REI Co-op Ruckpack 40 Review

The comfortable Ruckpack 40 will get you from the airport to the crag without having to unpack your bag. With its thick foam back panel, hip belt, and slightly curved shoulder straps, you'll find that you can carry quite a hefty load without feeling weighed down. Its backpacking pack shape and front-loading option allow for maximum gear carry potential, while its organizational features offer just enough places to put your snacks and electronics for a flight or a road trip. The harness system tucks neatly into a zippered flap, which we appreciate as it pushes the limits of carry-on size.

Performance Comparison

Comfort

When we first placed the Ruckpack 40 on our shoulders, we felt as though the hip belt sat a little high, and the rigid padding on our lower backs was too hard. This left us feeling tender after hauling heavy gear around for extended periods of time. It wasn't long until we realized that this pack is like a nice pair of boots; it just requires a little time to break in. Within one week and a few long hikes, it fit like a glove. Similar to memory foam, it form-fits to the body. Like a backpacking pack, the harness system takes a little tweaking, but once the adjustments are made, it is very comfortable, even when loaded with gear.

The padded shoulder straps have a slight S-curve, which redirects them closer to your neck rather than far out on your shoulders. This ensures that there is no unnecessary choking of the armpits or forcing of the shoulders back. The adjustable sternum strap helps redistribute some of the weight from your shoulders to your chest, and the generous hip belt is firm yet flexible. If you can't stand high waist belts or you have a particularly long torso, this pack may not be ergonomically right for you. And while we appreciate the padding, it can feel excessive when the bag isn't packed full.

The back panel is padded and breathable. The mesh portion on the top two-thirds consists of four ridged foam sections covered by mesh squares to allow for optimal airflow. The bottom third, which sits on the lower back, is made up of two hard foam squares. These are a little less breathable, but their function is to offer ample support to your lower back since that is most likely where your heavy gear sits. This plastic frame offers a little more structure to the pack and keeps items from poking you in the back. If your pack isn't fully loaded, it may feel a bit uncomfortable or obtrusive.

After a few hikes with heavy climbing gear in the base, we were grateful for the harder foam sections. The Ruckpack comes equipped with a removable plastic frame placed inside a zipper compartment in the back panel, which doubles as a laptop sleeve and a space for a water bladder.

REI made this pack gender-specific. While we only performed hands-on testing with the women's version, they do have a men's version, which we did a bit of research on. The men's and women's versions really only differ in the way they fit larger and smaller frames. If you are a larger-framed human, you may consider the men's version, and if you are more on the petite side of the spectrum, go for the women's. We had humans of all genders and sizes try the women's pack, and as long as you are okay with the hip belt sitting a little high, most of our testers found it very comfortable.

The Ruckpack is tapered in shape, which allows for heavy items to fall to the base and stay there. We took this travel backpack out climbing and camping with us and just loved how everything heavy stayed close to our body at the base of the pack. Not only is this the most comfortable and efficient way of carrying hefty gear, but it helps to keep lighter, more fragile goods like snacks and electronics happily floating out of harm's way at the top of the pack.

Features

REI kept it fairly simple and minimalistic as far as features go, but they did a great job of supplying the Ruckpack with all the necessities. From easy access pockets to mesh zippered compartments and a full side of mini organizational pockets for smaller travel trinkets like pens, phones, and earbuds, this pack has just the right number of nooks and crannies. One feature a lot of travel-to-outdoor-adventure packs lack is a secure, easy-access pocket for valuable on-the-go items like passports or wallets, but the Ruckpack snuck one in. We would have preferred a more padded laptop sleeve, though.

REI was diligent about practical pocket placement with the Ruckpack. One of the side panels opens up to a wall of smaller, more specific sleeves. Within the side panel, there is also a hidden zipper for your valuable on-the-go items like cash or your passport. The fact that it is a pocket within a pocket offers additional security. The water bottle pockets are deep and stretchy, fitting all standard water bottle sizes from wide Nalgenes and Hydroflasks to skinny plastic bottles.

