Minimul M20 Backpack Review

Last year, we reviewed the Minimul M38 Travel Backpack, a highly organized travel bag with plenty of cargo space. We’re back with its smaller cousin — the M20 Backpack, an EDC version with a similar style and complementary design. If you’re not familiar with Minimul, they’re a Sydney-based company with a focus on travel and work. Though relatively new to the scene, they’ve been successfully crowdfunding through Kickstarter to bring these bags to life.

Disclaimer: Our M20 was provided to us by Minimul. We are hugely grateful for the chance to try it, but we also caveat that we provide our honest opinions in the reviews, both the positives and the negatives.

Trigger warning: If you have trypophobia, the back panel of the backpack may be slightly triggering. There are photos of the back panel in this review.

Overview

The M20 takes the overall design of the M38 Track pack and adapts it into an everyday carry form. It uses robust materials, with an 840D ballistic nylon from Cordura and EVA foam padding. The pack has a top-loading tech compartment with a clamshell opening main compartment, a top zipped org compartment, and dual water bottle pockets.

With 20L of cargo room, I can carry my laptop with charger, a notebook, a wireless keyboard, a pouch with a headset and wireless mouse, a water bottle, and various small items like cables, keys, snacks, etc. With this EDC, there is a bit of room for more. I can add an umbrella and either a small lunch box or a set of gym clothes. The clamshell opening has come in handy a few times already for packing out the main compartment.

The M20 makes a great travel companion as a personal item on a flight if you’re looking for something that packs gear well and is flexible. It lives up to the Minimul name with a clean minimalist style, but in the same vein it lacks exterior lash points if you like having those options.

Pros

• Travel bag elements — specifically the clamshell opening helps pack out the main compartment very efficiently
• Good materials choice with the 840D ballistic nylon exterior with ripstop polyester interior lining
• Smooth and easy to use zippers

Cons

• Aside from the back panel, the exterior doesn’t have structure or firmness, so it feels a bit floppy
• No true quick-access pocket
• The mesh design on the back panel, similar to the M38, triggers trypophobia. That alone will be a deal breaker for some people

Organization

• Tech compartment — The tech compartment sits against the back panel and has a padded 16" laptop sleeve with a false bottom. There is no Velcro strap that goes over the opening of the sleeve, which is how I prefer it. I always find those straps to be unnecessary and in the way. There is also a 10" x 5" (W x H) pocket toward the top for your charger or mouse or whatever small tech accessories you carry, though I tended to just chuck those into the man compartment instead. The opening for that pocket is only ~6 inches.
• Main compartment — The main compartment is relatively large and has a few internal org options. There is a tablet sleeve against the back wall and two 5.75" x 4.5" (W x H) elastic, mesh pockets above that. The front wall has a pen loop and two zipped mesh pockets. The top pocket is 8.5" x 11" (W x H) and has a horizontal zipper that is 2.5" down from the top. The portion above the zipper is also not mesh. The lower one is about 7.5" x 7" (W x H) and has a vertical zipper along one side. If the main compartment were top loading, it would be difficult to get to that zipper, so it helps that it’s a clamshell style. If you put bulky items in these pockets, like a mouse or glasses case, I find that they stick out and can get in the way when getting items in the main space of the compartment. There is also a non-removable key leash at the top of the main compartment, which to me is a very odd place to put a key leash. I don’t want to open the main compartment every time I want to get my keys.

• Front admin compartment — The front compartment has a variety of slip pockets for organizing your small items. There are two 3.75" x 4.25" (W x H) elasticated mesh slip pockets toward the top with a pen sleeve in the middle. The rest of the admin compartment, which is 7.5–9.5" (depending on where you measure) x 14.5" overall (W x H), is just a large dump compartment, so it can be a bit of a search to find something sitting at the bottom of the compartment. One watchout is that the front panel, side walls, and the layer between the main compartment and admin compartment are floppy. So bulky items may push the compartment wall outward. Also, if you have heavier gadgets in the top pockets, the panel might flop over, given the front panel a saggy look. The admin compartment also has a non-removable key leash in the top left corner, though it’s much shorter than the one in the main compartment (2" vs 9"). Lastly, there is a tiny hidden pocket built into the fabric near the key leash that is meant to hold an Airtag or a Tile tracker.
• Dual water bottle pockets — The water bottle pockets are made of spandex, so they’re stretchy enough to fit a 1L Nalgene bottle but still feel secure with smaller bottles too. It is a tight squeeze to get the Nalgene bottle in, and it’s a two-handed job, but smaller bottles are very easy.

