Three things: a padded laptop sleeve so your machine survives a packed carriage, an interior split into pockets so you are not searching for a keycard at a barrier, and a weather-resistant outer for the walk between transport and desk. A hiking or gym backpack usually has none of those, which is why it feels wrong for a commute.

If you walk and train it, a medium backpack is the default: weight across both shoulders, laptop protected. If you cycle or run in, look at our cycling backpacks for something compact and close to your back, or a sling bag for a light run commute. If you swap between office and client meetings, a messenger sits more naturally in a formal setting.

They are weather-resistant, which covers the realistic scenario: rain on the walk to the station, a wet bike rack, a bag put down on damp ground. They are made from recycled nylon and recycled canvas, both of which shed light rain rather than soaking it up. They are not sealed dry bags, so in sustained heavy rain treat a laptop as you would in any backpack.

Most of the commuter styles include a padded laptop sleeve, and the size it takes varies between the small, medium and large options, so check the individual product page against your machine. As a rule of thumb, the medium and large backpacks are the ones to look at for a work laptop, while the small sizes suit a tablet or a compact device.

That is the whole design brief. The commuter styles use clean shapes and a matte finish rather than a sports look, so the same bag reads fine in a meeting and on a bike. If your workplace is more formal, the messenger and work bag styles are the safer pick, and both are covered in this collection.