Thule Aion Backpack

The Thule Aion Travel Backpack 40L has been an incredible travel companion. This backpack has been everywhere with me — on planes, trains, buses, and all throughout Europe — and it has held up perfectly. After all the miles, packing, unpacking, and daily use, it still looks and performs like new. The 40L capacity is the perfect size for travel, giving me plenty of room for clothing, electronics, and essentials without feeling like I’m carrying a huge bag. The organization is excellent, with thoughtful compartments that make it easy to keep everything accessible and organized while on the go. The build quality is outstanding. The materials feel durable, the zippers are strong, and the design is clearly made for people who actually travel. It’s comfortable to carry, even when fully packed, and the sleek black style works just as well in airports as it does walking around a new city. After putting it through real-world travel, I can confidently say this backpack is built to last. If you’re looking for a reliable travel bag that can handle adventures near and far, the Thule Aion 40L is an excellent choice.

I have a few semi high end travel backpacks, I'm a one bag traveler, if some place I can't go without carrying only a backpack, I just don't go. I also never check my bags, if I can't carry it on a plane, I don't use it. So a high quality and high capacity backpack is very important to me. I'm not a backpacker, I don't walk around anywhere with my backpack. The only place I will be carrying one is at the airport, so even though comfort is important, it's not on the top of my list. The Thule 40l feels comfortable enough. It doesn't come with a hip strap, but I never use one anyway. It has a very roomy main compartment, comes with compression straps, a builtin detachable wet bag, a small builtin mesh toiletry zip compartment, and a full length zip compartment for additional organization. The laptop compartment is also very large, even with a laptop and a tablet, it still has room for stuff. Since I travel light, I only carry a 12 inch laptop, so I will be using the laptop compartment for clothing in compression cubes or other stuff. The front organizational pocket is only 1/2 way deep of the bag, wish it was larger so I can fit a light jacket along with miscellaneous stuff. The hidden pocket at the back is great for passport, wallet and quick access to travel documents. There is one external water bottle pocket on the right side, has no strap, but feels snug enough. I wouldn't flip the bag over, the water bottle could fall out. I saw people complaining about the waxed canvas, saying it looks dirty and scratched upon arrival. My bag arrived clean as whistle, not a single scratch on it. I tried scratching it a few times with my finger nails to see if it would leave a mark, it didn't, so I'm not too worried about it looking ugly or "full of character" after a few uses. Not sure if the material is really water resistant, not going to test it, don't plan on walking in the rain or dunking it in a puddle. My trips are usually 2-3 weeks long, I travel to many parts of the world with backpacks ranging in sizes from 35l to 45l. This bag is 40l, should be big enough to carry 10 days of light clothes and toiletries. Men's clothing is bulkier and heavier than women's, my wife packs light too, she can literally fit 2-3 weeks of light clothes in this 40l backpack. No, we never go anywhere cold, hate the cold. :). The bag is made in Vietnam, a bit disappointing, was hoping it'd be made in a Western country. However, the construction seems solid and durable, only time will tell if it will hold up. At $200 price point, it's better made or equivalent to some of the more expensive backpacks on the market, and exceeds bags in its same class, Peak Design 45l or Osprey Porter for example, both of which I also own. If you are also a one bag traveler, get the 40l version. If you carry a backpack in addition to check luggage, this bag might be too big, get the 28l one.

In an ideal world, I would like to have a $100 Osprey 26 plus 6, which is like the gold standard for this market segment. I am sure you are looking for a clamshell backpack that can fit a whole bunch of stuff, while still be unable to pass the flight attendants' eye test as a "personal item", can't do that with anything larger than 30L, especially not when traveling in Europe. I am tired of waiting for Osprey to come back to stock, but lost patience and started look for alternatives. If you google alternatives to Osprey 26+6, you will see things like Mini MLC, etc. Thule is not the first came to mind, and it is less known in the US, mostly known for roof racks and bike carriers. After watched a bunch of videos, I decided to give it a try. Well I want to give the conclusion first, it is closed but not perfect. First the pros: this bag is built like all Thule products, i.e., a tank. I can see it can last many moons. There are many compartments, so you don't need packing cubes likely. Shoulder straps are very well padded, there are handles on the top and side to help loading. Weight is medium so not too heavy nor too light. Cons are the black color is a different type, almost too shiny, and I can see that if you stuff it under airplane seat, it can get dirty or scratched easily. The compartments are okay, but you will miss that big clamshell space from Osprey or similar. Price wise, it is $180 vs $100, so a little bit more expensive. Overall, I like this bag and will likely carry it with me to the next few trips. Only time can tell how long it will last, but right now I am satisfied.

