Moneymagpie Team
22nd Sep 2025
Reading Time: 7 minutes
Gomatic is known for high-quality travel kit and accessories, having started out as a brand specialising in camera kit bags for photographers. They now have a wide range of luggage, bags and accessories available.
The Gomatic Expandable Backpack is advertised as an ideal commuter bag. But does it do the job well?
What is the Gomatic Backpack?
A sleek waterproof backpack, the Gomatic Expandable Backpack is designed to be flexible around your needs. It has a 20 litre capacity, with the option to undo some zips to let out a further 4 litres of space if you need it. (Or, you can opt for the 14 litre bag that expands to 17 litres). This means it can be kept narrow and sleek when you’re going about your everyday tasks and commuting on public transport, but add a little extra carrying room if you need to carry a jacket or some extra files for work.
It comes in three colours: black, olive, and navy. The straps are adjustable and there’s also a chest strap to help take the weight off a particularly heavy load. There’s also a side handle for easy carrying, and a luggage strap to loop over the handle of wheeled luggage (like the Gomatic Method Luggage we reviewed here).
The Tests We Put It Through
As always, we put the bag through its paces. It was used to go to the local library for a study session, across the north for a daytrip to a business meeting, and for an overnight trip to London. This review was written after several weeks of near-daily use.
We always test items in the circumstances you’d be likely to use them, to make sure it stands up to claims.
More importantly, for items with a higher price tag than alternatives on the market, we want to make sure it will save you money in the long term. The Gomatic Backpack retails for £259, and it does come with a lifetime warranty, but we made sure to put it through its paces to ensure it would stand up to regular daily use compared to cheaper options. (Spoiler alert: it’s very durable and deserves its price tag).
The Best Features
There are a LOT of things to like about this bag.
Water Resistant
The fabric is water resistant, so you don’t suddenly panic about your laptop and tech getting soaked if you get caught in a downpour. The zips are sealed much like on a waterproof coat, to help prevent rain getting in. It also means the fabric is easy to wipe down if it gets mucky on the go.
Our reviewer wore this bag during an unexpected downpour with their laptop in the main compartment and mobile phone in the top single pocket. Everything stayed dry!
So. Many. Pockets!
If you dislike backpacks that are just one big holdall without dividers, then the Gomatic Backpack is definitely up your street. There are SO MANY pockets and dividers, it’s really easy to stay organised on the go. In fact, there are so many pockets that our tester took a few days of using it to find them all!
A hidden pocket in the back is perfect for carrying your ID for easy-but-secret access (also ideal to hide an AirTag in). The outside of the bag has two bottle pockets, one on each side, and the smart touch we loved was the magnetic strip that snapped them flat against the bag when not in use, or when smaller items were put in the pockets. There is also an RFID safe pocket for your wallet.
Inside, there is also a pocket that includes a removable black hard plastic case with a soft pouch for your glasses or sunglasses. It would provide protection for any smaller items too, or you can remove the plastic case to give a little more space inside. It’s located at the top of the main compartment too, making it easy to open a zip and access your sunglasses in seconds – a good example of the care and thought that has gone into the design of the bag.
Laptop Friendly
The bag has two main compartments. The front compartment has several zipped pockets for easy access to essentials (without having to rummage). The back compartment is bigger and has a dedicated padded laptop sleeve at the back, and a tablet section. The laptop compartment was big enough for a 2025 15 inch Macbook Air inside its own neoprene case (so with added bulk) and it was easy to access. Extra sleeves, dividers, and pockets meant it was really easy to keep tech organised, too.
Keeps Its Shape
A lot of backpacks are unstructured fabric, which means they look quite ‘rustic’ when filled up. There’s also very little protection for items inside. The Gomatic Expandable Backpack has a solid shape, adding protection but also keeping it sleek and predictable. You know this bag will always fit on a busy train, on an overhead luggage rack, or even as a cabin hand luggage bag that would fit under the seat on most (if not all) airlines.
