Cabin Max Metz 30L Backpack Review | An Awesome Underseat Bag For A Longer Trip!

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Airlines are getting more restrictive when it comes to cabin bag allowance. Cabin Max has a goal of creating luggage that literally maxes out every last centimetre of allowance. Great for those that want to avoid additional luggage fees! I already have the Cabin Max 20L Travel Hack Backpack which I love. But personally for one week+ trips, I find that 30L is a better size for me.

AD Disclosure: I received the Cabin Max Metz 30L cabin bag complimentary in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

Cabin Max Metz 30L

• 📏Dimensions: 45cm x 36cm x 20cm
• ⚖️Weight: 0.6kg

Pros	Cons
– Flies for free as an UNDERSEAT bag on airlines such as EasyJet – Large capacity – Comfortable to wear as a shorter person! – Reasonably priced	– It does lack structure due to the lightweight design – Water bottle mesh pocket could be deeper – A laptop or iPad may need extra padding/case if travelling with these items

SHOP: Cabin Max Metz 30L cabin bag backpack

Comfort & Design

Let’s start with the design, it’s what first drew me to the bag! I have the Metz 30L RPET backpack in Paradise print. As someone that loves travelling to ‘tropical’ places, I loved the way that my backpack reflects my personality. It’s mostly black with a green palm leaf pattern and a few red parrots that add an additional touch of colour. The bags in the RPET range are also made from recycled plastic bottles.

I found the Metz 30 Litre cabin bag to be pretty comfortable to wear. I’m only 5″4 and although it looks fairly big on me, I didn’t think it felt bulky to carry. It has 2 padded areas that rest on the shoulder blades and another padded part that sits across my lower back. The straps are also slightly padded too.

Organisation & Practicality

When it comes to organisation, there are 4 main compartments:

• The large main compartment which opens up completely, similar to a suitcase.
• Another fully opening organisational compartment which has various mesh pockets (some zipped), pen pockets and a few other smaller sections.
• A front zipped pocket.
• A mesh water bottle pocket on the side.

Main Compartment

As mentioned above, even though the material of the backpack feels very high quality, it does feel like it lacks structure. In comparison The Travel Hack backpack holds its shape well and has a bit more padding. The lightweight design is what gives the backpack so much space though.

I found the best way was to use packing cubes and then use the 4 compression straps on the sides to hold everything together tighter. This then gave the backpack more of a rectangle shape which would allow it to fit within the bag sizers at the airport.

My only complaint after 3 years of using this backpack, is that I wish they had some sort of internal compression straps too, similar to those inside a suitcase. I know some of the other Cabin Max backpacks now have this feature.

Both the main compartment and the front organisational compartment have strong double zips, which are large enough to be padlocked together. With the compression straps also covering the main compartment zips, this gives an extra bit of security to the larger section. (You can use compression packing cubes to compress things further).

Large Organisational Compartment

Leading on from this, even with the main compartment compressed, when the front pocket was filled, it made it just a little big too big for the EasyJet under seat bag sizer.

My airline didn’t have a size requirement and it fit under the seat perfect, but this is something to keep in mind. I only had a Kindle and a quite flat liquids bag in the front. I found it really handy when it came to passing through security, as they were in a convenient place for easy access.

I also found the small zipped mesh pocket really helpful. If I’m driving and parking at the airport, I tend to only have my car key and my door key on a single ring. The small pocket was a great secure place to keep the key. It kept it close to the top of the backpack which made it easy to find on my arrival home.

Front Zipped Pocket

With most gadgets that I travel with only being charged with a USB cable, the front pocket was a great place to keep my different leads together. If they had full plugs on them, they would be too bulky. But when travelling with a 4 USB port travel adaptor kept in the main compartment, I could then just put all the leads together in a smaller pocket.

Related Reading: Moving Abroad Packing List: What You Need To Take Overseas

How Big Is A 30l Backpack?

So exactly how big is a 30L Backpack? I have always easily fit in everything I wanted for my trips. However, I when travelling to ‘colder’ destinations I wear a hoodie and then carry a second one like a coat, this saved on room as these items are quite bulky.

I also try to wear each clothing item at least twice and then wash as needed

My 2 Week Packing List for Thailand

Here’s an example of my packing list for my 14 day trip to Thailand using the Metz 30L:

• Shorts x3
• Playsuit/all-in-one x1
• Tops/T-shirts x5
• Kimono
• Rash vest
• Bikinis x3
• Small ‘day bag’ backpack
• Microfibre travel towel
• Waterproof pouch
• Flip flops
• Underwear/socks
• Hat
• Water bottle
• Wash bag
• Liquids bag (with suncream, hand sanitiser, toothpaste etc)
• Solid stick deodorant
• Brush
• Mini first aid & sewing kit
• Kindle
• Electronics leads x5
• Adaptor
• Bluetooth keyboard (to journal)
• Sunglasses
• Power bank

Plus on return journey:

• Vest top x1
• Lightweight shorts x1
• Lightweight trousers x1
• Sweets
• A few small souvenirs
• (and I still had space left over)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=VD9lWLIe4Wc%3Fsi%3DNx_eXq9hu6_VUo8v

Is It Worth It?

When boarding my flight home, I bumped into someone on my flight that had exactly the same Paradise print bag. Him and his wife both had Metz 30L bags and said they are great backpacks. They come in a range of colours and there’s also a similar 20L and 44L version too. Personally I prefer the bags that I’m guaranteed to fly with, so I like the underseat sizes best.

Since my initial review I have used the Cabin Max Metz 30 litre for a colder 7 night trip to Cyprus, a 9 night trip to Mallorca and a 2 week trip to Zanzibar and Thailand. Even though they were longer trips, I kept a similar packing list but switched out some of the items. For example, I switched the sandals for a snorkel, took an extra pair of shorts and a rash vest too.

This is definitely going to be a backpack that I continue to reach for when it comes to longer ‘cabin baggage only’ trips. For shorter breaks/weekend getaways I would most probably opt for the smaller 20L Travel Hack backpack. Especially if flying on an airline like Ryanair which has the smaller underseat luggage restrictions.

Where To Buy The Cabin Max Metz 30 Litre Bag

You can find some of the Cabin Max backpack range, including the Metz 30 litre cabin bag on Amazon or direct from Cabin Max.

SHOP: Cabin Max Metz 30 Litre backpack

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