MODERN DAYFARER V2 Backpack Review

The MODERN DAYFARER V2 Backpack looks sleek and durable from an initial inspection—it even has an expandable water bottle holder. Considering its minimalistic design, we’re curious to see how well its exterior functions work as a daily carry. Let’s dive in!

External Components

The primary exterior pack material is 840D ballistic nylon, which is durable, relatively water resistant, and looks sleek. The only colorway at the time of writing is black, which appears professional and minimalistic.

The top flap of the pack secures with a FIDLOCK buckle. It takes some getting used to utilizing the magnets and slides to close, yet it is a reasonably strong closure. Occasionally, it’ll pop open if you try to grab the pack by the flap, not the handle.

Instead of that top flap, we recommend using a handle on the top of the pack, which blends in nicely and has padding.

The hard plastic adjusters on the straps are from Woojin and work as we’d expect them to—no issues to report here.

Throughout the pack, YKK zippers. All except one of the exterior tracks utilize AquaGuard technology, which offers extra water resistance.

The Hypalon zipper pulls are easy to hold onto and durable. They’re black, which blends in with the rest of the pack. At the time of this review, everything on the exterior is black—so if that’s your thing, you’re in luck.

We’ve got one water bottle pocket to work with—which, upon initial inspection, blends in nicely. It has elastic on the side, so it stretches out quite far. We can fit a 32 oz Nalgene inside, which is more than we expected.

Above that is another handle with the same padding as the top iteration. It’s handy for taking the pack on and off your rolling luggage—which we’ll get to later.

Fit Notes

The shoulder straps are curved to mold to the front of your body and are pretty comfortable. They utilize firm padding, and it’s comfortable all day long, no matter where you take this daypack.

There are two attachment loops on either side. You could attach a sternum strap here, although it isn’t included. It doesn’t feel necessary, even when fully packed out, but if you like the feeling of a sternum strap, we won’t judge you for adding one.

There are hard plastic strap keepers to ensure the extra material isn’t waving in the wind all over the place. They’re easy to slide up and down, but their rigid nature makes it hard to double up if you wear the pack tighter.

The back panel includes two padded sections, with ample padding and mesh for breathability. Both run from the top to the bottom of the rear panel, so your back is covered.

In between the two padded areas is a luggage pass-through. It runs vertically on the pack, which we dig. The bag is a bit tall for a 24 liter, so if the trolley sleeve were horizontal, the top might interfere with the handle on your rolling luggage. The side handle makes it easy to load on and off. If you have to bring a lot of gear, you could attach this to your rolling luggage, carry your travel backpack on your back, and be reasonably comfortable.

Inside The Pack

On the top of the pack, you can access the laptop compartment. It is one of the zipper tracks with an AquaGuard finish, so it has a little extra protection from the elements. It’s easy to access and can accommodate up to a 16-inch laptop.

The front pocket is hidden in plain sight of the main compartment zipper. The track is right next to it, and it doesn’t have an AquaGuard zipper, so the texture of the track blends in with the fabric.

This flat pocket has a large footprint, and the MODERN DAYFARER Tech Pouch fits perfectly inside. Bulky items don’t do well here, and you can see them bulging through the front of the pack.

The zippered access to the shoe compartment is on the bottom of the pack. It’s a large opening, and you can fit many shoe types here. There are holes in the bottom of the flap, so if you put damp shoes inside, the water will trickle out. However, the liner material isn’t waterproof, so we don’t recommend loading a pair of soaked shoes since it could seep into the main compartment.

The main compartment feels like a rolltop except for one big difference—it doesn’t roll. It has a flap that secures with the FIDLOCK buckle we discussed earlier. Slide that open, lift the hood, and you can access your gear.

If you want a better look at what’s in the pack, there are zippers on either side, giving you front-panel access. It’s a great way to see everything you’ve loaded inside, and you don’t have to dig around blindly.

On the flap that opens when you undo the zippers, there are two compartments—one crafted from mesh and the other from the liner material. These are good places to stow smaller gear you don’t want flying around the main compartment.

A liner pocket works well on the back wall for stowing a laptop or tablet. In theory, you could stow two 16-inch computers in this 24-liter daypack. That works well if you’re heading to the coffee shop with your partner for the day and only want to bring one pack or like to separate your work from your gaming.

In addition to offering storage for a computer, you could stow a water bladder here. It doesn’t appear to have been designed for that—as there isn’t anywhere to hold up the hose; however the top closure design makes it easy to run a hose through to stay hydrated.

On the bottom of the main compartment, you can see the material from the shoe compartment. You can compress it with a hook and loop fastener, but it stays out of the way for the most part. Sometimes, small gear can get lost inside, so keeping that locked away in a packing cube or zippered compartment is best.

Overall, some of this pack’s features have us amped. From hydration storage to the hidden front compartment, it does well to keep your gear organized and your back comfortable, no matter where you head.