Matador Glow Rider 35 Review: A Carefully Designed Travel Backpack

Introduction

Matador has built a strong reputation for well-made travel gear, and the Glow Rider 35 is a smaller version of its popular Glow Rider travel backpack. After several short trips with it, this pack has earned a place among the best travel backpacks around, largely because of how thoughtfully every pocket, strap, and zipper has been placed.

Who the Glow Rider 35 Is For

The 35L size is the sweet spot for many travelers. It is small enough to carry comfortably over long distances, yet large enough to hold gear for extended trips. It works easily as a carry-on and fits in the overhead bin on pretty much every airline. One caveat: it is a little too big to work as a personal item, so it will not fit a personal-item sizer.

The tested dimensions, fully packed, come out to about 20.5 by 12.5 by 9 inches deep, which matches the listed specs closely. A packing peanut capacity test put the usable volume at essentially spot-on 35 liters, and that figure covers just the bag itself, not the stretchy pockets on the outside.

Build Quality and Materials

Matador combined fabrics and hardware that are durable yet lightweight. The main body is a 420-denier nylon with a waterproof coating, and the garnet colorway is an uncommon and attractive choice for a travel backpack. The main compartment uses huge size-10 water-resistant zippers of very high quality, similar in style to what other premium bag makers use, with white-tab zipper pulls that make it easy to tell the main compartment apart from the top access pocket.

Security is well handled too. Although the zippers are not a locking style, all of them have large metal rings, so they can easily be locked together with a small micro lock. Security loops on every zipper let you run the pulls through them to slow down a quick opening, or attach a lock directly.

Exterior Storage and Organization

The outside of the pack is one of its strongest areas. There is a large stretchy dump pocket on the front, a roomy side water bottle pocket, four side compression straps, a small brain pocket, and a larger top organizational pocket. Most of the small-gear organization lives in the front pocket, which has sleeves for chargers, adapters, and pens, plus a couple of small organizer pockets.

Two details stand out. First, the front pocket has its own volume, so whatever you put in it does not compete with the main compartment, and it only extends a third of the way down the pack so gear never gets lost at the bottom. Second, the large top stretchy pocket lays flat when empty but expands to hold sandals, towels, or quick-grab snacks.

There are also plenty of attachment points, including daisy chains, side and bottom carry handles, and fabric loops on top. Roughly an 8-foot section of shock cord can be threaded through them for extra external capacity for a jacket or towel, without overlapping any zippers. The compression straps are well placed with two per side and never block zippers or pockets.

Top Access Pocket and Laptop Sleeve

The top access pocket is a second opening into the main compartment through the top lid, and it also provides a second entry into the laptop sleeve. This works especially well for flights: a small pouch, toiletry bag, or jacket can live at the top of the pack and be pulled out quickly without opening the whole bag.

The laptop compartment is a dual-access design, opening both from the side and from that top zipper. It is well padded with a good false bottom, and a 15.5-inch laptop is about the largest that fits comfortably. The padding is firm but not overly thick, so it also acts as part of the bag’s structure. If you do not carry a laptop, the sleeve does not eat up much usable space.

Interior Organization and Packing Cubes

Inside, a side-opening clamshell reveals a large main compartment, about 5.5 inches deep on the open side, plus several zippered mesh pockets on the lid side. The best part of the interior design is that Matador sells two sets of packing cubes that both fit the main compartment almost perfectly.

The gear cube set of three compressible, same-length-but-different-width cubes stacks consecutively to fill the compartment exactly. The packing cube set of three different sizes also fits perfectly: large sideways, medium lengthwise, and small lengthwise. Either setup leaves a little headroom at the top for a pouch or jacket.

One packing note: the lid’s mesh pockets share some volume with the front pocket, so you need to fill them, or overpack the main compartment slightly to compensate.

Carry Comfort and Frame

The carry system is very sturdy. The shoulder straps are huge, wide, and well padded with medium-density EVA foam and breathable backing fabric, adjustable in nearly every way, with sternum straps and top load adjusters. All the hardware is thick, sturdy YKK brand.

The straps are stowable: unclip a thick buckle at the bottom, and a small Velcro tab keeps the stow pocket from flapping. The hip belt is equally robust, slightly wider, breathable, with small stretchy pockets for tucking extra webbing. It is removable, held in place by Velcro that runs almost its entire length, so it stays secure until you deliberately take it out.

Structure comes from a plastic frame sheet, an attached foam layer, and a full-length aluminum stay. The result is a stiff pack that resists flopping, and in practice this is about as comfortable a carry as a travel pack can offer.

Things to Consider Before Buying

A few trade-offs are worth knowing before you buy. The bag is slightly too large to qualify as a personal item, so plan on using it as a carry-on only. The lid’s mesh pockets share volume with the front pocket, which takes a little practice to pack efficiently. And while the main zippers are excellent, they are not branded YKK, so check them against your own preferences. The 35L also comes in a larger 45L version if you need more space, but for most trips the smaller size is the more versatile pick.

Buying Advice

If you want one travel backpack that handles carry-on travel, long walks to the gate, and indefinite world travel in equal measure, the Glow Rider 35 is an easy recommendation. Pair it with Matador’s own packing cubes for the best experience, since they are designed to fill the main compartment perfectly. Use the top access pocket for your in-flight pouch and the stretchy exterior pockets for bulky items like sandals or a towel.

Conclusion

The Glow Rider 35 shows how much difference careful design makes. Expandable front pocket storage, a genuinely useful top access pocket, dual-access laptop protection, and packing cubes that fit the main compartment perfectly add up to one of the most complete travel backpacks available. For anyone building a one-bag travel setup, it deserves a spot at the top of the shortlist.