I have carried the Gossamer Gear Vagabond Trail more than 2500 miles over last few years for EDC, done in a day outdoor activities, and onebag travel which included walking 500 miles of the Camino Santiago Frances route from SJPP. Between Jan 2023 and March 2025 I lived out of a Vagabond Trail as we explored locations that might be “home base” for the next season of life. I found the Vagabond provided nearly perfect functionality for me. I have a list of what was in my pack for much of 2024, and what I am generally carrying now.

The Vagabond has three variants. The Packable and Trail models are discontinued. The urban oriented Jet variant is still sold. I originally picked up the packable to supplement other bags. I found it the most comfortable carrying packable daypack I had ever used. I liked it so much I picked up the Trail version so my wife and I could both use a Vagabond pack. I started using the Vagabond Trail as my primary onebag in 2023. In May 2025 I switch to using the Jet which someone had gifted to me. The Jet is made from a slightly heavier black grid fabric which has a more tech / urban vibe and added a padded laptop slot. The external dimensions of the all the Vagabond models are the same, but there is a bit less volume inside the Jet due to heavier material, padded laptop sleeve and back panel which is a bit thicker.

Description and Design

The Vagabond is top loading using a zipper to close the main compartment. Weights are 10oz packable, 18oz trail, 24oz jet. The packs are listed as 23l with dimensions of 46x27x15cm (18/10.75/5.75inches). I believe the main compartment is 17l with the other 6l being the external mesh pockets. The Vagabond is a bit thinner than many daypack which keeps the load close to the back with a corresponding loss of volume.  Except when grocery shopping I think this is the right trade off.  I feel agile wearing the pack. I have never had a problem fitting pack under the seat in front of me on a plane except when a support beam bisected the under-the-seat space. When it’s slightly under-filled the Vagabond can compress into every airline “personal item sizer” I have encountered including EasyJet, Spirit, RyanAir, Vueling, and Wiz so long as the side pockets were not filled. There are some airlines that officially restrict personal item thickness to just 10cm like EVA which would make the Vagabond too thick unless under packed, but we were not sized by them and my bag fit under the seat. Pictures under the seat of a Southwest Boeing 737 on an aisle, and sideways in the middle seat.

The pack has loops which enable attaching waist strap.  I found the Gossamer Gear Fast Belt provided good stability but wasn’t particularly helpful transferring load. The ULA Ratpack belt is able to transfer enough weight I could carry 13lb all day without pain (8lb is my limit without hip belt).

The pack has a flat bottom, and can stand upright on its own.  This makes it very convenient to access when you place it on the ground while minimizing how dirty it will get. The Jet model has an extra durable, waterproof bottom.

The pack has 5 mesh pockets: on the front of the pack, traditional side pockets, and on the shoulder straps. The pockets are made of a mesh material which is adequate but not optimal durability.  I have torn the mesh on the front pocket of my vagabond trail (it was repairable).  I believe the Jet mesh is more durable than what was used on the discontinued models. The front pocket is large, and works well for items such as a jacket, towel, or a small laptop that I stash when preparing to go through security checkpoints. The side pockets are pretty standard, with room for two 16oz water bottles or one larger bottle. I found items were retrievable while wearing the pack. I love the shoulder pockets and use them constantly. Items placed in these pockets are easily accessible, and when I set the pack down they aren’t in the dirt unlike pockets on hip belts.

The pack has a floating laptop sleeve against the back. If the pack is reasonably full, the laptop won’t hit the ground if you are careless when setting the bag down. In the packable and travel models the sleeve is the same material as the pack body. In the Jet, the laptop pocket is padded with foam, and has a second slot for a tablet and a small zippered pocket for small items.

The packable and trail has two solid pockets… one near the top of pack’s front and a second in exactly the same location on the inside of the pack. I use the outside pocket for small items I don’t need to access constantly and the inside pocket for items I can’t afford to lose such as my passport.  Being on the inside of the pack makes it a bit more resistant to pick pockets and any item that might fall out of the pocket would end up inside the pack rather than on the ground.  If the pockets are completely filled they might make it a bit difficult to insert and remove large items from the bottom of the pack, though this hasn’t been a problem for me. The Jet shifted the inside pocket to the padded laptop sleeve.

