Tumi Voyageur Calais Backpack Review

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A TUMI bag is the ultimate consulting stable – in a room full of professionals, at least one of them is bound to have a TUMI laptop bag. Backpacks are starting to become more common around women, with many sporting TUMI women’s backpacks from the Voyageur Collection. I recently purchased the TUMI Calais Backpack, and I am excited to share my review of this popular TUMI voyageur backpack. I had been eyeing the TUMI bags for a while, and when I saw the Calais Backpack in Gray Floral, I caved and finally purchased one. While the Calais is no longer sold online, this backpack is very similar to the TUMI Carson Backpack.

The TUMI Voyageur Calais Backpack Features

This TUMI women’s backpack has everything that I was looking for in a work bag. The most important features for me include:

• 15″ laptop compartment
• Luggage strap
• Plenty of pockets

This professional backpack has a laptop compartment and a main compartment with zippers at the top. The main compartment of the TUMI Calais Voyageur has a small zipper pocket, along with three open pockets. This is where the bulk of my items are thrown – my laptop charger, phone charger, notebook and pencil bags are all thrown into this main compartment.

There is a zipper pocket on each side of the professional women’s backpack, along with a zipper pocket on the front. The front zipper pocket has three smaller open pockets, with one being a pen pocket. This is where I keep my business cards and travel documents in my TUMI backpack.

In addition, the TUMI Voyageur Calais Backpack has another open pocket on the front of the bag, above the zipper compartment. This is where I will place my phone while I am traveling for work through the airport. On the newer TUMI Voyageur Carson Backpacks, I have noticed that TUMI has added a zipper to this compartment.

The TUMI Voyageur Calais Backpack Pros

When looking for a professional women’s backpack, the TUMI Voyageur collection was the only collection that I could find which would fit all of my criteria. Having enough pockets and just looking good are great pros, but I did not want to purchase a women’s backpack without a luggage strap. Since I travel for work as a consultant, I wanted a professional backpack that would easily fit within my travel lifestyle. I had a difficult time finding any professional women’s backpacks on the market that both looked good and had a luggage strap.

One of my favorite things about TUMI bags are the customization options. This backpack comes with a detachable leather dangler, and at any TUMI store you can get the dangler monogrammed for free. My backpack is monogrammed with my initials – while the unique grey floral print is not likely to be in a mix-up, having your initials on a black backpack can make your bag stand out.

With a nylon exterior, the TUMI Voyageur Calais Backpack is lightweight and easy to clean. Even with all of my work supplies, this professional woman’s backpack will not break the back! There is plenty of room for everything I need with room to breathe, and I could easily also fit a client laptop if I needed to carry two laptops around.

The TUMI Voyageur Calais Backpack Cons

There are so many things that I love about this TUMI women’s backpack, but there are a few things that would improve my experience with it. A luggage strap on my backpack was a must-have item on my list, because I travel for work and like to put my bags over my luggage handles. I am thankful that the TUMI Voyageur Backpack has a luggage strap, but I find the luggage strap is just big enough to go over my luggage. It takes a few extra minutes for me to get my TUMI backpack over my luggage handles, and I typically have to pull it wider to slide the backpack on. I would ask for the luggage strap to be just a little bit bigger, to make quick grabs through security faster.

Since the TUMI Voyageur Calais Backpack in Grey Floral is made of nylon, I also find that my backpack has a hard time holding it’s shape. When I pack my TUMI backpack with too much stuff, it is very obviously lumpy. When I put my TUMI backpack on the ground at a client’s site after removing my laptop, it also tends to slouch over quite a bit. The leather backpacks, while more expensive, look like they will hold a more professional shape.

In addition to this, the zipper on the main compartment of my backpack tends to catch on the nylon, getting stuck occasionally. It takes a bit of effort for me to break the zipper free – fortunately the TUMI backpack is holding up to my rough handling.

The Best Professional Backpack for Women

Finding a professional women’s backpack that you are willing to take onsite to a client can be difficult. The cuts and styles of many backpacks tend to trend towards casual, so finding a backpack that didn’t look like you were going on a hike or on vacation can be challenging. Overall, I will still say that I love my TUMI Voyageur Calais Backpack, and I am so glad that I invested in it. I looked for quite a while before caving on this professional backpack, and no other brand has all of the features that you can find from the TUMI Voyageur collection.

Almost all of my female coworkers are investing in this professional laptop bag; I am glad that I was able to grab the Calais Backpack in the unique grey floral!

Read more on traveling for work

• How to Build a Business Travel Capsule Wardrobe 
• The Ultimate Business Trip Packing List