MATEIN Backpack vs Osprey Farpoint 40: Budget-vs-Premium Carry-On Showdown

The question lands in my inbox a few times a month: is the Osprey Farpoint worth it, or is a cheaper backpack just as good for carry-on-only travel? I carried both on the same type of trips last year. I flew four legs through Europe with the MATEIN 17-inch anti-theft travel backpack and four legs through Southeast Asia with the Osprey Farpoint 40. Same clothes, same packing list, same types of airports. The answer is more nuanced than either camp wants to admit, so here is what I actually found after living out of both bags.

The short version: the MATEIN wins on value and daily organization for most carry-on-only travelers. The Osprey Farpoint wins on carrying comfort when you are walking long distances every day for two weeks or more. If you are picking a single bag for weekend trips, business travel, or city-hopping with a budget airline, the math almost always goes in the MATEIN's favor.

	MATEIN Travel Backpack	Osprey Farpoint 40
Retail Price	~$30	~$160-$175
Capacity	35L (approx)	40L
Weight (Empty)	1.6 lbs	2.8 lbs
Max Laptop Size	Fits up to 17 inches	Fits up to 15 inches
USB Charging Port	Yes, external port with internal cable routing	No
Anti-Theft Zippers	Yes, hidden back-panel pocket	No
TSA Lay-Flat Opening	Yes, dedicated lay-flat laptop compartment	No dedicated lay-flat
Hip Belt / Frame	No frame, padded shoulder straps only	Peripheral frame with padded hip belt
Rain Cover Included	No (sold separately ~$10)	Yes, included
Warranty	1-year limited	Lifetime (All Mighty Guarantee)

How I Tested Both Bags

I kept the conditions as controlled as I could manage. For the MATEIN legs, I packed: three days of clothes rolled tightly, a 15-inch MacBook Pro, a VYLEE travel adapter, the FYY cable organizer, toiletries in the top pocket, and a paperback. Total bag weight: 14.2 lbs. For the Osprey legs, same clothes, same electronics, same weight range. I tracked how each bag handled check-in gates, overhead bins, security lanes, and end-of-day shoulder fatigue. I also surveyed my bag in a mirror after long transit days to check shape retention and pocket wear.

One note on fairness: the Osprey Farpoint 40 and the MATEIN 17-inch are not exact equivalents. The Farpoint is 40 liters and built for long-haul adventure travel. The MATEIN is closer to 35 liters and built for business and urban carry-on use. But that difference is exactly the point. Most people searching for a carry-on backpack are deciding between something in this price range and something in the Osprey price range, so the comparison is the right one to run.

Where the MATEIN Wins

Price is the obvious headline, but it is not the only win. The MATEIN fits a 17-inch laptop, which the Osprey Farpoint does not. If you carry anything larger than a 15-inch MacBook, the Osprey immediately removes itself from contention. The MATEIN's laptop sleeve uses a dedicated lay-flat zip so the bag opens like a folder at TSA. You pull the laptop out, send both through, clip the laptop back in, and move on. I have never been asked to unpack anything else from the MATEIN at a security lane. That design is baked in, not an afterthought.

The built-in USB port with internal cable routing is something you only miss when you travel without it. On a long layover at Frankfurt Airport, I charged my phone through the side port while the bag sat on my lap, without opening a single zipper or digging through a pocket. The Osprey Farpoint has no equivalent. For a bag at this price, the MATEIN is remarkably thoughtful about what modern travelers actually need at an airport.

The anti-theft hidden pocket on the back panel is the third differentiator. My passport and a folded copy of my travel insurance went in there every single flight. The pocket sits flush against my back when I wear the bag, so accessing it requires taking the bag off. That is the point. Pickpockets in Rome and Bangkok target the outer pockets. The MATEIN's design makes those pockets not worth trying. The Osprey Farpoint has no comparable security feature.

Where the Osprey Farpoint Wins

Carrying comfort over long distances is where the Osprey earns every dollar of its price difference. The peripheral frame and padded hip belt transfer load off your shoulders in a way no unframed backpack can match. If you are walking six to eight hours a day through a city, or hiking between hostels across a mountainous region, that hip belt is not optional equipment. After a full day walking Lisbon's hills, my shoulders were noticeably less fatigued with the Farpoint than they had been on the previous trip carrying the MATEIN over the same kind of terrain.

