like a travel wallet or small documents.

The top slash pocket is fuzzy-lined and fits a hand only barely, making it a good spot for sunglasses or a phone. Note that it extends inside the main pack, so when the main compartment is stuffed full it becomes harder to fit gear in there.

The side water bottle pocket is largely unchanged, with zipper access to an expansion mesh section that holds almost any slimmer water bottle, but it is too small for a large one-liter Nalgene-style bottle.

A welcome deletion: the V2’s awkward bottom shoe compartment, which took up space in the main compartment, is gone.

Laptop Compartment

The laptop compartment opens almost entirely from the top now, whereas the previous version’s zipper ran farther down the side. That makes it slightly harder to see the interior, but Aer beefed up the back padding, added a fuzzy lining, and included a small zippered pocket on the bag side.

Inside, there are two compartments separated by a small padded sleeve. The regular bag-side compartment runs all the way to the bottom with no false bottom, a good place for basic travel documents you do not need protected. The sleeve side holds a laptop very well: it is heavily padded with a decent false bottom that keeps the laptop about two inches off the bottom of the pack.

Carry Comfort and Suspension

It is hard to beat Aer packs for carry comfort. The large, wide, well-padded shoulder straps with breathable mesh backing sit well on the shoulders and adjust easily, and the back padding is thick and squishy with the same mesh backing.

The sternum strap now uses a magnetic clasp buckle, a clear upgrade: it is much smaller, lower profile, and easier to use. The biggest change on the back is the addition of top load adjusters. They are not always necessary on a pack this small, but if you carry a lot of weight they help pull the load closer to your back.

At the bottom of the back panel there is a horizontally oriented luggage pass-through sleeve, plus two fabric loops for attaching an optional hip belt sold separately. As with the load adjusters, these matter most when the pack is loaded heavily.

Aer also did a great job with carry handles: a large padded nylon webbing handle on top, two smaller webbing handles on the sides, and a simple unpadded webbing handle on the bottom, useful for pulling the bag out of an overhead compartment.

One quirk: despite being fairly rectangular, the bag does not stand up on its own. The solid frame sheet makes the bottom poke out slightly at the back, and unless you pack heavier items low, it tends to fall over if left standing.

Packing and Everyday Use

The interior opens panel-style, with zippers that come all the way around to the bottom, into a large main compartment that is genuinely easy to pack. A standard packing cube measuring almost exactly 12 by 12 inches fits well alongside a smaller cube, and there is still room left for thinner items like a toiletry bag or a light jacket, or alternatively for soft gear such as socks and underwear to fill out the space.

Aer replaced the two large packing-cube-style pockets of the older model with a smaller mesh pocket at the top plus a large side-access pocket spanning the entire front panel. That pocket bulges out several inches from the bag and functions essentially as one huge packing cube that holds a ton of gear.

Organization is generous. There is a small hidden mesh pocket inside the top slash pocket area sized for a small item tracker, plus a wealth of sleeves across the front compartment, the slash pockets, and the water bottle pocket for small electronics and accessories. The laptop area offers two back sleeves, and a front sleeve works well for an e-reader or something small you want quick access to.

Things to Consider Before Buying

Fully loaded with the gear used for testing, the bag weighed about 6 kilograms, or 13.3 pounds. The empty weight of 3.6 pounds is not outrageous, but it sits at the high end for travel packs under 30 liters. That weight buys real features: huge zippers, lots of pockets, a well-padded laptop compartment, and big beefy backpack straps.

Aer’s newer Go Pack line is only about 8 liters smaller than the Travel Pack 3 Small but roughly a third of the weight, which is worth comparing if you prioritize a lighter bag. Ideally, a future Aer bag would combine Travel Pack-level features with Go Pack-level weight in a personal-item-compliant size.

Buying Advice

Buy the Travel Pack 3 Small X-Pac if you want a highly organized, extremely water-resistant 28-liter carry-on with excellent carry comfort and are happy to trade a few extra pounds of bag weight for durability and features. If your priority is minimal weight, look at lighter options instead.

Conclusion

The Travel Pack 3 Small X-Pac is another good update to an already great travel bag. The top load adjusters, magnetic clasps, and removal of the poorly placed shoe compartment are genuine improvements, the X-Pac fabric is tough and water resistant, and the bright orange lining makes finding gear effortless. Weight is the only significant downside, and whether it matters depends on how you travel.