Carry-on 3.0

This is the best Minaal yet—the little details make all the difference. I own the 1.0, have gifted the 2.0, and now have the 3.0. Basically they fixed the little annoyances and upgraded things I didn't know I wanted. They upgraded the laptop harness and makes it accessible from either direction. The passport hidden pocket has spoiled me. And don't get me started on those zippers—my original have taken eight years of abuse with never a tear nor a problem. Bottom line: the 3.0 is worth it.

Seriously glad I found this bag! I've been travelling non-stop for the past year to over 10 countries and this has come with everywhere without complaining on being shoved into tight spots, dropped onto pavements/rocks/dusty floors, and overloaded (gotta bring back gifts!).

The pockets are cleverly designed, and there always seems to be a little extra nook that you can take advantage of.

I love the laptop section and that I don't need to worry about it smashing to pieces. I love the hidden pocket on the back where I can keep extra money, passport, and other valuables (please don't rob me!).

I'll admit I was a little hesitant to purchase at first due to the price but I'm so happy I did because this truly feels like a bag for life (not-withstanding their incredible life-time guarantee).

Bravo minaal team, truly stellar product!

Also here to write a long overdue review. I have both Carry-on 2.0 and the Daily.

Both are amazing.

Especially the Carry-on feels special. I've owned it now for about 8 years and its been everywhere.

The small details is what makes the Minaal bags so great. Checking my passport in the small top zip, while the bag is crunched between my legs in a crammed bus or hiding dollar bills in the hidden internal zips, just in case.

Quality is top notch too. 8 years and not a single fraying edge or zipper fail. My only gripe is that the daily in black is so clean and black that i keep forgetting it everywhere :)

Looking forward to what the team builds next...keep up the great work!

Alex

I bought my Minaal 2.0 bag in 2016 (I literally dug up the original email receipt just to confirm the date), and I’m not exaggerating when I say this bag has become an extension of me. Nearly a decade later, it’s still my daily commuter bag, my essential carry-on, and my go-to suitcase for basically every trip I take. You genuinely will not find me boarding a plane without it.

The most absurd testament to this bag is that I used it as my only bag for a two-week solo trip through Europe in the winter. Yes, winter. Yes, international travel. I did laundry once halfway through, but somehow this magical bag still fit everything I needed without making me feel like a pack mule dragging my life across multiple countries.

And the durability? Unreal. Not a zipper has broken. Not a seam has split. Nothing. This bag has been shoved under airplane seats, crammed into overhead bins, dragged through cities, overloaded more times than I should probably admit, and it still looks and functions incredibly well.

There are very few products I’ve used this heavily for this long that I would enthusiastically recommend without hesitation, but this is absolutely one of them. I honestly fear the day something eventually gives out because I’ve become so attached to this thing. It’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made, full stop.

I’m honestly not sure why it’s taken me this long to leave a review for this thing, but I randomly thought to come check out the website and make sure y’all were still selling these. Long overdue. Extremely well deserved.

Not much room after tablet is packed. It’s a Tablet or Clothes Coin Toss before leaving town

Bag was awesome. Balanced, it’s was cold in NYC so extra gear required, no problem. Because of the cold I had to carry an extra bag for electronics. Next trip, one bag. Look forward to next trip. Favorite part of the bag and the reason I selected it is the smooth front without extra pockets poking out her and there. Thank you for the smart design.

This is by far, the best purchase I’ve ever done.

First of all, functionality.
It has a great design with various pockets and sections.
My suggestion - get yourself good organizers.
If you’re smart with how you manage your belongings, trust me, you can easily get away having just this backpack for months (unless you travel or stay at some cold area, where heavy, bulky clothes and boots are required)
It fits a lot and, in the same time, the backpack itself doesn't grow a giant size.

Second, design.
It’s minimalistic and just great. No numerous straps, hanging here and there, nothing unnecessary.
It’s just a bag, that you can manipulate its weight by using magnet connectors at the top and a strap at the chest level to reduce pressure from your spine.
Zippers are great quality, very reliable, never broken.
Bunch of really cool outside pockets.
On the “inside” part there is one for passport. In the bottom one I kept the small lock and a rain cover.
In the top you keep power-bank, headphones etc. whatever you use frequently, so you dont have to go all the way inside the bag every time.

Third, quality of materials. Just great.
Zippers, pockets (love the one for bottle), handles, bag itself - never broken, fine at any weather.

I had mine since covid year, (I think I got it on 2020 if memory serves…), and I moved around A LOT. Canada, Malta, Ukraine, Spain, Poland, Germany, Luxembourg, France…
Never a single problem at the airport with Raynair.
Lots of trains, buses, hotels and hostels, apartments, houses. My grey friend always with me, keeping all the things I needed.

To be honest with you all, I often felt that sense of almost arrogance and superiority while I saw some other travellers, having their backpacks as they looked way more clumsy, bulky and just too much…

I remember myself watching quite a few of youtube videos and reviews about backpacks, pros and cons, all that…
I knew that I’ll be moving a lot and didnt want to deal with the suitcases, so, had to be mobile as possible.
So, finally decided to go with Minaal 3.0, and, god, it was a good choice.

