Evergoods Civic Travel Bag 20 Review
Could the online chatter BE any more friendly on this bag? Well, should it be?
Evergoods Civic Travel Bag 20 Review Introduction
Evergoods - the much…let me correct...MUCH loved backpack and EDC wizard factory from Montana. I’m a little ashamed to say that in the 5 years I’ve been running my site, I’ve yet to write a review of them. I think mostly that’s because I’m not so much the EDC specialist as a travel site, but being up front I used their Panel Loader 20L (I think this size has been discontinued) as my EDC for about a year and love it. I also have one of their pouches, and recently two packing cubes. So I’m very familiar with the brand and the products.
But, as mentioned I’ve never dug into their travel line, and never actually reviewed one in written form. Their Civic Travel series has a great number of options in it coming in with 26L and 35L - but today we’re looking at their smaller sibling, the 20L. This one is designed to swing between EDC and be good for short trips. It’s also meant to be able to pack a sneaky amount of stuff for its size due to its shape and dimensions. We’ll get into those details later.
This is my review of the Evergoods Civic Travel Bag 20L. The smallest bag in the Travel lineup, it can also be the most versatile. Worth all the fawning you see about it online? We’ll find out.
For full transparency, I purchased this bag with my own money and was not sent the bag by the company. This is not a sponsored article. That said, I do use affiliate links to help support the site if you choose to use them to make a purchase - but there is no additional cost to you. Thanks for stopping by!
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Evergoods Civic Travel Bag 20 Overview
Rearview.
Ok so CTB20 is kind of exactly what you’d expect it to be at 20L. Yes it’s a travel bag with features you’d want. But at 20L, yes it’s also a nice size for EDC and the way you can pack it out a bit more means you have some good flexibility be it with packing cubes or EDC style pouches. That’s very intentional from Evergoods.
And in general, that’s a theme that carries throughout - everything here is very intentional. They use a more eco friendly dying process in their materials that starts early in production, and not AFTER the fabric is made. It’s something they are very proud of and I think they should be. Also re-emphasizing that this fabric is their own development, which I love to see.
At 20L, they are looking to give you the flexibility but also keep the utility that demanding travelers or commuters want. “Utility Meets Mobility” as they put it - and that’s an apt description. Use it for your daily carry, but then get home from work and pack it with your packing cubes for your long weekend trip.
Here are the Materials and Size details from their site:
Shell fabric
Solution Dyed Black: 420d High Tenacity Nylon 6 with Water Repellent Finish. Shell is made from an Eco Friendly dyeing process.
All other colors: 420d HT nylon 6,6 with Water Repellent Finish
Lining fabric
420d HT nylon with PU coating
Other details
- Shoulder pad foam: Zote EV50
- Frame Sheet: HDPE
- Aluminum side stay: 7075 grade
- Zippers: YKK #10RC and #8RC with DWR finish
Size
- Volume: 20L
- Weight: 3lbs 2oz (1417g)
Dimensions
10.75"W x 7.5"D x 17.5"H
27.3W x 19D x 44.4 cm
This bag retails for $259 USD at the time of writing in May 2025, which isn’t nothing. It comes in the black that we have, an olive green that was released just after we purchased ours, and also a limited edition waxed canvas model that will set you back quite a bit more. Being up front, all three of these look fantastic.
Civic Travel Bag 20 Features
Hit me with the macro, Tony. For the old folks, replace macro with “horn”. See if that rings a bell.
There is a really great list of features on this bag, especially around what they call the “organizational zones”. That’s a pretty funny use of jargon right there but I’m here for it! Gimme zones!
And let’s talk about those shall we? To be honest, I have no idea what defines these, lol, but I’ll go over the pockets like I always do.
Outside, we’ve got a quick access slash pocket on the top front, as well as what they call a yoke pocket on the top back (this is not only a great addition but should be noted it fits their .5L pouch like a glove; something I’m sure was again…intentional).
