Until fairly recently the gap between premium backpacks and budget options was a big one. Cheaper backpacks often being made with poor quality or simply too small to be practical for a serious traveler. Over the past two years the budget backpack market has been spitting out a lot of knockoffs with few being serious competition against high-end hipster delights.
Nayo Smart’s Almighty backpack is not only a very good option for a large carry-on backpack under $100, it might be a sign of an important shift in travel luggage. You can watch my full review in the video above or read on.
Well Designed And Executed
Two sides of failure for most ultra-budget backpacks – they’re either poorly designed, made poorly, and sadly, usually both. Nayo Smart, a Chinese company, has in the Almighty been able to cut costs effectively as well as incorporate some of the smartest features typically found on more expensive bags.
Starting with the material, the Almighty uses treated polyester instead of the more common nylon of over-$200 bags. That’s not to say polyester is a poor choice of material which comes with its own advantages. Almighty’s polyester is solidly waterproof, much more so than standard nylon. Not quite as scratch or tear resistant, if you’re going to go with a second choice in backpack material over strong nylon, polyester is the way to go.
Pleasing Pockets
What’s really appealing of the Nayo Smart Almighty is it’s not a copy of other backpacks but rather, one that brings in a variety of familiar features and makes the bag their own. At initial glance the Almighty looks like a lot of other backpacks you may be shopping around for. When you take a closer look though you notice the Almighty has its own take on carry-on luggage, particularly on the inside.
There are two versions of the Almighty – a normal (25 liter) and a large (32L) Based on the meshing on the interior, the Almighty seems designed for two types of traveler as well. The first being someone who’s got a regular amount of gadgets with them; laptop, tablet, the usual. The small Almighty then adds a decent amount of space in the front pocket for other stuff like a sweater, large headphones, charging bricks, and other items you tend not to think about until you need the space.
Almighty’s large accommodates travelers with a lot of bulky electronics like a drone, cameras, or simply want to be able to pack a few days clothing to go carry-on only.
Blending Worlds
There aren’t enough luggage makers that consider useful organizational pockets with open space compartments for bulkier items. For a long time the backpack industry treated electronics bags separately from day or hiking bags, but the demand for versatile luggage is finally getting a response in the form of choices.
Much like the newest gadgets, after a few iterations the competition becomes more varied and less expensive over time. The Nayo Smart is one of what might be a new trend for travel bags, which is good news for travelers. In the meantime if you’re looking for a large-capacity carry-on bag selling for under-$100, the Almighty may be the bag for you.