This is a really nice looking backpack with some useful features and pretty comfortable to carry too. Really solid construction with awesome zippers and nice water resistant material. Things I like... - Really nice zippers - looks nice - expandable from 28L to 32L - few good little organization pockets in front - stash pocket in top back - nice interior setup that can be split or used as one large compartment - interior thin waterproof section to keep papers dry OR separate something wet or a few dirty clothes - comfortable side carry handle - fits 32oz Nalgene bottle - luggage pass through Changes I wish it had... - remove that front little handle, looks weird sticking out. Just make it a little incognito strap if you gotta put something there. And back top handle not comfortable to grab, make it a little more comfortable - wish front had a quick access zip pocket for little stuff - wish there was a better dedicated pocket on top to stash and protect sunglasses - the little zipper pulls on a couple zippers sort of stick out and wish they just laid against bag - maybe a couple more little zipper stash pockets inside would be good - wish bag was like 1-2" longer top to bottom (I'm 6' tall) so it would just fit more long ways vertical on back as opposed to sticking further out. Overall a really solid, nice looking, functional bag w some great features and better than 95%+ of what you'll find in this size and price range.

First of all, use case is everything. On a long trip to Europe, we chose to take one carry-on and one personal bag apiece. This bag was my personal bag and was not meant to replace my carry-on. As such I wanted it to be as large and functional as possible, while still being able to fit under the seat. This it did magnificently. I was able to pack a a ton of clothes and other personal gear, electronics, etc. in his backpack. You can access the main compartment through the top or it opens clamshell style. It has a nice large sleeve for a laptop and a smaller one for an iPad. It has decent organization and an easy to reach outside pocket for things like chargers, keys, glasses, etc. You can also expand it significantly if necessary (this can also help compress the bag if needed). It is not too large to go as a day pack if necessary and it is quite comfortable. The zippers and pulls are all quality. I found the outer shell fabric to be very water resistant and durable. There is also a zipper pocket between the straps that easily and safely fits a passport or wallet. The water bottle pocket is quite large, but it was my one complaint. Because it is oriented straight up and down vs canted forward, it is quite hard to insert or withdraw your water bottle while wearing the pack. While this was a little irritating (and really should be addressed by Thule), it was certainly not a dealbreaker. I have to give the Thule Aion two big thumbs up! 👍👍

I really, really wanted to like this bag but overall the layout just doesn't work for my purposes. The positives are the storage space is great. I really liked the few small zipped compartments and even the divider with the wet pocket is nice. It's a sharp-looking, well-built bag - I really loved the zipper pulls.. Unfortunately the way the clamshell opens I'm not a fan of at all. To access the main compartment you lay the bag on its front, then zip open the back laptop open and have the bag completely laid open. There is no strap to hold the laptop in place, so you really need to have a large, flat area to lay the bag. If it was on a luggage rack for example the laptop would slide out. Additionally when open you won't be able to access the front pocket without closing it up and flipping it over. If you weren't planning on using the clamshell feature this would be an awesome bag.

Awesome backpack. Love it. It's great for travel. Lots of room for keeping different items separated. Clothes, shoes, toiletries and all sorts of room.

I love this backpack. The only downside is the waterproof section. It’s too small, and when collapsed it makes one zipper very unusable. So I keep it expanded even when it t barely has any use. You can store maximum a pair of swim shorts there. The rest of the backpack is awesome. Very light, great materials and comfortable to carry.

Super sac très bien conçu ! Envoi et réception rapide, merci !

Really well constructed. Great design.

Zaino molto comodo e pratico. Già utilizzato per un paio di viaggi fuori porta e si presenta completo, con scompartimenti intelligenti, e comodo.

La mejor mochila de viaje. Súper espaciosa, de calidad y resistente a la vez que impermeable. Es perfecta. Los comentarios que vi sobre la tela que parecía desgastada me hicieron dudar pero bajo mi punto de vista es lo que la hace diferente, con el uso todos los artículos se rozan pero este tiende como a coger un tono desgastado que la hace peculiar y atractiva. Es cara pero muy recomendable, viajo con ella como equipaje de mano y no he tenido ningún problema en diferentes aerolíneas low cost. Destacar el compartimento para agrandarla, la bolsa interior para la ropa sucia (o el uso que le quieras dar) y el bolsillo para el pasaporte en la parte trasera.

All photos were taken when I unpack it. It was wear and look old stuff. The dark gray backpack shows significant wear with visible discoloration across the material. The zipper system appears intact but the fabric exhibits noticeable fading and surface marks, particularly around the main compartment and seams, indicating deterioration of the original condition…. i was processing with return and refund item but I need to wait for refund processing about 10-15 days. That their staff was explaining. Amazon has to receive the item first then can proceed the refund in 7days. Totally about 10-15 days. I am being an member and frequently has issues about lost items several times. I feel very disappointed.