In the front, there is a vertically oriented admin panel with plenty of org inside and it has its own volume which I prefer so I can fit my tech pouch. Also has a key leash which is kind of a minimum at this price point. The .5L pouch also fits here.
Handles - Evergoods does handles very well. They make them in a way that the handles are mostly flush until you need them. They have a good hand feel with the wrapped material, even if the edges are a bit sudden. That’s OK with me. I’d like to see one more on the right side or the bottom, but the two that are here are fantastic.
Additionally on the outside you’ve got a side access laptop sleeve which is of a very nice quality. And on the back, you’ve got a luggage pass through, something you don’t often see on bags of this size.
Inside, you’ve got two zippered pockets on the clamshell opening front flap and those complete the pockets.
Some smaller but refined details (from Evergoods):
“- Bias cut panels for improved abrasion resistance or stretch
- Differentially cut shoulder straps for natural curve
- Aluminum side stay for sturdy side carry
- Utility loops outside of top carry handle to temporarily clip/secure smaller items”
Lastly, the back panel uses what they call monomesh and attempts to improve breathability.
The Wandering Loadout
So far for this testing I’ve used this bag on a couple of overnight car trips where I had to drive to a different state to pick up my parents, as well as for a 2night/3day trip to DC with flights. Below is the pack out for the DC trip. I’ve also thrown in some shots with some dummy cubes packed with laundry so you can see how they fit. These are the Evergoods packing cube, which are also awesome. Even if that hot orange is…nuclear. LOL. Keep an eye out for these in my follow up packing cube round up.
I went with my usual packing cube set up, as well as had a couple of pouches due to my tech pouch and my toiletries. The CTB20 ate them all up.
Wester Rise Cube: 2 shirts, one pair of pants
Thule Small Cube: 3 pairs of underwear, 1 pair of Darn Tough Socks, 3 Uniqlo Airism Undershirts
Patagonia Capilene Cool and Western Rise Session T added last minute, no cubes. (Capilene Cool Daily review)
Bellroy Toiletry Case (Review)
Electric Toothbrush in its travel case. A tin of hair product in the inside flap.
Porter Yoshida pouch as my tech kit.
Macbook Pro 13 in the laptop compartment. Kindle in there as well.
Few bits in the other pockets: Alpaka Zip pouch, Bellroy Zip Wallet, AirPods, Kindle.
The Good
I feel like it’s well known on this brand but I’m going to note it anyway. Evergoods’ reputation as both a company and with their products is top notch. They have a rabid following and now that I’ve had two bags and one of their pouches, I get it. The build quality is phenomenal and they are just really well thought out.
This extends to the organization in this bag. For a bag this small, it’s got a shocking amount of options but also - they don’t get in the way of each other. It’s all very usable, or not. Up to you. But I found the pockets to be outstanding and as always I really liked how the front pocket had its own volume which means I can use it for my tech pouches. The Porter slid right in there with no issues whatsoever. As shown for scale, it also fits a slim keyboard no problem.
One more thing to mention on those pockets - the “yoke” pocket as they called it on the top was not only fantastic for whatever you wanted, especially a glasses case - but this pocket also perfectly fits their .5L pouch. Picture included. I have their orange version and I love that thing for shorter/slimmer needs. It’s great to see when bag companies think about the integration between products. See what I mean? Intentional.
So they nail the design and organization, which is great. But I think they also nail the colorways, too. The olive is the right kind of olive. And the waxed canvas? Holy crap that looks cool. It’s heavier, and it’s of course much more expensive, but if you have the extra scratch laying around or you like to invest in limited edition bags, those things look amazing and have such a great heritage vibe to them. I love the options.
Additionally, I liked the fact that there are some aluminum stays in the bag for better carry support and these seem to also help the bag to stand up by itself. Which I know some of you freaks out there are obsessed with, lol.
Internal materials patches/tags. I don’t know what the vibe is - vintage military? But I like the inside patch that explains the materials and has the Evergoods branding. It’s really cool and just kind of one of those nice touches that a designer chooses to deliberately put there.
