Able Carry Max Review
The largest bag offered from Able Carry. Does it hold up against the competition in the travel bag field?
Able Carry Max Review Introduction
Able Carry, I’ll be honest, is a brand I’ve kind of slept on in my reviews. No real reason for it. I’ve seen some of their bags around the channels I frequent online, but never really jumped on them. Their name came up recently again and I decided to do a little research on them to see if they were something I wanted to check out. The short answer - they were.
So today we’re going to be taking a look at their Max backpack. This is their biggest travel focused backpack that they offer, so it’s right in my wheelhouse. Though, it’s not the biggest travel backpack out there. More on that later. Based in Hong Kong, not everyone outside of the backpack nerd community might be familiar with this young company in the West. But let’s see what we can do about changing that.
This is my Able Carry Max travel backpack review. I took it on a two day trip to Savannah, and this trip was by plane. I also took it on an overnight train trip to Washington DC for work - this trip was by train.
As always for full transparency, I reached out to the Able Carry team to see if I could get my hands on a unit to review and they were kind enough to send me one. That said, all opinions are my own and they had no input into this article. I do use affiliate links which help to support the site if you decide to use them to make a purchase, but you’re under no obligation to do so and there’s no additional cost to you. Thanks for stopping by!
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Able Carry Max Overview
Able Carry took the design and materials of this bag pretty seriously. Let’s go through the overview here.
You’re looking at a 30L travel-focused backpack (though the main compartment is 25L usable). They set out to give you durable, well thought out materials and efficient storage options that target that kind of “everything you need, nothing you don’t” mind set - similar to Aer in this way.
Able Carry decided to go with a mix of VX21 X-pac, 1000D Cordura, and 420D ripstop nylon on the inside. These materials are chosen for their durability and water resistance on the X-pac. X-pac is normally used in the creation of Sails - it’s beefy stuff in terms of its durability.
Here are some design highlights from the website:
Specs
Surface
X-Pac VX21
Cordura 1000D
420D Ripstop Nylon Interior
3.8lbs in total weight
Dimensions
Height: 52cm (20.5in)
Width: 32cm (12.5in)
Depth: 20cm (8in)
Price is $279.00 USD which some might balk at - but to be up front this is par for the course in the space for bags made with this material. Similar to Aer, but still less than bags from Minaal and Tortuga, etc.
Colors are great - black, blue, and an olive green. I’m reviewing the black but would have been cool with choosing any of the colors.
Able Carry Max Features
As I mentioned already this brand is mainly trying to target the “everything you need but nothing you don’t” philosophy with the Able Carry Max, so don’t expect a lot of gimmicks here. To be honest, I think the space is moving back to this overall and it’s something I welcome. Gimmicks don’t often work outside of “design Wow” or marketing. And in terms of the features they DID decide to put in - they put most of what you’d want. (Matador Seg series aside - that’s no gimmick, friend). Also before you get too deep in the pics - the fuzz on the straps is a symptom of the fuzz on my linen duvet cover. It did not pick this up in normal usage, FYI. Back to the show.
There are lots of pockets on this bag. A vertically opening front pocket that can act as your quick access with a stretch internal pocket and a key leash. A side slash pocket (for your phone or earbuds’ case for instance). A hideaway zippered water bottle pocket that’s good for the slimmer bottles. Two internal pouches on the main flap, plus another stretch slip pocket on the sidewall of the inside.
You’ve got a full featured laptop sleeve as well with an additional slot for a tablet or eReader. Plus, there’s another organizational pocket in here on the top good for various tech items (Though, there isn’t much volume for a charging brick if you’re still carrying those).
Grab handles on the top and one side - these are made from seatbelt material. Similar to what Chrome Industries uses if you’re familiar with them. Aside from many additional lash points made from the same material, there is a luggage pass through that sits quietly out of the way on the back but works well in practice.
The straps are quite padded and are very comfortable to use.
Zippers are all YKK of various sizes - and are beefy where it’s needed but not beefy where it’s not. For the laptop sleeve, we’ve got YKK Aquaguard. Main compartment and laptop compartment are lockable.
Last few bits is that the sternum strap uses magnets (“Magnets…how do they woooork” - I got you, Chase) but are plastic in this case. The bag also does stand on its own - which I’m realizing is an increasingly “necessary” feature to many people so there you go.
The Good
It’s really a common theme with me and bags in this price range but to be frank it SHOULD be - I love the build on this bag. The Cordura is nice and beefy and I just love X-pac on bags. It’s not for everyone (it’s “crinkly”) but it’s def for me. The Able Carry Max is going to be very durable for you over time and all the stitching is very well done and even reinforced with bartacking in many spots. Hardware for the most part is premium.
I really like the organizational options overall. I think it gives you lots of options to make it yours. On the front slash-pocket - even though there isn’t a lot of org in here, I use a tech pouch (the Aer Slim Pouch) and it fit really nicely in here. Since I have a GaN charger for my phones and laptops and such, that stays in this pouch. There is enough volume in this pocket to stick a slim pouch in. The Bellroy Tech Kits would fit in here too (I own both sizes).
The design is on point here, too. It’s pretty sleek, doesn’t make you look like a turtle, and the branding is SUPER minimal. I’m not someone that goes nuts about that (in fact I like the Patagonia and Cotopaxi branding) but I also appreciate when a brand goes minimal and I know that’s important for a lot of readers and travelers. They nail it on this bag.
For me, it’s great to see the water bottle pocket being closeable. To be honest I don’t travel with one. I know, tar and feather me, go ahead. So because it’s zippered, you can use it for whatever you want! Imagine that? I like the flexibility.
