Troubadour Apex Mini - Premium 9.5L Ultra-Compact Everyday Bag - Ergonomic & Weatherproof - Black

Picked this bag up as a backpack for my bike of all things and it's super light and easy to wear. I have the Apex regular and liked the shape, so when I started looking for something smaller with an equal amount of structure, this nailed it. Ultimately I wanted something I could ride up to the grocery store with, or over to the gym, and this thing is perfect. I also threw it over my shoulder when taking the dog to the park and it fit all of the essentials. It's smaller than an average bag but, as you can see in the photo, it's still substantial enough to carry a water bottle, some clothes, dog treats, etc. It's also nice enough to warrant using it day-to-day versus those small bags that cinch up. It just looks classier. And based on the materials, I'm not sure you could actually damage this thing. All in all, great buy for situations where I need a bag that I don't have to fuss with.

The quality of the construction is outstanding. I love the fit and finish. This bag has now replaced my handbag, because it is so comfortable to wear and pretty much goes with everything! I don’t carry my computer around much anymore, so the size is just right. I love the phone pocket on the shoulder strap! At last someone has designed an easily accessible convenient location that doesn’t require me to remove my backpack and rummage, or make sure i have the right pockets somewhere.

I will say upfront that I am extremely picky about backpacks! I used this bag extensively for a few weeks, and overall I do like it quite a bit... but there's a few design choices that I strongly dislike as well. Style is obviously a positive--the bag looks great and it holds its shape pretty well whether it's empty or full. No issues with the zippers, stitching, etc. It's very nicely designed and works with both casual and more formal occasions. It hits a good size for EDC for those of us that don't carry tons of things around--personally, I usually have a Surface Go, portable battery and cords, tablet pen, mints, chapstick, sunglasses, sunscreen, sanitizer, hand wipes, and a small water bottle. It fits all of this with room to spare to throw in a light jacket or similar. The back panel of the backpack has a fair bit of organization, and I actually really like the soft fabric water bottle holder. It holds a water bottle in place without taking bulk if you don't have a bottle. The front pocket fits my sunglasses perfectly for quick access. Now for the things I don't like; first off, access is difficult. The front pocket is quite narrow which makes it hard to get your hand into it if you put anything in there that's not tall enough to reach the top of the pocket. They could easily have made this wider, so I'm not sure why they didn't. Similarly, the main pocket only zips partway down the bag, and due to the stiffness of the material, you have to kind of fight to keep the bag open enough to see everything inside and reach smaller items at the bottom of the bag. This probably wouldn't bother most people, but it's something that drives me nuts. Either an angled zip or a full panel loader/clamshell zip with gussets on the sides would give much better access--they'd have to redesign the side panels at the bottom but these could easily be made into magnetic flaps or something if they wanted to keep that style. I also am not the biggest fan of the shoulder straps--I tend to prefer thinner/lighter straps in general, but for such a small bag, the straps feel kind of overkill and tend to stick up if the bag is light because they're fairly stiff. I do like the pocket in the strap, but it's difficult for me to use because the bag sits with the zipper curved over my shoulder. YMMV on that. Overall, it's a very functional and stylish little bag, and the access issues are probably something most people wouldn't care about, but in my personal opinion--especially at this price point--I would hope for a little more.

I'm totally obsessed. This bag is perfect for my petite frame and will be my go-to grab for a backpack that functions like a purse. Everything about it feels premium, but I especially love the thoughtful pockets and organizational touches. The interior water bottle holder ensures nothing tips over inside the bag. It looks sleek and stylish without being overly masculine, so it's perfect for any gender!

Everything about this bag is high quality. The stitching, the materials, and the pocket placement are all premium. It’s very thoughtfully designed. The black color is classic and perfect for any gender. The pocket on the strap is large enough to fit my iPhone 15 but won’t fit a phone much larger than that. At first I didn’t understand how it would fit a phone but it has material that folds out. There’s also a couple magnets in that pocket so if it seems too tight check that the magnets aren’t holding it shut. The material tucks neatly back in when not in use. The inside large pocket is big enough to hold my iPad 10, if I wanted to take it with me. I use it more for my Kindle. There’s also an inside pocket that’s perfect for my phone. The very front pocket on the outside has a key fob and a little compartment for an AirTag, which is brilliant. I haven’t tested if it’s waterproof but I can tell that the zippers are the waterproof type of zippers. This is a perfect bag for running errands, Dr. appointments, day trips, etc. It carries everything you need without being too large and obtrusive. I love it! This review is for “Troubadour Apex Mini - Premium 9.5L Ultra-Compact Everyday Bag - Ergonomic & Weatherproof - Black”

This is a great backpack for someone that likes a more polished, simple, and clean look. The material feels more high-end fashion. The main compartment feels very large when you open it. When I use it, I am more aware. It feels durable, but I feel more cautious like I am afraid of scratching it. This is a great purchase/gift option for your more fashion conscious friends.

This is the bag I’ve been looking for for months, having tried and returned lots. I appreciate my use case may be quite niche, but this bag absolutely ticks every box on my wish list. I’d almost given up on finding something that ticked every box but I actually asked for recommendations on a Reddit backpack group for recommendations and someone recommended this! I needed a bag I could use as a camera bag to take to Iceland and photograph the Aurora (something I try and do once or twice a year) that was smaller than 40x30x15cm (which is Icelandair’s personal item size, to go under the plane seat). Finding a backpack 15cm or less depth AND under 40cm height can be a challenge in itself but I also wanted something that: -held its shape when empty -stands up on its own when placed on the floor -had a decent amount of padding -had a high level of water resistance (this claims to be waterPROOF, but I can’t confirm that at this point) -had zips I could padlock -actually looks smart & modern -is generally premium quality This bag is all of the above! It’s the perfect size to put a Peak Design XS camera cube in the bottom, which houses my camera and lens, then on top of it I can put a PgyTech mini tech pouch which has my batteries, power bank, spare memory cards etc in it. There is also room for my hat & gloves. This all fits nicely, without the bag feeling “packed out”. The only thing missing is a luggage pass through, but on a bag this small, I can overlook that as it isn’t really essential. I did have to return the first one of these I received as one of the straps was twisted. It had been sewed into the base of the bag twisted and it would have been impossible to put right without unpicking it and stitching it back up. Something I was totally unwilling to do on a near £200.00 brand new bag. I returned the first and ordered a second one, which was perfect so obviously I was just unlucky with the first one.

This bag is absolutely adorable. Feels really well made and is super comfortable. Perfect little day bag that can easily fit a pair of (womens) shoes and a water bottle and the front pocket is very handy. Love the bag and got lots of compliments about it too!