New, Improved: The 2023 Tortuga V4 40L Travel Backpack compared to the Outbreaker 35L
I’m a 61 year-old professor who regularly takes my digital office and electronics on national and international adventures. Even when I’m not traveling, I like keeping most of what I need in a single well-organized backpack. I’m convinced that a back-saving, easily-cleaned, secure, durable, well-organized, and simply elegant backpack like this one is the most comfortable and freeing way to travel for long periods.
Last month, I replaced my well-travelled 35L Outbreaker with the new 40L V4, and am traveling with the new item now. The 35L remains like new after a couple years of backpacking and travel in planes, cars, trains, busses, boats, etc. But I wanted the extra 5L and the 1” flatter build to optimize the fit into international overhead bins. The new version is just as comfortable, well-organized, secure, and easy to clean as before, with some clear improvements. One nice addition is a small outside top pocket, which is great for easy access to oft-used items like sunglasses, earplugs, comb, and headphones. Some unnecessary things have been removed, such as a couple pen and card slots, pockets and dividers in the main compartment, and a redundant outside handle. Although suitable for adventurous treks, the V4 is even more passable than the Outbreaker as an adult professional’s non-hippy luggage. By staying on my back, it stays much cleaner than ground-level wheeled luggage that drags and bounces over floors, muddy sidewalks, and worse.
The trick to getting the most out…