Apex means the best level. The summit. The most effective you’ll be able to attain. That’s a number of strain to placed on a backpack, and Troubadour places it on its bestseller.
We carried the Troubadour Apex Backpack 4.0 (and its bigger sibling, the Apex Journey Backpack) by means of commutes, flights, and bizarre each day abuse to seek out out whether or not the title is earned or simply aspirational.
Spoiler: seems, Troubadour selected its title correctly.
The Apex is comprised of FortiWeave, a material spun from recycled plastic bottles, completed with vegan leather-based trim and YKK zippers on each pocket. It reads premium first and recycled second.
If plastic bottles can grow to be this purposeful and this modern, think about what you’ll be able to grow to be with the Apex in your again.
It is a backpack you’ll be able to take into a gathering with out wanting such as you’ve simply left college, and nonetheless belief on a long-haul flight. Refined, skilled, and polished on the surface; surprisingly succesful on the within.
Why you’ll be able to belief Luxe Digital? At Luxe Digital, we’re not simply digital explorers—we’re seasoned vacationers who’ve put dozens of luggage by means of their paces in busy airports, packed trains, and winding backroads. Our editors reside for the journey, and it reveals in each suggestion. The crew even created Luxa Terra, an area devoted to the artwork of touring effectively and with intention. For extra on how we take a look at merchandise, see our HAPPY philosophy for purchasing luxuries.
Troubadour Apex assessment: Peak efficiency, from boardroom to boarding gate.
Curious to be taught extra about our hands-on expertise with the backpack? Right here’s our in-depth assessment.
Supplies & craftsmanship: recycled plastic bottles by no means regarded this sharp
The Apex makes a robust first impression and the supplies again it up. Troubadour builds the backpack from FortiWeave, a material spun from recycled plastic bottles, paired with vegan leather-based trim and a easy nylon liner. The end result feels substantial, tactile, and reassuringly premium, not like recycled supplies attempting too onerous to announce themselves.
It’s additionally constructed for real-world climate. Born in London, the Apex is aware of that “likelihood of rain” is much less a forecast than a lifestyle. A fluorocarbon-free, water resistant end helps preserve the weather out, making the Apex prepared for rain or shine, winter or summer time.
And the eye to element runs deeper than the outside: YKK zippers safe each pocket, and even the inside zippers get their very own vegan leather-based pulls. A small contact, maybe, however one that claims Troubadour didn’t cease caring as soon as the main points went out of sight.
The model can be B Corp licensed, reinforcing a extra thought-about strategy to supplies and manufacturing.
In brief: recycled at coronary heart, premium in really feel, and constructed to climate regardless of the commute — or the journey — throws at it.
Aesthetic & design: The backpack that lastly graduated
Branding is stored to a minimal, whereas zippers, pockets, and different purposeful particulars are neatly built-in or hid, leaving a modern, understated exterior that lets the silhouette do the speaking.
It’s the type of backpack you’ll be able to carry into the workplace with out wanting such as you’ve wandered in from campus. Refined {and professional} on the surface, technically succesful inside, it delivers the storage and group of a critical workhorse with out the same old utilitarian bulk.
Performance: small particulars, heavy lifting
The Apex Backpack 4.0 is constructed to carry its form: there’s sufficient inside construction for it to face upright by itself. The trade-off? It’s a little bit heavier and bulkier to retailer than Troubadour’s Elemental line.
This isn’t the backpack that folds neatly right into a drawer whenever you’re performed with it, so it’s value realizing entering into.
The again panel is plush and ventilated, and the shoulder straps are comfortably cushioned. Even the highest deal with will get a neoprene-lined underside — a small contact that makes a distinction when the bag is absolutely loaded and also you’re carrying it by hand.
Then come the main points. The left shoulder strap has an expandable quiver pocket that retains my telephone and smaller necessities inside simple attain whereas strolling, so there’s no stopping to take the bag off each time I would like them. There’s additionally a small strap keeper that tucks away extra webbing when the straps aren’t absolutely prolonged. It’s the type of element you won’t discover till you’ve used a bag with out it.
Between the quiver pocket and the strap keeper, the Apex proves that small particulars can do a number of heavy lifting. There’s additionally a discreet baggage sleeve on the again, making it simple to safe the backpack to your suitcase whenever you’re on the transfer.