Yes, it’s pricy. And, I’ll repeat myself again here, you have to get good organizers and get used to it.
Cause if you don’t, it will take you more time to adapt, figure it out, and, most likely, you’ll end up using its space not at full potential.
But if you run it properly: get the organizers, play with the sections, what fits where, take your time, rotate your stuff here and there…
Then you’ll figure the “fengshui”, and find out that it can fit a sufficient amount of stuff for a really long time.

What else?..
I personally dont use laptop almost at all, but, when I needed, there is a good section for it. So, you have your laptop/tablet, firm and secure, no problem.

Unfortunately for me, I had it stolen couple days ago here in Madrid, and that was a devastating experience.
I dont stress out too much about the passport that was there, nor for most of the clothes. I can get the new ones, no problem. But the backpack itself with a little toy bunny from my little sister that I’ve been keeping with me for more than a decade… That is a very bitter pill to swallow, to say the least.

So, the reason I leave this comment now, is because I went to the website to see if this bag is still available, so I can keep in mind I’ll buy another one some day when I can afford it, and by chance saw the section with comments.
…And I know that some companies use fake comments and feedbacks in order to promote their product, whatever, market works the way it works, I’m not to judge.
But I wanted to make sure, that I’ll leave mine. A 100% real person, that had some real story and experience with this backpack, and, whoever reads this - just buy it. It’s totally worth it, and it will serve you forever (unless you are an unlucky idiot like me)

Round of applause to the team who run this company. Hopefully, one day I’ll be able to make another order at this web-site ✌️

Very happy with my Carry on 3.0! It’s my new essential for all trips. It feels incredibly durable and comfortable, and the capacity is a huge bonus. Thanks to its smart, slim design, I can skip baggage claim and avoid the awkward worry of being 'tipped-up like a turtle' you get with other packs. Highly recommend for stress-free travel.

TLDR: Smart design with a lot of comfort-driven components. A versatile bag that will protect your tech. Overall, I love this bag!

How I use this bag: I've taken this bag as my one-bag for work travel exceeding 5 days. I could easily see myself taking it on 1-2wk trips as my only bag, though perhaps with not much extra room for souvenirs or gifts.

Pros:
1. COMFORT! The bag's load lifters, sternum strap, and detachable hip belts included in the bundle provide really good comfort even with heavy loads. The shoulder straps are also very comfortable. When I was looking at bags and comparing options, this was one of the lighter travel bags that had all the comfort features I wanted (other bags that I decided were too heavy for me were the Peak Design and Aer bags). While I haven't carried the bag around all day long, I could see carrying it comfortably fully packed with a laptop for at least 45 mins of walking.
2. Thoughtful minimalism: If you love bags that have dedicated pockets for things, this is NOT your bag. While certain pockets/sections are designed for certain items (i.e., the tech nest, passport hideaway, document holder, etc.) most of the major space in the bag is not specifically designed for certain items. I like not feeling locked in to a certain set-up, so the larger pockets lend to that while providing some organization. Packing the bag does take some getting used to and you may have to do a bit of trial and error to pack the way that works best for you.
3. Tech protection: The tech nest is probably the best tech protection/cushioning I've seen in a bag. I love how you can adjust the straps for different sizes.
4. Features I love: the pack-away rain cover, the stowable strap cover (soooo useful for stowing your bag in the overhead or if you want to tote it more like luggage), attachments for the garment folder
5. Quality materials: I haven't put it through the ringer, but the materials seem very durable.

Cons:
1. Hip belt connection can be finicky: The hip belt isn't the easiest to attach/detach and it's best to detach the belt if you are using the strap cover feature. I wish these could be attached/detached a bit more easily and stowed easily as well instead of shoving it into a random pocket.
2. The packing cubes are designed to fit in the main space, but I do wish they had packing cubes of varying sizes that had a bit of compression to them. The sizing is overall a bit too small on the cubes for me (I'm used to packing all of my clothes into a single Eagle Creek compression packing cube and not separating out into separate cubes.) Would also be nice to see some packing cube options with a dirty-clean separation.

Features I wish the bag had:
1. a luggage pass-through. I know this was mentioned in a blog post somewhere about how it couldn't be integrated, but I feel even a low profile strap could have been added to the back.
2. One more beverage slot. Sometimes I'll have a thermos and a water bottle. The current design isn't the most conducive to this; you'd have to have a very leakproof container to put inside the body of the bag. The current water bottle pocket works well IF you use the included bungee string, but I could see your bottle falling out if you accidentally don't use the string to secure it.
3. More color options! Would love to see a non-neutral colorway, and some alternative interior material that would help your items be more easy to see when packing/moving around.

After waffling for weeks and trying several other travel bags, I finally decided to pull the trigger and give the 3.0 Carry-on Bag a shot—and it is, by far, my favorite of the bunch. The material and build quality are extremely high, it looks super sleek even when fully packed, is very comfortable, and has been an absolute joy to use. Couldn't be happier with this bag and I'm super excited to travel with it more!

