If you pass through airport security gates as often as you pass through your own front gate, you’ll know that traveling with the right equipment is essential. Travelers’ luggage needs to be functional, secure, and compliant with airline regulations, but you’d be surprised how many bags and suitcases don’t meet these seemingly simple requirements.
I met Scapade at an event in December and mentioned that I was planning a two-month trip to South America and Australia in early 2026. I was torn between taking a large travel backpack – practical, but expensive for flying – and both a small rolling suitcase and a smaller backpack – cheaper, but limited in capacity. Luckily, the folks at Scapade assured me that their latest invention, the AirPack, would be practical enough for me to choose the second option.
Two weeks later, a Scapade AirPack landed on my doorstep—alongside the brand’s AirPass passport wallet and AirQuiet earplugs—and I packed my essentials into this seat-sized backpack, threw my clothes into a cabin-approved rolling suitcase, and set off for Madrid (where I’d catch a flight to Bolivia).
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Scapade says you’ll get up to six months of use from the AirPack’s tracking module on a single charge, and it’s wirelessly rechargeable via a power bank in 30 minutes. The module also has a 120 dB buzzer, meaning you can scare away unsuspecting bag thieves, or simply remind yourself that your bag is exactly where you left it.
Other technical features of the AirPack include a TSA-approved combination lock, anti-theft pocket zippers, and padded, scratch-resistant compartments for laptops and tablets up to 16 inches and 13 inches, respectively. Honestly, this thing is a tech journalist’s dream, and even though I wasn’t traveling for work, the bag’s clever compartmentalization allowed me to carry more power banks, cables, and camera gear than I thought possible.
As for how much you can physically fit into the AirPack – which looks like a parachute Batman might use – it has a capacity of 28 liters and a total of 18 pockets, including specific slots for keys and cards. It also opens like a clamshell, so you can retract the back panel 180 degrees and load it like a suitcase.
These features add up to a backpack tailor-made for the wants and needs of 2026. I wouldn’t usually write about luggage on TechRadar (yawn), but the various useful tools scattered throughout the AirPack make it just about the most techy piece of travel gear I’ve ever owned.
It held up brilliantly on my travels through Spain, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Australia (you can see it in action on Bolivia’s salt flats and Chile’s Atacama Desert in the header image above), and although I paired it with a small rolling suitcase, the AirPack could absolutely be used as standalone luggage on smaller trips (especially if you’re a tech-conscious traveler), or even as the world’s most OTT laptop bag.
The Scapade AirPack costs £129.99 (that’s about $175 / AU$245), which seems to be the going rate for well-built travel backpacks these days. But as I say to anyone gawking at the price of Apple AirTags: peace of mind is priceless.
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