If you’re someone who passes through airport security gates just as often as your own front door, you’ll know that travelling with the right gear is essential. Luggage for those on the go needs to be functional, secure, and compliant with airline regulations, but you’d be surprised how many bags and cases fail to meet those seemingly simple requirements.
I met Scapade at an event back in December, and mentioned that I was planning a two-month trip to South America and Australia for the start of 2026. I was torn between taking a large travel rucksack — practical, but expensive to fly with — and both a small wheelie case and a smaller rucksack — cheaper, but limited in capacity. Fortunately, the good folks at Scapade assured me that their latest invention, the AirPack, would be practical enough for me to choose the second option.
Two weeks later, a Scapade AirPack landed at my doorstep — alongside the brand’s AirPass passport wallet and AirQuiet earplugs — and I packed up my essentials into this under-the-seat-sized rucksack, threw my clothes into a cabin-approved wheelie case, and set off for Madrid (where I’d catch a flight to Bolivia).
Article continues below
Scapade says you’ll get up to six months of use out of the AirPack’s tracking module on a single charge, and it’s wirelessly rechargeable via a power bank in 30 minutes. The module also features a 120db ringer, meaning you can give unsuspecting bag thieves a fright, or just remind yourself that your bag is exactly where you left it.
Other techy features of the AirPack include a TSA-approved combination lock, theft-resistant pocket zips, and padded, scratch‑protective compartments for laptops and tablets of up to 16 inches and 13 inches, respectively. Honestly, this thing is a tech journalist’s dream, and although I wasn’t travelling for work, the bag’s smart compartmentalization meant I was able to bring along more power banks, cables, and camera gear than I thought possible.
As for how much you can physically fit into the AirPack — which looks like a parachute Batman might use — it has a 28-liter capacity and a total of 18 pockets, including specific slots for keys and cards. It also opens like a clamshell, so you can retract the back panel 180 degrees and load it up like a suitcase.
Image 1 of 3
These features add up to a backpack that feels tailor-made for 2026 wants and needs. I wouldn’t typically write about luggage on TechRadar (yawn), but the various useful tools scattered throughout the AirPack make it just about the techiest piece of travel gear I’ve ever owned.
It held up brilliantly on my travels through Spain, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Australia (you can see it in action on Bolivia’s Salt Flats and Chile’s Atacama desert in the header image above), and although I paired it with a small wheelie suitcase, the AirPack could absolutely be used as a standalone piece of luggage on smaller trips (especially if you’re a tech-minded traveller), or even as the world’s most OTT laptop bag.
The Scapade AirPack retails for £129.99 (that’s around $175 / AU$245), which seems to be the going rate for well-built travel rucksacks these days. But as I say to anyone who gawks at the price of Apple’s AirTags: you can’t put a price on peace of mind.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AtGjcJdpcVVh5ryzHDKDe7-1794-80.jpg
Source link
axel.metz@futurenet.com (Axel Metz)
