Jump to product specifications
Comfort
Storage
Additional features
Materials and durability
Value for money
Overall rating
First impressions of the Matador SEG45 Travel Pack
This is a serious piece of kit, so we decided to give it a serious test – we took it to the Amazon jungle. Along the way, the pack was flung around and exposed to every element going. At the end of the trip, aside from scuff marks acquired at Peru’s remote Iquitos airport, it looked as good as new.
The stowable backstraps were great for racing through crowded airports and stations, but packing them took seconds, and left me with a compact travel pack to squeeze into overhead storage on a train.
Nice little touches such as security loops for all the zips, reflective webbing and stowable back straps ooze quality.
Comfort
OK, so you’ll find comfier rucksacks, but the SEG45 isn’t supposed to be used for camping and hiking. For decent-sized luggage intended for general travel, the backpack straps are surprisingly comfortable, especially used in conjunction with the detachable chest and waist straps.
Discreet hand straps on the top, bottom and side make it easy to grab and go from even the busiest baggage reclaim, and the shoulder strap came in handy when using the SEG45 alongside an excursion daypack.
What’s the storage like?
The big sell of the SEG45 is the series of waterproof segmented zipper pockets along the top of the bag. These are great for separating your kit by type, or activity. These came in particularly handy when traveling between the UK’s miserable winter and the South American heat.
If you only want to take one bag then having everything crammed in together can get increasingly frustrating as the hours drift by. But the segmented pockets meant a quick change of clothes in a cubicle at Lima Airport didn’t mean taking everything out and trying to force it all back in again in the rare environs of a public toilet.
When, on the last day in the jungle, the chance for a final swim in the Amazon presented itself, wet swimming togs could be safely stashed into one of the waterproof sections without stinking out the rest of the bag.
If you don’t need the segmented pockets, then you can simply fill the main section, as those pockets squish down to nothing. It’s really the most flexible piece of kit!
Generous zipped head pockets accommodated passport and travel documents, as well as a book, flight socks, headphones and a packet of sweets, which was handy when boarding flights, or taking a seat on a crowded train.
There’s a padded laptop pocket easily accessible from the outside, and a zip-up water bottle compartment on the side.
What’s it made of?
Recycled nylon, PU waterproofing – Matador says they use Cordura for its utility and durability.
Durability?
Matador claim their sustainability comes through longevity – their gear boasts a high degree of durability, meaning that you’ll be using it for so long that it will reduce manufacturing costs. And while we’ve only given it one test, the fact that the journey took three trains, three flights, a car, a bus and two boats, not to mention being hauled across London, Lima and through the jungle, and resulted in nothing more that surface marks, suggests that their claims are justified. It certain feels capable of withstanding whatever you care to throw at it – or indeed, whatever it gets thrown at.
Good value?
This isn’t a cheap travel pack, but for the serious traveller, the SEG45 boasts the major advantage of being all things at once. With max capacity of 45l, you have to pack economically if you plan to be away for a while. Having said which, for six days in the jungle, we had room to include daily changes of clothing, casual wear as well as jungle wear, spare trainers plus water shoes, waterproofs, guide books and phrase books, and a bit of AV kit as well.
And on the evidence of this trip, the SEG45 is going to be the top piece of gear for many journeys for years to come, thus very much earning its keep.
Best suited for:
General travel, whatever the terrain – stylish for urban adventures yet sturdy and flexible enough for those a more exotic explorations.
Product Specifications
- RRP: £229.95
- Volume: 45l
- Colours: Black/Arctic white
- Extra features: Segmented top-loading pockets, detachable straps, stowable backpack straps
- Weight: 1135g
