Topo Designs has been crafting gear for outdoors lovers for over 10 years from their base in Colorado, and their colorful designs inspired a cult following across the country. The Topo Designs Rover Pack has served as the basis for a number of different brand collaborations & product design spin-offs over the years. Today, we review the original American-made Rover Pack Classic to see what all the hype is about.
| Pros | Cons |
| + Stylish design | – Too small for anything more than a weekend trip |
| + High-quality materials | – Laptop sleeve lacks false bottom |
| + Made in USA (note: newer Rover Packs may be imported) | – Water bottle pockets are small & unadjustable |
About Topo Designs
Topo Designs is a Colorado-based company that prides itself in producing colorfully designed & USA-made products for the socially-aware traveler (it should be noted that they have recently been outsourcing production of some product lines to overseas factories). Topo Designs’ MAP Guarantee includes a lifetime warranty on their products and a way to repair products that have lived past their prime.
Their iconic designs are rooted in outdoor living. The modern-vintage aesthetic shines through in all of their backpack designs, and fans of Topo Designs will recognize the Rover Pack as their most popular bag. The brand conjures up images of young hip adventurers scrambling over boulders with pine trees soaring in the background.
In addition to making unique backpacks, Topo Designs has branched out into apparel & merchandise. All of their gear is true to form with outdoorsy vibes, and everything I have bought from Topo Designs has looked unique and feels well-made.
Topo Designs Rover Pack Classic Specifications
- Dimensions: 11” x 17” x 4.5” (width x height x depth)
- Capacity: 20 Liters (1220 cubic inches)
- Weight: 1.2 pounds (0.5 kg)
- Laptop Sleeve: Yes (fits most 15″ laptops)
- Material: 1000D nylon with 420D nylon pack cloth
- Zippers: oversized YKK
- Hardware: Plastic
- Made in the USA (newer designs are now manufactured in Vietnam)
- Price: $99 MSRP (check the current price on Topo Designs website & use StandbyWithMe’s referral link to get $15 off your first purchase)
How does the Topo Designs Rover Pack look?
The Rover Pack is one of Topo Designs’ most popular bags because of its eye-catching design. The double-buckled flap top closure is absolutely iconic. With countless colorways and dozens of limited edition releases, everyone is sure to find a Rover Pack design that fits their personality.
Our royal/black Rover Pack is no longer sold on TopoDesigns website, but there are over 15 other colors currently available (not including all the colors offered in the Rover Pack Leather, Rovery Pack Canvas, or Rover Pack Premium designs). The contrasting 1000D & 420D nylon fabric really pops on these bags, and the oversized zippers are accentuated by the included zipper pulls.
The Rover Pack features 4 compression straps that are neatly lashed into the side of the bag. This backpack maintains its shape well, and the straps keep the bag’s profile tidy. While it looks great when empty, fully tightening the compression straps will mean that the leftover straps end up flopping around on your back. The Rover Pack really fills out nicely when packed out.
However, try not to overstuff this bag if at all possible. While the buckle system allows for a surprising amount of expandability, stretching this bag to its limits contorts the top into an odd shape. I don’t think the bag looks bad when it is packed to the brim, but the Rover Pack loses its unique silhouette when overpacked.
How does the Topo Designs Rover Pack feel?
Every Topo Designs backpack that we test feels well-made, and the Rover Pack is no exception. The fabric is thick and feels sturdy in your hand; I have no doubts that this bag will continue to hold up to years of use. The 1000D fabric lines the bottom of the bag to provide rugged protection where you need it most, and the thinner fabric on the front & back of the bag gives the bag a polished finish.The smooth 210D fabric that lines the inner compartments makes sliding your gear out of the bag a breeze.
Thanks to its small footprint, the Rover Pack is quite light. The backpack is listed at less than 20 ounces (1.2 pound). That weight feels great in real life: it is substantial enough to feel like a high-quality bag without adding any unnecessary weight.
The large plastic buckles are easy to latch & unlatch. All of the adjustable straps on this backpack feel durable, though they are a bit generic.
The zippers are a joy to operate. The large gauge zippers provide a pleasant tactile response, and the zipper pulls are easy to grab.
How does this Topo Designs Rover Pack fit?
