Are you tired of the travel chaos that comes with kids and traditional luggage? I’ve been so excited to share our family travel secret that has completely transformed our trips – and it’s all about the Kids Travel Backpack!
Prepare for some unconventional travel advice that will seriously simplify your family adventures. If you’re searching for the absolute best suitcase for kids or families, you might be surprised to hear it’s not a suitcase at all!
The Lathrop family showcasing their kids travel backpacks at the airport, ready for adventure.
Before our family embarked on international travels, we explored quite a bit within the US, mostly by car. Even on these domestic trips, we encountered frustrations with traditional rolling suitcases. These weren’t just minor inconveniences; they genuinely amplified the challenges of traveling with children.
As we planned a family trip (and eventually a move) to Europe, we knew there had to be a more streamlined approach. Keeping family travel budget-friendly was also a priority, and cumbersome luggage wasn’t helping.
The moment we switched to backpack-style luggage, our family travel experience was revolutionized. We are now die-hard converts and can’t imagine ever going back to rolling suitcases or any other type!
I know what you might be thinking. This sounds either incredibly obvious or totally impractical compared to those stylish rolling suitcases with hardtops and comfy handles you see everywhere.
Believe me, I used to think the same way.
Why We Said Goodbye to Our Trendy Rolling Family Suitcases
Once upon a time, I was completely charmed by matching rolling suitcase sets, each sized perfectly for a family member. They seemed so fun and organized!
Unfortunately, they quickly proved to be far from the best suitcase for kids. While our older children managed okay, the younger ones turned them into airport battering rams, bumping into walls and fellow travelers. They even became impromptu tables, leading to inevitable spills and sticky food residue!
Tired of pulling and pushing rolling suitcases? Discover the ease of a kids travel backpack.
Maneuvering them was often a nightmare. And when a child inevitably tired of pulling their own, guess who ended up stacking it on top of their own larger suitcase and dragging a wobbly tower through the terminal? (Sound familiar?)
The worst part was the sheer stress of trying to keep everyone’s luggage together, board planes or trains, and simultaneously keep track of little ones. It was just too much! 😬😬😬
As soon as we started traveling with kids, managing traditional suitcases became significantly more difficult for us as parents.
And that’s how we began our quest to discover…
The Best Suitcase for Kids: Our Backpack Revelation
After several stressful travel experiences, we started researching how other families managed their luggage. We dove into family travel blogs, joined family world travel Facebook groups, and devoured countless lists of family travel tips.
We read Amazon reviews on various family suitcases in the luggage section (the stroller suitcase hybrid was briefly tempting!).
We also watched YouTube videos from experienced travel vloggers and noticed a pattern: many seasoned travelers were using large backpacks, just like hikers! For travel novices like us at the time, this was a revelation! 🤯🤯🤯
So, like any travel-loving parents seeking sanity, we ditched our cute rolling suitcases and upgraded to travel backpacks specifically designed for travel. 😉
Travel Backpacks: The Unexpected Perks for Family Suitcases
This is where things get really interesting. (Maybe grab that coffee refill now!)
Switching to travel backpacks has brought so many incredible advantages to our family travels.
Let’s explore some of the key benefits and delve into the specific backpacks our family uses. I’m excited to share why we believe they are truly the best backpack for travel with kids!
Most of our family’s backpacks are from the Osprey brand. We also have a few Deuter bags (with seven of us, variety is key!).
Both brands clearly prioritize the needs of travelers in their designs. They are packed with pockets and features that make traveling so much easier!
Sale 
Osprey Farpoint 70L Men's Travel Backpack in Blue
Check out the Osprey Farpoint 70L Men’s Travel Backpack on Amazon.
Osprey Farpoint 70L Men’s Travel Backpack, Muted Space Blue Features:
- Adjustable torso fit
- External gear attachment loops
- Padded top and side handles
- Stowaway harness and hipbelt
Perk 1: Keep Your Hands Free with a Kids Travel Backpack
The simple ability to pack everything you need into a bag, sling it on your back, and have your hands completely free is fundamental to stress-free family travel!
The Osprey Farpoint 70 travel backpack allows for hands-free convenience when traveling with kids.
Having a backpack designed for travel is a game-changer, especially when traveling with toddlers or babies. It’s a lifesaver when you need to hold onto their little hands, particularly when navigating crowded trains or metros.
Imagine effortlessly grabbing plane tickets and passports without juggling luggage handles. Or pausing to check your phone for gate information without the struggle of maneuvering a rolling suitcase.
And let’s not even talk about matching passports to tiny faces during boarding checks while managing a long line of impatient passengers. Chaos!
Having our luggage securely on our backs is invaluable for saving time and eliminating a major source of travel stress.
Of all the things that simplify family travel, having free hands to better assist our kids has drastically reduced the stress of navigating airports and train stations.