There is a smaller, more secure mesh pocket on the underside of the brain, which can only be accessed from the main compartment, making it great for valuables. The main compartment has a laptop/water bladder sleeve that is quite loose and lacks cushioning. The main compartment is one big bucket-style space, which is great for gear travel but not quite structured enough for a valuable laptop or smaller electronics.

There is also one large mesh zippered pocket which spans the entire opening flap of the main compartment. This is a great spot for dirty clothes, undergarments, and swimwear, or if you are packed to the gills with gear, you can stuff all your clothing in there to keep it separate.

The Ruckpack has a few other notable features like its lockable zippers, daisy chain, and a rainfly. The daisy chain is a great place to clip your stinky climbing shoes or muddy hiking boots while out camping. The rainfly is hidden in a velcro pocket on the underside of the pack, and this is also where the harness system cover lives.

Packing and Accessibility

This pack is the perfect balance of easy access and security. That said, coming from REI, it is inherently geared towards outdoor use, so if you are looking for a solid business travel backpack, then you might want to take a look at some of the other options we reviewed.

The plethora of intuitively placed compartments are easily accessible, and the option to top or front load proved useful time and time again. The tapered shape allows for full visibility into the pack when top loading, and who doesn't love a hidden wallet pocket?

The REI Ruckpack offers both front-loading and top-loading pockets to make packing versatile enough for a variety of packing preferences. The zipper on the front of the pack zips all the way down to the base from the top, which is where the front-loading option comes from. This option is great for packing or searching for something you haphazardly threw in the main compartment. The option to top load the pack comes with the compression straps on the sides. Both sides, right above the water bottle pockets, have compression straps that cross over the main compartment zipper. During our research, we came across mixed reviews regarding these straps. Some people feel that they are in the way and create more work to get into the pack. We, on the other hand, love the placement of these straps because they allowed us to only half-open the front-loading main compartment when we wanted to top load.

The tapered shape of the Ruckpack allows for heavy gear to gather in the base organically. This is generally the part of the pack closest to your body and allows for lighter stuff to sit on the top. This shape, paired with the easy access brain pocket and the front or top loading option, are our three main reasons we like this pack for traveling with gear. The soft sac-like body of the Ruckpack allows for the user to really stuff it to the gills, and small organizational pockets surround the main compartment making them very easy to access. It is very important to ensure that your valuables are safe, but sometimes you need them to be accessible when traveling by air. We love the sneaky yet easy access zipper pocket in the side panel for our passport, cash, and cellphone.

Volume to Weight Ratio

The Ruckpack scores very high in this department. It weighs in at a whopping 2.1 pounds and offers 40 liters of packing space, making it one of our best performing in the Volume to Weight metric. This is a significant improvement from the previous version, which weighed roughly 4 pounds.

When the hip belt, shoulder, chest straps, and — most importantly — the load lifters are properly adjusted, the Ruckpack feels even lighter, which is great considering you're probably carrying a bunch of heavy gear.

Durability

The Bluesign-approved recycled nylon shell and recycled polyester lining may not be as durable as some of the other fabrics in our test suite, but it definitely gets the job done, and good on REI for using the trusty YKK zippers, which prove durable time and time again.

From our experience, this pack did great. The only reason it receives a slightly lower score compared to others in our lineup is because of fabric choices. The nylon is light and flexible, but the trade-off with a lower denier nylon is that it is more susceptible to ripping when under a higher weight load or if it comes into contact with rough surfaces — not to mention it has a lower waterproof rating. Still, if you take care of your pack, it will likely keep you company on many adventures to come.

Should You Buy The REI Co-op Ruckpack 40?

This versatile and thoughtfully constructed travel backpack is a great deal. Our gear sat nicely in the base of the pack while our valuables stayed tucked away in their designated compartments. For those looking to go the distance via plane, car, or bus and then get a little further off the radar by foot, this pack is a great option that won't break the bank.

What Other Travel Backpacks Should You Consider?