The included rain cover is a genuine differentiator worth calling out. Portugal in October and Vietnam during shoulder season both threw rain at me. The Farpoint's cover went on in about ten seconds and kept the bag completely dry. With the MATEIN, I had bought a separate cover for around $10. Not a dealbreaker, but worth factoring into your real cost comparison. The Farpoint also opens fully clamshell, which makes packing and unpacking at a slow, deliberate pace easier than the top-load main compartment on the MATEIN.

The Osprey Farpoint is a better bag for people who walk for hours with it on their back. The MATEIN is a better bag for people who fly frequently and live out of airports.

Airline Sizing: Does Either Fit in the Overhead Bin?

This is the question that matters most for carry-on-only travelers. The MATEIN measures approximately 17.5 by 12.5 by 6.5 inches when packed to a reasonable level. That slides into most major airline overhead bins without an argument, including most budget carriers in Europe. I have never had it gate-checked. The Osprey Farpoint 40 at 40 liters is a bigger gamble at the gate. It technically meets carry-on specs for many US carriers, but it regularly gets gate-checked on Ryanair, EasyJet, and Spirit because the frame adds rigidity that resists compression when a flight attendant tries to see if it will 'just fit.'

If you fly exclusively full-service carriers on routes where overhead space is not contested, the Osprey usually clears. If you fly budget airlines at all, or if you board toward the back of the plane, the MATEIN's softer and more compressible structure gives you a much better chance of keeping your bag in the cabin. On a morning flight out of London Stansted, I watched two travelers ahead of me in the boarding queue get their Farpoints gate-checked on the same flight where my MATEIN slid overhead without a second glance.

Organization: Day-to-Day Use

The MATEIN has more named compartments than the Osprey Farpoint. The main compartment holds clothes. A secondary compartment holds a laptop with a separate tablet sleeve. A front organizer pocket has card slots, a key fob clip, a pen loop, and two smaller pockets for cords and a hard drive. A side mesh pocket holds a water bottle. For a city trip where you are pulling things in and out all day, the MATEIN's organization system beats the Farpoint's more open clamshell body.

The Osprey Farpoint's main body is essentially one large open space with an internal divider sleeve. That suits travelers who use packing cubes for structure and want maximum flexibility in how they load the bag, but it means nothing has a specific home. I found myself digging for things I knew were in there. If you want compartments and designated slots for everyday items, the MATEIN is the better daily driver. If you prefer packing cubes and minimal internal structure, the Farpoint works on those terms.

Build Quality and Long-Term Durability

This is where the price difference shows most honestly. The MATEIN's zippers are smooth and have held up through six months of testing, but they are not the same grade as what Osprey installs. The Osprey uses heavy-duty hardware and backs every bag with its All Mighty Guarantee: a lifetime warranty covering any defect or damage, ever. If you keep a bag for ten years, the Osprey's amortized cost starts looking significantly more reasonable than the sticker price suggests.

That said, 113,547 Amazon ratings averaging 4.7 stars is a durable signal about the MATEIN's real-world reliability. A small fraction of one-star reviews cite zipper failures after extended heavy use, but those are the minority at this scale. For average travelers who pack thoughtfully and are not throwing a loaded bag across airport floors, the MATEIN will hold up across years of regular use. The durability risk is real but priced appropriately.

Who Should Buy the MATEIN

The MATEIN is the right pick if you fly more than you walk, if you carry a 16 or 17-inch laptop, if you want USB charging built in, if you travel frequently on budget airlines, or if you simply do not want to spend $160 on a backpack when $30 buys you most of the same capabilities. It is also the clear choice for anyone new to carry-on-only travel who is not yet sure which features matter most for their specific style. At this price, the cost of being wrong is low. Most people discover they were not wrong at all. For a deeper look at the anti-theft design, zipper quality, and real-world packing tests, read the full MATEIN travel backpack review.

Who Should Buy the Osprey Farpoint

The Osprey Farpoint 40 makes sense if you take trips longer than two weeks where you will walk several miles daily with the bag on your back, if you fly exclusively on full-service carriers with reliable overhead space, and if you want a lifetime warranty on a bag you plan to use for a decade or more. If those three things describe your travel style, the Farpoint’s premium is justified. If even one of those does not apply, spend $30 on the MATEIN and put the other $130 directly into your trip budget. And if you want to make sure your anti-theft backpack sails through every security checkpoint without slowing you down, check out the guide on how to use an anti-theft backpack to breeze through airport security.