Flat Opening
Most backpacks open top-down, which can mean a lot of rummaging. The full perimeter zips create a fold-out opening of the Gomatic Backpack, and made it really easy to access anything at any time. And, while this design can make everything fall out of your bag if you’re not careful, the (did we mention many?) pockets and dividers mean your stuff stays securely inside when you unzip it.
The only time our reviewer found the front-open design a bit of a struggle was when they used it as an overnight bag, as their clothes were in the middle section so there was a bit of juggling things around to stop them falling out while looking for something in a lower pocket. This could, of course, be somewhat down to user error (ie they admit to not packing the bag in the most logical way!).
Not Bulky
While the 20 litre capacity holds plenty of stuff for an everyday commute, it doesn’t feel bulky. Our reviewer is just over six foot, and it sat comfortably on their back – the adjustable straps came in handy. We also tested it on a 5’5″ person, and it still didn’t look like it overpowered them or was too big for them, unlike a lot of backpacks.
Different Carrying Options
It sounds like a small thing, but this backpack can be carried on your back (obviously), but also has a top handle and – what our reviewer loved – a side handle. This turns it from a backpack to a briefcase, making it easy to carry anywhere and look professional. The side handle also proved convenient when it was stored on an overhead luggage rack on a train, giving more control when pulling it from the rack than by the longer straps. You can fix the straps away so they don’t dangle around when you’re using it as a briefcase, too.
Lifetime Warranty
This is an amazing part of Gomatic bags. They offer a lifetime warranty to repair or replace your Gomatic bag if it fails due to a manufacturing issue, such as broken zips, buttons, or seam defects. This makes the high price tag of £259 worth it when you can rest assured that, should something go wrong (aside from your usual wear and tear), your bag will be repaired.
What Could Be Improved?
While Gomatic sent this item for review, as with all featured products, we are honest and authentic, pointing out the good AND the bad for any consumer review item. There were a couple of things we would like to see altered in a newer model:
Sticky Zips
The waterproofing of the zips is both a pro and a con. The rounded shape of the main zip, which is necessary for the shape of the bag, meant sometimes the zip would catch on the waterproof taping. This made it not always the smoothest of openings, but after a few uses this did soften up as the bag became ‘worn in’.
More Colours, Please!
A common nitpick in our consumer reviews, while the Gomatic Backpack comes in black, olive, or navy, it would be lovely to see some brighter colours or even printed designs. However, their brand is very professional and rooted in its photography kit history, so the muted colour palette does make sense for the brand.
Best for Study or a Commute
While the backpack did well on the overnight trip, it was a smidge on the small side even when expanded and decisions had to be made about what got left at home! For the light packer, it would suffice for a couple of days especially if you didn’t also need to take a laptop, books, or other tech like a tablet. The many pockets were very helpful most of the time, but for packing on the overnight trip the space taken by the dividers and pockets sacrificed space for larger items like clothes. Our reviewer couldn’t fit a spare pair of shoes in (though they are size 11s…).
It would be a brilliant bag for a student with a lot to carry, as it was incredibly comfortable to wear even fully packed, and similarly for someone who wanted a reliable commuter bag for everyday use. The durable materials mean it would stand up to everyday use for sure.
However, if you want a backpack that does all of the above and has more room for weekend trips, Gomatic also have the Gomatic Travel Pack for just £20 more. At the same 20 litre or 14 litre options, it offers many of the features of the standard backpack, but also a mesh zippered divider to allow you to open the bag flat without losing your clothes everywhere. It also includes flight-security approved (TSA) laptop compartment and a much larger 50% capacity expansion, compared to the 20% of the backpack reviewed here.
Where to Buy the Gomatic Backpack
You can buy the Gomatic Backpack from the website here. It is £239 for the 14 litre or £259 for the 20 litre. Use the code MAGPIE10 at checkout for 10% off before 31st December 2025.
For a larger option, the Gomatic Travel Pack offers an extra mesh divider and 50% expansion capacity for £259 on the 14 litre or £279 on the 20 litre.