Use

I liked the idea of the tote handle but didn’t use them much. They are too short to hang the Vagabond over my shoulder.  When holding the pack by the one or both handles it was nearly impossible to unzip the top.  On the other hand, the side compression straps worked pretty well. I could access the main compartment without stop walking or putting the bag down. I would release one shoulder strap and swing the pack in front of me to grab one of the compression straps on the side of the pack.  This provide enough tension that I could then unzip the pack with my other hand,  retrieve whatever I needed. I would switch hands to close the the zipper. I found then the pack was only partially full, that items stays in the pack without needing to close the zipper.

Sometimes it is difficult to access items at the bottom of a top loading pack. I didn’t find that this issue with the Vagabond. As mentioned earlier, the Vagabond is a bit thinner than many packs, so items tend to fill space front to back.  I load my larger / less frequently needed items near the bottom of the pack vertically next to each other. The combination of a stuff sack and varied materials made it easy for me to identify items by feel to pull them out.  These items provide a shelf for the rest of what I pack which get layered on top. The only issue I had was my laptop can sometimes get caught on the top zipper.

I have read several people complain that the top collects things like leaves which can then end up in the bag when you unzip the top.  I didn’t experience this.

Performance – Carry Comfort

I have some shoulder issues which limits how much weight I can carry on my shoulders without pain. I found the wide and padded shoulder straps on the Vagabond Trail and Jet allows me to carry more weight on my shoulders than just about any pack I have tried.  I was able to get up to around 12lbs for a few hours, and to 8lb for all day use without any pain. I also carried 13lb all day when I using a ULA waist strap without pain.  The Vagabond was as comfortable as every shoulder only pack I have used up to 15lb which includes packs with harness style straps. 

Something that surprised me was that it was more “comfortable” for me than a brand new GoRuck GR1 when carrying 30lbs of iron plates + 10lbs of rice. I don’t recommend doing this regularly… the frame sheet in the trail seemed to be slightly deformed. I should note that goruck lovers say you need to break in the shoulder straps before they are really comfortable. To keep the plates from shifting in the vagabond I had to fill the space using a rolled foam pad.

Materials and Finish

Finish is good, excellent when considering the price.

The Packable and Trail are made from 70d Robic… light but durable enough for on trail or around town use. The Jet is made from 210D Robic which I think is the optimal weight/durability for long term use unless you really abuse your pack (I don’t).

Today I favor Robic over waterproof fabrics because it’s reasonably durable and doesn’t seem to degrade over time like PU coated material or composite / laminated fabrics. I think a heavier Robic fabric impregnated with PC or silicon would be great. The laminated UltraX fabric and bonded ALUULA Graflyte looks promising… we will see how durable they are after a few years of real use.

Improvements

The following are improvements to the Vagabond Trail that I sent to a friend at Gossamer Gear. Several of the changes were made to the Jet even before I sent made my suggestions.

• More durable / waterproof fabric for the pack’s bottom. Fixed in the Jet
• A slightly stiffer separator between the laptop / hydration sleeve and the main compartment would make placing and removing the laptop easier when the pack is full. Fixed in the Jet.
• Separate the outside and inside pockets to make it bulge less. Fixed in the Jet.
• slight angle side pockets  to make access easier when pack in on the back.
• The top zipper and the zipper for the front pocket unzip in same directions.
• It would be nice if the top zipper could be locked closed. Either loops on the zippers or a way to secure the zippers to one side of the pack.
• I never needed it, but a couple of lash points on the bottom of the pack would be nice to attach a sleep pad or yoga mat.
• Pole loop on the front
• Maybe a U shaped zipper on the top would provide better access for larger items. I now think this would be a bad idea.

Related

• Trekking Packs worth considering
• A “Digital Nomad” Experiment
• Packing & Traveling Light
• Outdoor Gear
• Lessons from the Camino
• 3y retro of my gear for “infinite travel”
• The Perfect Pack’s Vagabound Series Review for a slightly different take