Some additional notes for potential buyers:

1). I personally feel that the hip belt (sold separately) is an absolute must. This is a 35L bag and can be quite stressful on the shoulders without it. I was lucky enough to get the hip straps as part of a bundle deal for the same price as the base bag itself, which made everything more than worth the money spent.

2). The bag packs very differently compared to other clamshell designs and basically makes packing cubes a necessity. Granted, folks shopping for a premium travel bag like this are probably already using packing cubes, but it’s still worth calling out. In any case, after getting used to it, I found that this bag packs better than any other I’ve ever used. Again, if you can get the Minaal packing cubes as part of a bundle deal, it’s totally worth it!

I was impressed at the amount of items I packed into the carry-on. The second area housed my laptop and iPad securely and easily accessible.

Review

The shoulder straps are nice and thick, so even with heavy loads they don’t dig into my shoulders.

The dedicated compartment for laptop/tablet/documents is perfect — exactly the right amount of space.

The back panel has just the right amount of padding, which helps keep the shape of the bag and makes it more comfortable to wear.

The side pocket uses a stretch band at the bottom, which is great for holding a bottle. However, slim or small items would probably slip out through the side of the band.

The fabric thickness is perfect — not stiff and not flimsy — and the weight feels just right too.

Shipping was fast! I ordered from Japan on a Saturday and it arrived by Thursday afternoon. Basically 4 business days.

My only small disappointment was that the color looked completely different from the product photos (haha).
On the official site it looked like a bluish gray, but in person it’s closer to a greenish gray.

I bought the Vancouver Grey color. Using a browser color picker, the official photo looks around HEX:#4a4b50, but when I sample the actual bag in a photo it’s closer to #2a2e27, which is noticeably greener.

I bought this bag because I loved its design and features (95%) and also its color (about 5%), so I ended up about 5% disappointed.
If you’re buying it because you love the exact color in the photos, be aware!

I love everything about this bag, including the fit, the weight except 1 esthetic and 1 functionality that I find annoying without taking much away from this lifetime bag. I am not an expert; but coming from functional ordinary Osprey I can honestly say that this bundle waist belt and the material are not practical.The waistbelt needs more room to carry stuff- the extension cuts on my waist after a long day. The outer material needs brushing off lent every day- annoying, but not enough to return.

Good quality, well stitched but too expensive. For this price i expect the waist belt to be part of it and i expect a better side pocket (not just for a bottle as i dont want a bottle holder- for a bottle its poor design and for just a pocket its not particularly useful, suggest a mesh side pocket and we can decide). Very comfortable to wear and i love the fact i can pack what i want ie few compartments, for me its useful so i dont check any bags in at all. One of the best bags i think with improvement possible.

I love it very much and the customer service has been outstanding! Thank you for existing.

What can I say? If you're looking at this, you're considering it. My biggest mistake was hesitating and only buying 1 bag bundle and having to ask the incredible customer service for help to get a deal on the other bag and gear. Love the team at Minaal, so quick to help with anything

This backpack was perfectly designed. It held everything I needed for a week long business trip with room to spare. The pockets are well thought out, the only one I wish was a bit more thought out is the bit empty one in the tech section of the backpack. things just kind of slide there, so a bit of wasted space. But it was great for loading chocolates into for the return trip!

Such an expensive bag and not having luggage pass through is just cruelty. Mistake on my part to didn’t check this before buying. How can you expect travellers to just carry it through on their shoulders and not having a provision at all to shove it over carry on ?? Was it so difficult t in provide a simple attached strap ? Purchasers outside US didn’t have an option to refund as well. Not cool

just what i need

I recently purchased the carry-on 3.0 as I was looking for a bag I could use for extended weekend trips of 3 or maybe 4 days. So the past weekend I took a trip and used the 3.0 as my only bag for the weekend.

What I found is this is a great bag that's well designed. Great construction, strong zippers, well thought out pockets, a super and well protected lap top section. I found the shoulder straps, handles, to be strong, comfortable and well designed. I also loved the size and design of the water bottle storage and its support strap.

So overall I loved the bag. My only challenge is its size and for me it was a challenge to get the little I packed into this well designed space and I used packing cubes. For me it would be great if I was also bringing another bag, which defeats my over all goal of having a one bag travel so option.

So for me I'm going to look at exchanging it for the Daily carry 2.0 and look for a counter part for my extended weekend trips.

Thanks for a great bag

Just want to drop in and say how much I love this bag.

Used it recently for a work vacation. On and off planes and city buses. Used it every day. It becomes like a part of you, even when full.

The pockets are perfectly placed. And I loved and used the water bottle pocket for my slim camelback.

Having a good bag makes the work easier. Thanks. :)

Years and years ago, I bought one of your bags during the initial Kickstarter launch. I have used it quite a bit and it's still one of my favorites! It's been on many planes, trains, busses and even on the side of a horse. I used it about 1 year as my daily work commute bag. I went hiking with it through Nepal and on extensive Interrail journeys through Europe. It got a few (positive) remarks from other travellers and it is still going as good as the first days.
Now, I have often been tempted to buy the 3.0, but this original bag is still just fine!