The Tortuga Setout 45 isn’t the company’s greatest offering, but still a great value if you can find it.
Note: This pack is discontinued on Tortuga’s website, but you can still find it through other retailers.
Specs
Capacity: 45 liters
Weight: 3 lbs 14 oz
Price: $200 (some currently on sale for $99)
Country of Origin: China
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Consistently highly-rated brand and model
- Maximum-sized carry-on, plenty of room
- Fairly light
- Comfortable harness
Cons
- Interior needs more organization
- Non-adjustable hip belt to fit different torsos
- Materials don;t seem as durable as others
This Pack is Best for...
The budget-conscious traveler who wants a good pack from a highly-rated company.
Overview
If you want to choose a travel pack based solely on awards won, the Tortuga Setout 45 may be the pack for you. Both it and another Tortuga product, the 45L Outbreaker, have won various “best travel backpack” awards.
I myself used an earlier Tortuga model for the first two years of serious travel. It was an old Tortuga V2 I got on Craigslist for 50 bucks, and that thing served me well. The materials were durable and the workmanship was solid.
The Setout has taken many of those attributes and raised them to the next level. While I have a number of quibbles with it it’s a solid all-around travel pack that does one thing and does it well.
Exterior
I got the navy blue, 45L version of the Setout, which also comes in black and gray and 35L versions. While the color schemes are not the most visually arresting, it does have a nice sleek look to it.
More substantially, the Setout is made of 1000D nylon, which is strong yet light. This gives it a lightweight frame, but still has an understated sturdiness to it.
The water bottle holder is a little looser than I’d like, but that’s a small quibble.
There are two well-padded grab handles, one on top and the other on the side. You’ve also got some useful compression straps on either side to help compress unused space.
My impression of the Tortuga Setout 45 was that, compared to the Cotopaxi Allpa 42 and the Gregory Praxus 45 that I’ve reviewed, it has a much more professional bearing. It’s the type of travel backpack you’d bring on a business flight.
Interior
Opening up the front part of the pack, you’ll find several pockets for pens and such, as well as a zipped pocket and carabiner pocket. This type of organization is great, but unfortunately I was in for a bit of a shock when I opened up the main compartment:
I would say this recipient-of-so-many awards pack has standard organization, except it doesn’t even. There’s NO organization here. With the exception of the two zippered toiletry pockets on the left, it’s just one big space.
In all honesty, I was taken aback by the lack of organization in the main compartment. Even my former travel pack, an old Tortuga V2, at least had those pocketed compression straps you find in a lot of carry-on luggages. Why Tortuga would have taken this step backward with a newer model is confusing to me. Even with packing cubes, there’s nothing keeping them from accidentally falling out. Not great, Tortuga, not great.
Moving right along, the laptop compartment is definitely large enough for anything up to a 17″ laptop, and in the right spot. Right on top of that is a sleeve for a tablet or book.
Harness
The harness on the Setout is pretty good…for the most part. It’s also a little awkward, for reasons I’ll get into later.
The shoulder straps are very comfortable and ventilated.
The hip belt is nice and large and comfy, and features pockets. One thing to note about the hip “belt” is that it is actually two separate pieces, not one long belt. Not a real issue, just different.
My problem is that it’s not adjustable. I’m 5’8″ and the hip belt did feel like it was sitting a little high. But I imagine for most torsos this may not be a problem.
To put the Setout into carry-on mode, you unclip the shoulder straps and tuck them behind the back panel. To detach the hip belt, you pull out that velcro strap connecting either piece to the pack. Yes, you have to do this for each hip belt section (and then keep track of each), but it’s pretty quick and easy to detach them.
In all honesty, I would prefer a hip belt that was an actual belt, one piece. Especially for me, who’s super scatterbrained, the fewer things to keep track of, the better. You don’t want to have more things to think about when traveling. It’s one of those things that doesn’t sound like a big deal until it is.
Styling
These last two categories are of course the more shallow of my reviews, but hey, sometimes looks do matter. You want a pack that you think is cool and you’ll be happy to travel with.
If a low-key look is what you’re going for, the Tortuga Setout is your bag. Not a whole lot of frills to this guy. You got your little tortoiseshell logo on the front, colors are pretty generic blue, black, and gray. About as non-attention-grabby as you can get, although I will say that it doesn’t quite get into the “dad bag” territory of Tom Bihn (no offense to Tom Bihn, they’re great bags!).
Cool Factor
Going back to my comments above…just not a whole lot of “cool factor” to be had here. Which is okay. It’s a more professional, functional travel pack, and it flies under the radar as such. It does what it needs to do, and that’s what matters.
About the Company
Tortuga was founded in California in 2009 by two friends who had just returned from a trip around Europe. Having had terrible experiences with their luggage, they decided to start a company designing their own travel backpacks, influenced by their experiences. By all accounts, that influence has paid off.
A percentage of all sales also goes to the Tortuga Study Abroad Scholarship, which helps young people travel internationally, often for the first time.