The stretch aspect pocket is beneficiant sufficient to carry my LARQ Bottle PureVis 2, nevertheless it runs a little bit shallow. Taller bottles sit increased within the pocket than I’d like, which is value flagging when the remainder of the bag does such an excellent job of conserving every part safe. It’s a minor criticism subsequent to every part the Apex will get proper, however one to think about if an outsized water bottle is a part of your on a regular basis carry.
In your laptop computer, Troubadour’s CrashPad Cocoon is greater than a easy sleeve. The padded compartment suspends and cushions your machine somewhat than merely wrapping it, including one other layer of safety. My 16-inch MacBook Professional suits comfortably. Troubadour says the sleeve takes laptops as much as 17 inches, although I haven’t examined one which measurement.
Total, the Apex’s performance feels thought-about somewhat than crowded. It doesn’t merely provide you with extra pockets; it offers these pockets a cause to exist — and that’s what makes a well-designed backpack genuinely helpful day after day.
Variants: from each day commutes to longer journeys
The Apex Journey Backpack shares its design language with the 4.0, however Troubadour didn’t simply scale the on a regular basis bag up. It feels rethought for longer journey from the bottom up, and that reveals the second you unzip it.
The principle compartment opens as an expandable clamshell with built-in pockets, and it unzips alongside its full size to lie flat. It has each a padded high deal with and a separate padded aspect deal with, and it slides over a rolling suitcase deal with.
Care & upkeep: weatherproof workhorse
Troubadour describes the FortiWeave outer cloth, the zippers, and the liner as constructed to deal with rain and on a regular basis publicity to moisture. The model is obvious in regards to the limits, too: neither bag is supposed for full submersion or a chronic, heavy downpour. A wipe-down and time to air out is the extent of the care both one asks for.
Value: purchase as soon as, carry longer
Troubadour positions each Apex luggage on the mid-to-upper finish of the work-and-travel backpack class.
The Apex Backpack 4.0 is available in underneath $300, with the Apex Journey Backpack priced barely increased to mirror its bigger capability and expandable design. It definitely isn’t probably the most inexpensive option to carry a laptop computer to work. However the worth right here is much less in regards to the upfront value and extra about how lengthy you’ll be able to count on to maintain carrying it. The Apex comes with a five-year assure overlaying manufacturing defects and purposeful failures underneath regular use, and repairs stay obtainable after the assure interval ends.
That modifications the equation in contrast with shopping for a inexpensive backpack and changing it each few months. The concept is straightforward: purchase as soon as, carry for longer.
Who it’s for
Purchase the Apex Backpack 4.0 in case your days run from workplace to errands to enterprise journeys and also you need one bag that appears the half at each cease.
It’s designed for on a regular basis carry that should look sharp: skilled sufficient for conferences, sensible sufficient for a full day on the transfer.
Select the Apex Journey Backpack for those who’re already enthusiastic about your subsequent journey and need the identical premium, structured design in a bigger, travel-ready format. It takes the Apex formulation additional, with extra room for longer journeys and the identical refined look.
The trade-off is obvious: the Apex is constructed for the city world, not the nice outside. It’s a classy work-and-travel companion somewhat than an journey pack — much less off-grid expedition, extra airport lounge and metropolis streets.
Options to the Troubadour Apex
Should you’re wanting past Troubadour, Bellroy and Harber London are two names prone to come up when the temporary is a well-designed, well-built, travel-ready backpack.
The distinction comes down largely to priorities. Bellroy places considerate group and on a regular basis performance entrance and heart, with a extra informal look. Harber London leans into premium supplies and understated fashion, with a extra conventional leather-goods sensibility, however with out the identical degree of technical group.
The Apex sits someplace between these two approaches: refined sufficient for the workplace, however designed with the performance to maintain tempo past it.
It additionally lands neatly within the center on value, with Harber London sitting on the premium finish and Bellroy providing a extra accessible entry level.
Should you’re weighing the Apex in opposition to the broader discipline of everyday-carry backpacks, our greatest EDC backpacks roundup provides the broader comparability. Should you’re searching for the opposite aspect of Troubadour’s lineup — the extra stealth-mode possibility for city adventures — the Troubadour Elemental assessment takes an equally shut have a look at that bag.
The place to purchase
For the complete Apex assortment, together with all obtainable colours and configurations, the Troubadour official web site is the perfect place to buy. If Troubadour doesn’t ship to your area, Amazon is one other choice to examine for availability.