Unfortunately, there is no true quick-access pocket or compartment. The admin compartment’s zipper isn’t really in a location that I would consider quick access. And though you can easily unzip the side of the main compartment (even while wearing the backpack on one shoulder), you’ll just get access to the main compartment, rather than a small-organized space.

Additional Features

• Sternum strap — The sternum strap is firmly attached to the straps via rails, which are polyethylene piping wrapped in fabric. However, it is very hard to slide the strap up and down the rails. It may be too tight or getting caught on the webbing underneath. Though most sternum straps attached to rails are not removable, this one is (by design). You can slide the plastic clamp off by pushing it all the way past the top or past the bottom of the rail, though it takes a good amount of effort. For this design, the bottom of the rail looks detached from the shoulder strap, which I think makes it look a bit unfinished. But it’s a very minute detail that most people won’t notice. The strap also has an elastic portion in the middle and a magnetic buckle, which are good designs for a sternum strap.
• Luggage passthrough — The back panel has a horizontal luggage passthrough, which lets you keep the backpack oriented upright when you slip it onto a rolling luggage. But the passthrough strap seems a little loose. You can see it sagging.

• Grab handle — The top of the backpack has a padded grab handle wrapped in webbing. It’s a very simple design, but it feels very comfortable to use.
• Zipper pulls — The external zipper pulls all around the bag are loops that allow for one-finger use. The zippers all slide very smoothly.

Construction and Comfort

The M20 is 16.5 x 11 x 6 inches (H x W x D), 20 L in volume, and comes in at 2.31 lbs. (1.05 kg). The exterior is 840D Cordura ballistic nylon, while the interior lining is a bright yellow, 75D x 150D ripstop polyester. While we’ve reviewed EDC backpacks with higher density fabrics, 840D ballistic nylon is definitely sufficient for a solid backpack and is a good balance of weight and durability. I haven’t had any issues with my gear getting wet when walking in the rain, albeit I haven’t used it in rain for more than several minutes at a time.

All the hardware uses top brands with Woojin buckles and YKK zippers — the exterior zippers are #8 RCz and the internal zippers are #5 RCz. Overall, the construction feels very robust. All the stitching and craftsmanship look solid, and I don’t have any concerns about the durability of the bag.

The shoulder straps are about 2.5" wide at the top of your shoulders and are slightly contoured, so there’s no pinching around your armpits. They are also padded with mesh-covered EVA foam. I do find it a little odd that the inside edges of the shoulder straps are edgeless, but half outer edges are not, but it’s not a negative. More of an observation. The back panel is also padded with mesh-covered EVA, and the padding helps give the M20 some much needed structure. The rest of the bag’s walls and panels are quite soft and floppy.

Overall, it’s a relatively comfortable backpack to use and the choices of materials work well for an EDC backpack.

Additional Notes

• The M20 is somewhat able to stand up on its own; it just depends on how you pack it. The bottom is soft though, so without the right cargo and packing, the bag tends to fall forward.
• Lastly, similar to the M38, I find the large holes in the mesh that lines the back panel and shoulder straps to be visually… unnerving. But aesthetics are very subjective and the front panel view of the backpack has a nice clean style

Conclusion

The M20 works well as an organized EDC backpack that can be packed quite efficiently with its clamshell opening. It’s well-built and should endure years of use. I’d certainly make a few key adjustments, like a bit more structure to the bag outside of the back panel, adding a quick access pocket, and changing the mesh or looks of the back panel/shoulder straps. But this bag would work well for someone looking for something that is professional but still casual and appreciates smart organization.

As always, thanks for reading. Drop a note in the comments if you have any questions about the Minimul M20 and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on what bags we’re trying out.