Help me find a backpack that isn't a backpack!

Let me introduce you to the http://www.tombihn.com/PROD/TB0906.html. Carries like a suitcase, converts into a backpack, or you can add an optional shoulder strap. https://www.tombihn.com/blog/video-three-trips-aeronaut, and fits into an overhead bin. I've had one for four or five years and use it every other month or so, and it looks brand new. I really can't recommend it highly enough.

Have you thought of getting two bags? I mean, I carry a mid-sized "grown up" messenger bag (https://s7.jcrew.com/is/image/jcrew/23962_SP3267?%24pdp_fs418%24, although I got mine used on eBay) and while I have certainly gone on long walks carrying it, I would not care to hike with it. I also don't think I could live out of it for an extended period. I think that the reason messenger bags may be giving you backaches is that they really aren't designed for heavy loads - even the serious bike messenger ones are designed more for bulk than weight, and they're not the best for travel. (My previous bag was a really nice ReLoad messenger bag in red and grey.) Why not get one bag for daily use and one for travel? In fact, if you do this you can even fold up the daily use one inside the travel one and use it at your destination as a day bag. Get a backpack for travel (unless you're a suit, it won't matter if you're traveling with a backpack) and a messenger bag for daily. Or get a bigger backpack for travel and one of the more sub fusc "grown up" backpacks that are available this season, like https://www.everlane.com/collections/mens-backpacks/products/snap-pack-grey from Everlane.

Screw professional. Buy a http://www.freitag.ch/.

I totally feel you. I've long felt like I look a bit of a doofus wearing a backpack, but over the years I've migrated from a briefcase/laptop bag, to a messenger bag, and now, finally, to a backpack. The thing is, if you've got more than just a little bit of stuff to carry and you want to keep both hands free, a backpack is really the only way to do it that's not going to eventually leave you in pain. There are only so many ways to load cargo onto a human body, and for moderate-to-heavy loads a backpack is by far the most comfortable – which, if you're doing it every day, eventually equates to "least damaging". My solution was to go with a backpack that at least didn't make me look like a high school student. I am in fact a graduate student so I didn't need to worry too much about looking business-professional, but I did want to at least look like an adult. I eventually settled on http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/showdown-ipad-macbook-laptop-backpack/2615027 but more businesslike options were also available. In particular, I found I tended to like backpacks from brands that are better-known for making quality messenger bags. I'm talking specifically about http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/shop/category/laptop-backpacks, http://www.chromeindustries.com/us/en/bags/backpacks, and http://www.crumpler.com/us/backpacks. All three brands make a quality product, and their stuff is more fashionable than the norm. Quite a few of the options (particularly Chrome's, in my opinion) look reasonably professional, especially in darker or more muted colors. Perhaps one of them would suit your tastes? To be perfectly honest though, my favorite backpack to actually wear is my http://www.rei.com/product/846577/osprey-daylite-daypack. It was much less expensive than my Timbuk2, and while it makes you look a bit like you're preparing to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteener, it is incredibly comfortable, light as a feather, and will fit a 15" Thinkpad despite being apparently quite small. It's a lovely little thing.

My wife has the Tom Bihn http://www.tombihn.com/backpacks/TB0103.html, which is almost exactly the same size as your previous pack. It's very minimalist and doesn't scream "minor niner". It works great as her everyday "briefcase". Like all the Tom Bihn stuff we own, it's been bomb proof. This is still a backpack though. A more luggagy travel-oriented bag is the Red Oxx http://www.redoxx.com/Shop-by-Gear-Item/Sky-Train/91019/13/Product. Soft luggage, carry on maximum, with straps for back carry, very well configured for light packers. I've used the similar Air Boss now for more than 15 years and it's still going strong. Highly recommended.

THANK YOU. This was awesome. Those suitcase/backpack/duffle hybrids are perfect - I'm either going to go with the Patagonia MLC or the Tom Bihn Tri-Star, which appears to have exactly the capacity of my beloved backpack. Obviously they are both pretty expensive, but it sounds like they will hold up forever, which is worth the investment. Hopefully I won't have to ask a luggage question for a long time!

Another vote for http://www.tombihn.com/ bags! Exactly what you describe you're looking for. Particularly the Aeronaut or Western Flyer. I originally found out about them through Ask too, and they are amazing. (Not that it matters, but also the only bag I've ever received complements on/asked what make it is from complete strangers while traveling).

I think the thing about backpacks looking non-grown-up is because they are ideal for certain purposes (hiking, travelling) and not others (work, shopping). So using one as your primary bag all the time says that you "aren't grown up enough to be able to afford or think about different bags for different purposes". (Personally I think minimalism is its own reward and there is nothing wrong with only owning one bag, but YMMV). So yeah, I don't think there is one bag that can replace everything a backpack can do. I personally have transitioned in recent years to a large tote bag for work (can fit lunch, gym gear, student essays, laptop, but is not comfortable to carry for longer than 15 minutes or so at a time, which is not an issue at work), a briefcase for interviews/conferences, and a backpack for travelling or hiking. I use the tote or the backpack for shopping depending on whether I am just wandering through a farmer's market or spending a full day at the mall.

That's a very student-y looking backpack; I think you can probably find some options that are a little more grown-up looking. (And from your travel requirements, I can't imagine any bag will be nearly as comfortable and convenient as a backpack.) http://www.ebags.com/product/swissgear-travel-gear/scansmart-backpack/205059?productid=10111179 http://www.ebags.com/product/samsonite/tectonic-large-backpack/219150?productid=10146704 http://www.ebags.com/product/the-north-face/womens-surge-2/237252?productid=10198019 Just from a quick survey of ebags I see a small but growing number of attorneys going into court with backpacks instead of briefcases ... black, laptop backpacks, which they often carry by the top loop in the courthouse but put on their backs out of it. It doesn't look as out-of-place in a professional setting as it used to, as long as it's a black backpack that looks like it can carry a laptop. But yes, you may be happier with a "city bag" and a "travel bag" separate, depending on what stuff you're carrying around!