Pakt Cero Travel Backpack 35L: One Bag for a 2D1N JB Trip
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Early this year I went for a 2D1N trip to JB for a meeting and to chill with my family. Since I had a mix of things going on, I had to bring a little more than I would for a typical trip. I took my Pakt Cero Travel Backpack 35L as my main bag.
What I Packed
Clothing wise I tried to keep it lean, a pair of long pants for the meeting, a set for sleeping, and a simple workout set. The one thing that is more unusual was my inflatable bolster. I travel with one because I really cannot sleep well without it. Luckily it compressed down enough to sit in my packing cube without taking over the whole bag.
For tech, I brought my MacBook Pro, an iPad mini, and an Alpaka Tech Case to keep everything organised, along with a notebook for note-taking. Toiletries were minimal, i brought my hairspray, toothbrush, and shaver.
I also brought along my Aer Go Pack 2 as my EDC bag for the meeting and for heading out after. That went inside the Cero for the journey over.
My EDC
My EDC sling was the Toshi Sling 5L V2, which I am still using now. I usually sling it in front of me when I am travelling overseas so my wallet and other valuables stay in front of me.
How the Cero Performed
With just an overnight stay there was still space to pack more. I feel I could use it for a 5 to 7 days trip depending on the weather.
It did not feel like dead weight on my back, probably because the Cero itself only weighs around 1.04 kg. The back panel does feels warm, but that is kind of unavoidable with our weather.
What I really liked is the suitcase style packing. It helps me stay organised, I am a bit of a scattered brain, so if everything goes into one compartment I will end up emptying the whole bag just to find one thing. Having the main compartment split into two sides made a real difference, especially when I checked in early and was in a rush to swap things over to my Aer Go Pack 2 before heading out for my meeting.
Overall
There is still some trade-off on comfort, the shoulder straps are not as cushy as some bags and there is no large padded hip belt. That said, I personally never use a hip belt because it just dangles when I am not using it, so I appreciate that it is detachable. For my needs it works well.
Overall I would say the Pakt Cero Travel Backpack is solid for what it is. Until something better comes along for my use case, I will probably stick with this for a while.
You can learn more about the Pakt Cero Travel Backpack here.