This switch has been so transformative that it’s always included in our must-have family travel gear recommendations. In fact, you can read more about it in our post: 5 Must-Have Travel Items & Kids Travel Essentials For Easier Travel!
If you’re considering finding the best backpack for travel with kids, we have fantastic suggestions for all ages coming up in this post! (Goodbye forever, traditional family suitcases!)
Perk 2: Travel Backpacks are Easy for Every Family Member to Carry
Another significant advantage of backpack-style suitcases is that everyone can have their own. This often means sticking to carry-on sizes! Travel backpacks truly are the best travel bag for families precisely because they come in such a wide range of sizes.
I personally prefer this women’s fit Osprey backpack. It’s the best travel backpack for moms due to its numerous pockets and detachable daypack (more on that soon!). I use this bag for both family trips and solo travel.
Being only 5 feet tall, I also highly recommend my Osprey as the best travel backpack for petite women and teens!
And as my (wonderful) husband likes to say, Osprey also makes the best travel backpack for larger individuals. He’s taller and broader, needing larger backpack straps and an adjustable fit!
He uses this larger duffel bag and prefers the shoulder strap over backpack straps (though Osprey offers smaller duffel bags too. But with our large family, we tend to go big for longer trips!).
The Lathrop family showcasing the versatility of kids travel backpacks in various sizes at the airport.
One of our teenage daughters actually prefers this men’s style Osprey backpack because of the detachable daypack. She finds it fits comfortably, even on long walks from train stations to accommodations! Our pre-teen favors this women’s hiking backpack, which is smaller and lighter. It also doubles as a daypack for daily excursions.
For adults, we swear by the Osprey brand as the best travel backpack for moms, dads, and older teens. (More on our love for this brand later.)
For our younger children, we consider this Deuter backpack (the purple one pictured later) to be the absolute BEST travel backpack for kids. Specifically designed for children, it has plenty of handy pockets for snacks, water bottles, toys, and more.
Our kids often use them as daypacks while exploring, making them even more versatile than typical family suitcases. Our youngest even loved having their little daypack filled with snacks while exploring the lavender fields in Provence! (Check out our Provence tips post here!)
And with bright colors available, it’s easy to spot a child who might wander off in a crowd! (A major mom worry, right?!)
We usually have our younger kids carry their own small backpacks, filled with snacks and kids’ travel accessories for easy access while traveling.
When choosing travel backpacks for kids, size and functionality are crucial. Deuter really excels in this area.
Perk 3: Travel Backpacks Offer Unmatched Versatility
As mentioned, our little ones take their backpacks everywhere when we travel as a family. Filled with snacks, water, and essentials, they are perfect for daily explorations.
But the larger bags also feature those fantastic detachable daypacks I mentioned earlier.
The Osprey travel backpack features a detachable daypack for added versatility.
These daypacks are a travel perk in themselves!
On travel days, we use them to keep laptops and electronics accessible, especially for airport security.
Then, when we’re exploring, we fill them with jackets, snacks, water, and anything else we might need for the day.
The daypacks simply zip onto the front of the larger bag. It’s like getting TWO travel backpacks in one!
We can keep valuables in the daypack, drop the larger bags at our hotel, and head out for dinner or sightseeing! (This is the model we use!)
The versatility of these smaller daypacks truly elevates these bags to essential family travel gear.
And while I don’t want to keep dwelling on rolling suitcases, we’ve definitely experienced broken wheels—a surprisingly common problem! Switching to travel backpacks has significantly helped our family travel budget by eliminating the need to replace or repair broken suitcases.
Perk 4: Carry-On Size Kids Travel Backpacks for Hassle-Free Travel
I’ve touched on size, but it’s crucial to emphasize that almost all of our bags—except the large duffel—are carry-on size!
This truly distinguishes travel backpacks as the number one best suitcase for family travel! We even consider them the best European travel backpacks, as we take ours on all our European family vacations without ever checking luggage!
Having all our family suitcases in carry-on size offers several major benefits.
The most obvious perk is the cost savings. Airline baggage fees can really add up, and with carry-ons, we avoid those entirely.
(This means more budget-friendly travel and more family adventures!)
We also completely bypass baggage claim stress. Our luggage stays with us the entire time, making them ideal European travel backpacks for seamless travel between countries.
Finally, another amazing carry-on perk is that we never have to weigh our luggage!
Carry-ons are typically allowed as long as they meet size dimensions, regardless of weight! (Another reason these are perfect travel backpacks for kids – books can be heavy!)
Our Deuter and Osprey kids travel backpacks are perfect carry-on size for easy family travel.
Perk 5: Lifetime Warranty: A Smart Investment in Kids Travel Backpacks
Another huge reason we love our Osprey and Deuter backpacks is their long-term value.
