Rab's Depot 28 is a robust travel and commuter pack designed to accommodate everything you'd need when out and about. Whether it's a day at the office then an evening at the climbing wall, or packing a few days' worth of clothes for a short trip, with its spacious interior and smart organisation, the Depot 28 is a perfect choice for anyone in need of a larger everyday bag. It's practical, but still smart enough for town.

Fit and Comfort

The Depot 28 has a minimalist design that extends to its simple harness system. The shoulder straps are wide enough to be comfortable carrying the pack fully loaded. The moulded back panel is long, padded and distributes the weight evenly across the back. The internal laptop sleeve sits neatly against the back, helping with weight distribution, as most of the time a laptop is by far the heaviest single item you'd carry in this pack.

I've sometimes found the Depot to be a bit top heavy, in particular when packing lots of clothes. The top of the bag seems to be slightly wider than the bottom, resulting in the pack feeling quite far back from your shoulders at the top. It's not something that's terribly noticeable unless really stuffed to capacity, but if fully loaded, it can feel a bit strangely balanced on your back.

Weight and durability

At 1100g the Depot 28 is at the mid to heavier end when it comes to smaller packs, however there is a wide variety in this category when it comes to durability, many lighter bags opting for much lighter materials at some potential cost to longevity. If you're looking for a robust backpack that will last, the sturdy Depot 28 should be a great option.

Features

The Depot 28 is absolutely packed with features. One thing I always look for in commuter and travel bags is plenty of pockets for organising gear. Being able to access items in your bag without having to drag out the entire contents of the pack is really important when traveling. In this regard the Depot has three large main pockets and a small personal items pocket, each suited to different types of luggage, with additional internal pockets to help organise your regular travel items.

Starting at the back, there's a large pocket good for laptops, cables and paperwork. I like to think of this as the work compartment. Most of what you'd need for an office job should fit in here and keep it nicely organised away from other items. This pocket has a great full length zip so the bag can be fully opened, enabling you to access items right at the bottom. It also has a small internal pocket that I've used for cables, laptop mouse or headphones. Finally it has the padded laptop sleeve with an integrated dry pouch. The dry pouch is great, although it can't be fully closed with large laptops - a 16 inch Macbook for example. Unless you were caught out in a storm, I've always found the normal internal laptop sleeve plenty for keeping my laptop dry, so I typically just pop it in there.

The main compartment is the largest and is a single pocket with no internal subdivision. This is ideal for clothes, climbing shoes, chalk bags, or other items you might need. The capacity is probably something like 18 litres, so it takes the majority of the pack's 28 litre capacity. The front pocket is the smallest, and is probably best for storing something like a waterproof jacket. There's a small internal pocket here also if you want to keep things a little more organised and accessable. The last pocket is for personal items and can hold a phone, keys, passports, even a small book. It's very generous in size but easy to find items.

On the shoulder strap is a small earbuds pouch for quick access and storage. On either side of the pack you also get large stretchy side pockets that can take water bottles or other smaller items.

Ethics and environment

According to Rab's Material Facts, the Depot 28 contains 57% recycled fabric, and all materials are PFAS-free.

Summary

Its RRP of £120 may seem fairly high for a non-technical day pack, but the Depot 28 feels like it's worth the money, with its smart design, durable materials and plethora of useful pockets. If you're after a pack that's under-stated enough for the office, while being practical and spacious enough to go to the wall with after work, it'd be spot on.