I was surprised by how compact the Rover Pack Classic is in person. Travelers with larger frames may find the Rover Pack sits higher than other bags, but petite & average-sized travelers will notice that this fits nicely on their back.
The backpack harness is straightforward without many bells & whistles, but that works well on this bag. After all, this is a 20L backpack; any sort of special harness would be a bit overkill. The backpack straps are a thick, comfy foam covered in airmesh. The straps also feature a pair of plastic D-rings & some strap space for those who like to attach accessories to their bag. Since the water bottle pockets are relatively slim, this is a great place to clip your reusable water bottle.
The back support comes from a simple sheet of foam which provides thin padding for the wearer. There is no airmesh back here, so you won’t benefit from any built-in back ventilation.
The carrying handle on top of the bag is a simple fabric loop without any padding. I was originally letdown by this design, but I realize this bag will almost never be heavy enough to require any sort of grab handle padding. The fabric loop is large enough to grab easily and hang up on hooks & handles. Plus, it provides a nice pop of color on our Rover Pack’s design.
Topo Designs Rover Pack Features
The Rover Pack is a simple backpack made to look good, but it has some nice features worth highlighting.
Brain Pocket featuring an Oversized YKK Zipper
The top flap doubles as a “brain” pocket that is large enough to fit a variety of items. I found that a small toiletry kit fits well here, and this is the perfect spot for chargers and snacks. A sewn-in key clip provides additional security for your keys.
Two External Water Bottle Pockets
.Just like with Topo Designs’ Klettersack, we wish the water bottle pockets here were larger & more secure. There is no drawstring or built-in compression in these pockets, so friction & gravity are the only things keeping your bottles secure.
The narrow pockets fit standard water bottles fine, but wider bottles (looking at you, Nalgene users) simply won’t fit. Plus, any bottle in these pockets dig into the main compartment. This means that packing water bottles in these pockets will end up reducing your Rover Pack’s internal capacity.
Laptop Sleeve
The laptop sleeve that Topo Designs included in the Rover Pack is very simple. The pocket is a single non-elastic sleeve that my thick 15” laptop slid into easily. Unfortunately, this bag’s smaller footprint does not allow for a false bottom; your laptop will not be protected by anything if you drop your bag.
There is a small zippered compartment attached to the sleeve that is just big enough to hold items like a phone charger & wireless mouse. Frustratingly, this accessory pocket is a tad too small for me to fit my laptop charging cable/adapter. Your mileage may vary, but the pocket was a bit too shallow to comfortably fit most of my laptop accessories.
How I pack my Rover Pack
I love the look of top-loader backpacks, but packing them efficiently takes some practice. Because the drawstring closure at the top of the bag is the only way to access the main compartment, the Rover Pack forces you to employ a Last In First Out system.
During a recent flight to a beach destination, I packed my beach towel at the bottom of the bag, a packing cube full of underwear & swimwear, and then a day’s worth of clothes on top. That took up about 80% of my Rover Pack’s main compartment, so I was also able to squeeze in a light outer layer before closing up the bag and zipping in my charging gear & toiletry kit in the brain pocket. The bottom zipper pocket was reserved for boarding passes, an extra charging cable, and my passport.
I also used this backpack at my destination: it was large enough to fit about 2 bags worth of groceries, but not much more than that.
Final Thoughts
There is no denying that the Rover Pack is an awesome-looking bag. I really wanted to love this bag, but it simply doesn’t measure up against my other favorite travel backpacks. Laptop protection is minimal, internal organization is limited, and total capacity is on the small side.
To be fair to Topo Designs, I don’t think the Rover Pack was designed to be your main travel backpack (the PackFast™ attachment loops on the back of the Rover Pack allow you to attach this to Topo Designs’ larger travel bags). This heritage-inspired rucksack was created with one idea in mind: craft a stylish daypack that looks equally good when worn by urban explorers as it does adventurous mountaineers. In that regard, Topo Designs smashed it out of the park.
For me, the Rover Pack fulfills a niche role: a supporting daypack that only gets used on short trips (or if I am bringing along a second bag). After our review, I have a hard time seeing this backpack sticking around in my rotation for very long.
Recommended For: style-conscious travelers who want a compact backpack that stands out in a crowd & is (potentially) made in the USA.