While I’m not so much of a harness psycho because I don’t do much long-carry nowadays, I DO appreciate comfort. Standard is usually fine for me, but this is well above that and I felt the straps were VERY comfortable on this to use in practice. They did a nice job here. Good padding, good contours. The luggage strap back here worked great too. One trip I was with my wife who had to take fabric samples around (she’s a designer) and we had a roller and another duffle - so I could pop this on the roller and carry all three for us. Worked perfectly.
Colors! I think all colors look great and while I had the black, the blue looks fantastic as well.
Love the handles and luggage strap material. I know it can add to the overall weight but I love how seatbelt material feels in your hand and when you use it. It’s very reassuring but not rough to the touch. Because they rounded the edges on the handles, it’s quite nice and I used the side handle a LOT while using the luggage pass through.
The Bad
I don’t have a ton of complaints in the sense that I hated anything here. But trying to speak to a varied audience, I’ll pick nits just to cover all bases. You can decide if these are issues for you.
The biggest one I see is the “usable” space. It’s a 30L bag but a bit of that volume is taken up in the front slash pocket and the laptop compartment. The interior is only 25L. That’s not an issue for the experienced onebaggers and is a luxury for the true ounce-counters out there. But for many, that’s going to be hard to work with for anything longer than a few days. Now, you can fit 2 small pouches in the front (Tech kit and toiletry, tech kit and a packing cube, or two smaller packing cubes, etc.) which can help you get around this. But if, for instance, you like to pack dress shoes (guilty) for nice dinners or a camera because you’re a hobbyist or run a website (got me again) that’s going to eat up space real quick. You’ll need to decide what’s more important. I gave my camera to my wife to put in her bag. Otherwise, it will be one or the other at the bottom of the space. Again, this isn’t a problem for all. But might make it a problem for some. Some people might need 35L minimum here or wish there were 30L usable in the main compartment.
There’s no good spot for your laptop charging brick if you use one. Now, I think most people should eliminate them altogether as these days if you have any modern PC or Mac you don’t need them. But let’s not assume people buy a new computer every year. The back org is good for mice, hard drives, etc. - but not for a bigger brick. Something to note.
The Improvement Requests for the Able Carry Max Backpack
For me, the improvement requests are pretty minimal. I see what they are going for here - a minimal style travel bag that could border on EDC use if needed. It’s not meant to be a 30 day trip bag - unless you’re really into minimal travel, as I said earlier.
That said, if I can make some requests (and I can, it’s what I’m here for!) I would start with maybe making the zipper for the main pack an Aquaguard as well. Not the end of the world, but hey it’s nice to have.
Next, I like the magnets on the sternum strap, but let’s make that entire buckle metal. On a bag this price, I think it’s do-able.
Consider making a 34-40L version, too. Or add expansion. :)
Packing The Able Carry Max Backpack
Close Up of the sailcloth fabric for the fabric nerds.
I used this bag for a couple of short trips as I mentioned. That said, even though I packed enough for 2-3 nights, I could have used that indefinitely because - get ready for it - I plan laundry into my trips. It can be done while I’m out exploring and ready to go for me the next day. Means I pack less. But that said, some packing cubes could really help you maximize this space, too. If you’re not up to speed on those, here you go: Packing Cube Tips for Travel.
So, I packed for a couple of days and because I like nice dinners (Shout out to Husk Savannah - fantastic and definitely elevated compared to Charleston) - I always pack a couple of button downs and in this case packed a wool-cashmere vest to spice it up a bit. But the basic coverage of what was in this bag is as follows: two normal button downs, pair of jeans in one large packing cube. One dressy vest. Then, I used a Patagonia packing cube (Found here) and put a couple of Capilene Cool t-shirts into it (my favorite t-shirts, Found here), two Airism undershirts, two pairs of Darn Tough socks, and five pairs of underwear. I also had a toiletry bag (Aer Split Kit). Last but not least, a pair of oxfords for dressier nights that were on the bottom of the bag. One Macbook Air M1 in the laptop sleeve. Tech pouch (Aer Slim Pouch) went in the front slash pocket. Lastly, I threw an ultralight Veilance windbreaker folded on the top there in the pics.
Final Thoughts On My Able Carry Max Review
So that’s our first time looking at an Able Carry backpack on our site. I gotta say - I’m impressed. The build, feature set, and carry comfort on this bag were on point. They really nail the minimal look as well. The vertical slash pocket in the front actually adds a little visual flare to the design that I dig.
I do think the 30L overall and the 25L internal is going to limit it for some users (for instance I’m always getting asked by friends for a recommendation at 50L which of course I try to talk them out of) - but that’s the mainstream market. Most people are not that great at packing…yet. It is what it is. Hopefully I can help get them there. So who is this ultimately for? I think this is going to be amazing for those that go on a lot of overnight or weekend/work trips and know how to pack. It’s also going to be a great travel pack for experienced onebaggers who think anything over 30L is outrageous - you all know who you are. That said if you can limit your dress shoes or convert to Tom’s (or anything minimal like that) it won’t be as much of an issue and by using packing cubes and rolling (as you should) you should be “Able” to fit all you need. See what I did there? Yikes, yeah that was terrible, let’s move on. Forgive me.
All that said I was very impressed overall with this bag and can wholeheartedly recommend you check it out - especially if you’re overseas in SE Asia as I’d imagine the shipping is great there and you often get screwed on buying bags from the US due to customs and import fees. Those in the US - you should still check this bag out. It’s well made, has thoughtful design for short trips and jumbo EDC, and is very comfortable to carry. Love those color options, too. To be clear - they have US based shipping if you’re here in the States - no worries there. They also make some solid accessories, too. I had the little pouch. It’s also made of X-pac and super simple, but works.
They sell directly from their website so give them a look:
Wander more - and wander smarter everyone.
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