Troubadour Pioneer Laptop Backpack Reviewed 2025

A Functional, Sophisticated Laptop Backpack

At first sight, we find the Troubadour Pioneer a sophisticated and practical backpack. Its external fabric is soft, with leather details and several well-designed pockets inside and out.

It has an office-on-the-go design, which is a plus for use as a work backpack. Excellent organizational features, including practical inner compartments and smaller pockets, work well for both the urban professional, student and even a photographer.

With its trolley sleeve at the back and two expandable water bottle pockets on each side, we’ve enjoyed using it for trans-Atlantic trips too. The front compartment opens fully, which is a nice feature for easy packing and quick access to documents.

The separate padded laptop compartment can fit a 17-inch device but the side pocket is big enough for a smaller 16-incher, which is something to note.

This is a smaller backpack, minimalist even. With only 23.5 liters of volume, there’s room for a laptop, shoes and some training clothes, but nothing big beyond that. It’s intended to be compact and elegant, not big enough or expandable for carrying incidentals.

That it’s under 25 liters and 19 x 11 inches means that it might be acceptable on most airlines as a personal item (check the airlines).

Details and External Features

This backpack has vegan leather trim incorporated in its design, which makes it stylish and an appropriate choice for the office or the occasional business trip.

It comes in two colors and features the discrete Troubadour logo in grey.

The long leather zipper pulls make handling the pockets easier. It has a distinct and compact shape that does not get in the way of crowded urban commutes. It carries tech safely and organizes things effectively.

The chest strap attachment loops are there, but the actual chest strap has to be ordered separately. Its comfortable fit and smaller size makes a chest strap unnecessary.

Construction and Water Resistance

The Troubadour features recycled polyester fabric and lining and vegan leather. It promotes environmentally friendly manufacturing with its fabric made out of recycled water bottles, with fluorocarbon-free waterproofing.

Its fabric is water-resistant and so are the zipper seams. We found that the fabric repels water and dries very quickly. The back panel is ventilated to keep you cool and the shoulder straps are ergonomically designed, with additional padding.

The trolley sleeve is also well padded and durable, easy to slip over a trolley handle.

It is designed to keep the backpack securely in place when mounted on luggage.

Capacity and Pockets

The main compartment opens from the top with a large U-shaped zipper but the pack is really divided into two sections.

The second opening on its bottom is a separate shoe compartment with a waterproof and anti-microbial lining that can hold gym shoes or an extra pair of shoes when traveling.

There are also ventilation holes to maintain air circulation, a nice feature for training shoes and sweaty clothes. It also prevents contact with the rest of the items in your bag.

But keep in mind that this bottom compartment is really just a pouch that expands into the 23.5L pack, so the main compartment becomes quite full when carrying shoes.

There is a large pocket with a zipper in the front for easy access to essentials when commuting or traveling.

Close to the shoulders at the top, there is a second small pocket with a softer lining and a key clip that offers better protection for items that can be easily scratched.

The soft internal lining here is a great addition but the key clip in the same pocket that is made to protect from scratches seems a bit counterintuitive.

On each side of the pack, there are expandable water bottle pockets.

On the front flap of the main compartment, there are two mesh pockets with zippers. When these pockets are full and heavy, the front flap can dangle a bit and that means you need to hold it so that it does not collapse to the front.

There is another zipped pocket on the laptop sleeve with a few additional open pockets which are good for holding stationery and smaller tech like a hard drive or mouse. This makes the Pioneer a great option for office use and traveling with tech.

The laptop sleeve is padded and can fit a 16-inch device. A larger 17-inch device actually fits in there, but the side-access opening is only big enough to fit a 16-incher. You need to use the main compartment opening for the larger device.

Finally, there is an anti-theft pocket inside the back paneling, but it has no zipper, so be mindful that your items don’t accidentally slip out.

Value

The Pioneer is priced towards the very top in the laptop backpack category. Its durable material and utilitarian design, the separate ventilated compartment and the durable trolley sleeve are meant to justify this price but it is still an expensive alternative.

There are many equally durable options from well-established brands that come at half the price, so that is something to consider.

Having said that, it comes with a five-year guarantee and if you need to return your product to repair a manufacturing fault during the first year after buying it, the return shipping costs are covered by Troubadour.

At this point, it is worth wondering whether the stiffness of the zippers at the corners is considered a manufacturing fault or something that could be improved by the brand in the future.

Comparing Laptop Backpacks

Finding a reliable and functional laptop backpack is essential when commutes involve transporting tech, so we carefully test and occasionally abuse different packs to make sure they are worthy to invest in and safe and comfortable to use.

We compared the Pioneer to the Rains Rolltop 13L Rucksack which is another minimalist backpack that has an aesthetic appeal. As is almost synonymous with Rains products, it has better water protection. It costs less but it’s also smaller in size, has fewer pockets and can only hold a 15-inch device.

Then there is the Timbuk2 Spire 2.0, a cycling inspired laptop pack. It comes with a 26L volume and is an urban office warfare option, with both a top-loading and side-loading laptop design, very similar to the Pioneer. It has a more tactical look to it, but it’s a good and rather affordable choice.

Finally, we also bring the Stubble & Co 20L Roll Top in comparison due to its versatile style, trendy urban design and biker-friendly character. This, too, is priced lower than the Pioneer and can hold a 16-inch device. There’s no trolley sleeve, nor any anti-theft pocket on the Stubble Roll Top.

Do We Recommend It?

We like the Troubadour Pioneer laptop backpack for its overall organization capacity, its soft internal linings and its sleek and compact design that doesn’t get in the way.

We think it is a great looking backpack that also functions well with only a few drawbacks. It’s a good choice for professionals or university students and it is comfortable and travel-friendly with the well-made trolley sleeve.

If you have a larger laptop and finding it hard to find a bag to fit it in, the Troubadour might be the one. It has an above-average laptop compartment capacity but note it’s diminutive 23.5 liter size. Ironically, the larger laptop will go into a bag that only has 23.5 liters. So we recommend this for people who won’t be carrying a lot of other bigger gear.