Another great thing to mention is that because this is 20L, it will fit in MOST under-seat spots on airplanes. I say most because I can’t make a claim it will fit everywhere, especially on planes that have the hard-drive/entertainment brains box under there. But most should be pretty fine.
Next up on the back - having a luggage passthrough on a small bag like this is a great bit of design. Just very thoughtful and nice to see.
I love the “patch” logo as well. It’s their logo, but you can add your own patch to it - which as you can see that I did in some of the pics.
The straps are SUPER comfortable and felt good the entire time I used them.
Lastly, a small thing but the laptop compartment is very well designed.
The Bad
I didn’t have a lot to criticize here but I’d be lying if I didn’t point out that I think this is a high price point for a lot of folks for a bag that’s 20L. The reality is though - for bags of this quality and design that’s the going rate and you’re going to have to be OK with that if you want to play in this space. There are other options out there for lower price points.
Something else I did notice, and I will say up front I’m short at 5' 6”, is something that I’ve seen mentioned online a bit. With a shorter torso, the bottom part of the bag will sit right on your lower back/hips/top of your butt. This may or may not affect comfort for you. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either - more so in the sense that I noticed it. It didn’t ruin my day or anything. If your torso is longer, I don’t think this will be something you even experience. But for my short brethren, you might.
I’d like one more handle on there - preferably the bottom.
I don’t love vertical layout admin panels. While I do use a pouch, sometimes you do just want to throw some things in the slip pockets but as a backpack they fall out. Evergoods DID add some zippers in there on some, so that’s good to see. Just mentioning though.
One thing to note on Evergoods bags, and this is true for both that I’ve owned - their zippers are extremely tight. High quality of course. No argument there. But they can be a bit of a slog to open and close. Part of this is that they are just tight in the track in general. But the other side is that Evergoods’ bags often have slightly rounded corners on the top of the bag to square it off. That’s great from a packability standpoint but it slows the zippers way down. I think there is something they can do because Black Ember for instance, has the smoothest high end zippers I’ve used, and those were Aquaguard zippers which are normally pretty sticky. Something to work on, I think.
Final Thoughts On My Evergoods Civic Travel Bag 20 Review
So yeah - it’s taken me a while to finally review a bag from these folks, and I can see why they are pretty universally loved in the bag nerd world.
The materials are amazing on these bags, just really well made. The Civic Travel Bag 20L is no exception.
I also really like the simple aesthetics and the subtle but cool color options.
Most important for me though was the usability around packing the bag out and the organization options that it gives you. While it’s small enough to use for EDC, it REALLY shines as a shorter-trip travel bag. Its clamshell opening, and the slightly better depth with the zipper placement, really makes this fantastic to pack. My suggestion is to use cubes, but you do you. Have a ball. It also means that it's great if you’re an EDC pouch or cube person, too. But yeah - organization and packability really really shine on this one.
And while I don’t always like to point out that you can pack more than usual (because in most cases people should be packing less) - that’s usually on the 35-45L bags since folks really tend to over pack for trips. On a 20L bag - I do think it’s good that you can max that thing out as needed and it never gets too big.
For the most part it was comfortable in use from a straps perspective, and it fit under the airplane seat just fine (I tested on both domestic economy and domestic first on AA).
While the price is an issue for some in terms of a broad reach, I don’t have a problem with that. The biggest thing to note is that some of you might run into the bag digging into your lower back where your back meets your butt. Will be pretty hard to know who that affects and how much you dislike it, but it’s something to look out for.
Overall, just a really great bag and probably one of my favorite smaller bags I’ve come across for travel focused carry. A thoughtful layout with great organization that I think you should take a look at if you’re looking for a well made, boutique bag for more compact travel - this is a top option to consider. You won’t find a lot better, in my opinion.
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Head on over to our Travel Bag reviews page for more like this as well as the Black Ember Forge 30 review or the recent Level8 Gibraltar Carry On review.
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