Unlike typical suitcases that might need replacing every few years due to wear and tear (like those pesky broken wheels!), these are built to last.
In fact, quality brands like Osprey and Deuter offer a lifetime warranty! This is a massive perk and a key reason why we consider these the best family luggage option. They are designed to last a lifetime!
We even sent our eldest off to college with one, confident that it will serve her well for years, even decades, to come!
So, these aren’t just the best backpack for travel with kids right now; they are bags that will grow with them into adulthood! That’s a significant advantage.
This long-term value is especially important for our large family of seven. Travel expenses for so many can quickly escalate, so investing in luggage that we know won’t need frequent replacement is a huge budget win! (P.S. You can read about how we plan budget-friendly family travel here!)
We wholeheartedly recommend Osprey brand bags for durable, long-term travel backpacks for travelers of any age.
Beyond the lifetime warranty, we’ve also experienced Osprey’s exceptional customer service firsthand.
Funny story: During a lovely Christmas/New Year vacation to Brussels, Belgium a few years ago, it was cold, wet, and snowy. After storing our (possibly still damp) bags for several months (thanks, pandemic!), we found a zipper on one bag had slightly rusted shut!
We contacted Osprey, and they guided us through a simple fix. If that didn’t work, they offered to repair or even replace the entire bag! 🤯 The fix was easy, but knowing they were ready to replace it if needed was incredibly reassuring.
You can see Osprey’s All Mighty Guarantee here.
Deuter brand bags also offer a comparable lifetime warranty. While our Deuter bags are newer, we’ve heard fantastic reviews from other experienced travelers about their warranty service!
You can read Deuter’s lifelong repair/replacement policy here.
I genuinely recommend Osprey or Deuter over any other brand solely because of their lifetime warranties.
While other brands might offer similar repair/replacement options, Osprey and Deuter are truly worth every penny and more!
They are, without a doubt, the best European travel backpacks and the best travel bags for families, as you’ll see in my next point…
Perk 6: Baby Carrier Backpacks: Stroller-Free Travel with Toddlers and Babies!
There’s one final travel backpack I must mention when discussing the best travel bags for families…
Our Deuter brand baby carrier backpack!
Baby Lathrop happily riding in the Deuter Baby Carrier backpack, a fantastic kids travel backpack alternative to strollers.
We bought this backpack back in 2017 and have used it at theme parks, hiking, and traveling across Europe with our kids! (It even came with us on our international move!)
Another funny story: When we were planning a trip to Lisbon with our five kids, we were overwhelmingly advised not to bring a stroller. 🤯
We were warned about narrow sidewalks, angry locals frustrated by stroller congestion, and Lisbon’s reputation as one of Europe’s hilliest cities. With a baby and a toddler, how would we manage all those hills and stairs?!
Enter the best travel backpack for moms (and dads!)… the Deuter baby carrier backpack! (Imagine dramatic theme music)
While my husband primarily carried it, both our baby and toddler absolutely loved it!
It features a bottom pocket for diapers, wipes, and food, side pockets, and a sun/rain shade cover.
This bag is packed with features that simplify travel with babies and toddlers, making it an invaluable asset.
And thanks to this amazing backpack, strollers became a thing of the past! (Another win for backpack-style family travel!)
Our kids travel backpacks easily accommodated electronics and laptops for online schooling on the go.
This carrier backpack truly deserves its own dedicated post, but I had to include it here because it’s undeniably the best backpack for traveling with toddlers and babies!
And, of course, being a Deuter bag, it comes with that fantastic lifetime warranty! (Bonus!)
When it comes to finding the best backpack for travel with kids who aren’t walking yet, this Deuter baby carrier has been a lifesaver!
Sale 
Deuter Kid Comfort Baby Carrier in Midnight Blue
Explore the Deuter Kid Comfort Baby Carrier on Amazon.
Deuter Kid Comfort Midnight 2 One Size Features:
- FAMILY FUN: Perfect for bringing your little one on adventures.
- MAX VENTILATION: Aircomfort mesh back system for maximum breathability.
- ADJUSTABLE: Vari Slide back length adjustment system for a customized fit.
- LIGHTEN UP: Pull-forward hip fins, padded hip belt, and load adjustment straps.
- DURABILITY: Crafted from robust 210 denier polyamide fabric.
After enthusiastically sharing the life-changing benefits of travel backpacks, I want to leave you with this:
If you take away just one thing from this post, please consider at least trying a travel backpack – even just one to start.
You will love it, and you will thank me for encouraging you to make the switch. I promise, they are truly that amazing!
And if you already have a family travel backpack you love, please share it in the comments below, along with any other travel with kids tips! 😉
Wishing you wonderful family travels and hoping this post helps make your journeys a little (or a lot!) easier! Happy traveling!
