Backpacks that are packable are great! They are small in size and they fold flat so you can store them inside a luggage suitcase when traveling.
The Thule EnRoute Escort 2 is a nifty packable day bag that you can easily pack away. It weighs just 1.3kg, it has plenty of organization pockets and has the right size (45cm tall) to fit inside a luggage bag so, when you get to where you are traveling you have a nice little daypack that you can carry around with you.
The EnRoute Escort 2 daypack is extremely well built and spaciously designed to store 11 UK litres (27 US litres) worth of gear, which is a lot of gear, considering the dimensions of the EnRoute Escort 2 daypack (45cm high by 35cm wide).
The EnRoute Escort 2 is designed to expand outwards, a bit like an accordion, up to 31cm via four zip compartments.
The smallest zip compartment has a hard-shell enclosure similar to that of a hard shell EVA carrying case to protect things against bumps. The hard-shell compartment is ideal for glasses, headphones, smartphones, portable games console and any other gadgets that you want to protect against damage.
The EnRoute Escort 2 main zip compartment contains two dedicated padded sleeves for a laptop and tablet. According to the swing tag, the maximum storage capacity for the laptop is a 15.2-inch screen (26.7cm wide and 4.4cm thick body). The maximum capacity for a tablet is a 10.6-inch screen (19cm wide and 1.4cm thick body).
The laptop and tablet sleeves can actually expand a fair bit so, you could technically accommodate larger devices but since there isn't a velcro or elastic straps to secure down the laptop and tablet that could be the reason why the swing tag on the backpack states a maximum capacity for a laptop and tablet.
Aside from the hard-shell compartment, which has a single zip. The other three compartments in the EnRoute Escort 2 have dual zips with nylon pulltabs, except for the main compartment zips, which have finger loop zip pulls.
The zips also have eyelets large enough to pass through a padlock should you want to make the compartments lockable.
Organization is the main key feature of the EnRoute Escort 2 and you get plenty of it, include open pockets and zip mesh pockets to organize a laptop and tablet separately from smaller items like cable chargers, power banks, A4 binders, pens, college books, etc.
There is even a pass through opening on the top of the EnRoute Escort 2 for threading a headphone cable, charging cable and even a hydration pack tube, which is neat because the pass through opening sits just above the laptop compartment, which you could easily use to load a bladder water pack. There is even a small strap clip to fasten the bladder tube or headphone cable.
The grab handle on top is nicely stitched up to the bag and features EVA foam padding, which makes it very comfortable to hold in the hand with a heavy loaded pack.
Most backpacks outer shells use a DWR coating to protect them against rain downpours.The DWR coating is, essentially, a "plastic" coating added to the exterior of backpacks to stop water from penetrating the fabric.
The EnRoute Escort 2 shell material and zip seams are only water resistant, not waterproof, which is important to note and can only mean two things. Either the nylon outer shell of the EnRoute Escort 2 has some type of chemical coating applied to it or the fibers are tightly woven.
The swing doesn't say whether there is any repellent coating so, we can only assume the nylon fibers are tightly woven to create water resistance, which actually happens to be more environmentally friendly since waterproofing chemicals aren't sustainable by the environment. Being that the EnRoute Escort 2 is sold as a daypack and not an outdoor backpack, the water resistant rating is more than adequate.
It's important to note the difference between the terms daypack and backpack because they are used interchangeably, causing confusion. All daypacks are backpacks but all backpacks aren't daypacks because some backpacks come with internal frame that you will never find in a packable daypack.
As the name implies, day packs are intended for carrying gear for a day although it's nice for day packs to include backpacking features, which the EnRoute Escort 2 does.
Backpacking features include side compression straps, which help reduce the size of the bag when it's not fully loaded, as well as secure down a full load so, the gear inside doesn't shift around.
The EnRoute Escort 2 also features adjustable rear loading straps with quick-release clips located at the bottom of the EnRoute Escort 2 for securing additional items. Hikers and backpackers use rear loading straps for bulky items like sleeping bags and tent gear.
On the EnRoute Escort 2 daypack, you could use the rear loading straps for attaching a tripod, smelly gym gear and things like that. Just above the rear loading straps, there is a single daisy chain webbing loop that you could use for clipping a helmet.
On the front of the EnRoute Escort 2, there is a narrow vertical zip pocket, as well as four webbing loops with a small strip of reflective material to make the backpack visible at night.
The top of the shoulder straps also feature daisy chain webbing loops in the form of vertical keeper loops that you can use to hang anything that you need at close hand, including a pair of sunglasses, pick tool or body camera.
Speaking of shoulder straps, they also integrate an adjustable and removable chest strap, which is neat. The chest strap can be adjusted horizontally to compress the chest and can be slid vertically should you want the sternum strap higher or lower across the chest.
The webbing straps on the EnRoute Escort 2 also feature elastic retainers to keep loose webbing tidy and neatly out of the way so, webbing is not dangling in front of you.
The EnRoute Escort 2 uses EVA type foam for the shoulder straps and back support. There is no secret EVA foam is the best type of foam to use for backpack suspension. To top it off, the EnRoute Escort 2 back support is split into eight quadrants that resemble an eight-pack, allowing very good backside ventilation; hence no sweaty back!
A small, non-padded adjustable hip belt is also integrated in the EnRoute Escort 2, which helps to stabilize the pack on your back.
Because the waist belt is non-padded and short, it doesn't transfer much wait from the shoulders like a proper hip belt backpack does, which is thickly padded and long enough to cover the three-quarters of the torso.