MATEIN Travel Backpack Review: Does the Anti-Theft Design Hold Up in the Real World?

I bought the MATEIN 17-inch anti-theft backpack the night before a six-week Europe trip after my previous daypack had its side pocket unzipped on the Rome metro. I was not pickpocketed, but I came close enough that I spent an hour on Amazon looking for something with zippers I could actually control. The MATEIN had 113,000 reviews and a 4.7-star average. I figured it was worth the gamble. That was eight months ago. Since then it has been on the ground in Portugal, Thailand, Colombia, and a handful of countries between. Here is what I have learned.

How I Have Used This Bag

My carry-on setup is strict: one backpack, no checked bags, no personal item. The MATEIN is my only bag on every trip. That means it carries my 15-inch laptop, a full week of clothes in compression cubes, toiletry kit, power adapter, three charging cables, water bottle, and whatever I buy at the airport. On domestic hops it works as a personal item under the seat. On international flights I load it to around 25 liters and throw it in the overhead bin. It has been weighed by airline staff in Lisbon, Bangkok, and Medellin without issue.

My travel style skews toward cities with sketchy public transport and a lot of pedestrian crowds. I spend time in markets, on metros, and in hostel common areas where the person next to you is a stranger. That context matters for how I evaluate the anti-theft features. I am not testing this bag on a corporate campus. I am testing it in situations where those features actually get used.

Over eight months I have washed the bag twice in a front-loader on cold, air-dried it, and had it soaked in a Bangkok downpour that lasted forty minutes. It has been overhead-binned, gate-checked once in Colombia (not by choice), and crammed under train seats. I give you all of this so you can weigh my experience against your own travel style.

The Anti-Theft Design: What Actually Works

The main compartment zipper sits against your back when the bag is being worn. To open it, you have to take the bag off. That is the whole anti-theft mechanism in one sentence, and it is more effective than it sounds. A thief looking for a quick unzip-and-grab in a crowd simply cannot do it when the zipper pull faces your spine. I noticed this immediately on the Rome metro during my first trip with this bag. A man brushed against me twice. I felt nothing because there was nothing to feel. The zipper was not accessible to him.

There is also a hidden front pocket on the back panel itself, tucked between the bag and the padded back system. This is where I keep my passport and backup credit card. It is completely invisible from the outside and requires removing the bag to access. It sounds inconvenient, and it is slightly, but for document storage while in transit I find the trade-off absolutely worth it. I have never once felt that pocket was at risk.

The lockable zipper pulls accept a small TSA-accepted lock (not included). I use a cheap cable lock on the main compartment when I leave the bag unattended in a hostel locker. Combined with the back-access design, this gives me two layers of protection on the valuables compartment. That said, no soft bag is truly theft-proof. A determined person with a knife can open any backpack. The MATEIN deters the opportunistic grab, not the committed thief.

The zipper faces your spine. A thief looking for a quick unzip-and-grab in a crowd simply cannot do it. That is the whole design, and it works.

Organization: A Compartment for Almost Everything

The MATEIN has a layout that clearly was designed by someone who travels. The main compartment fits a 17-inch laptop (I use a 15-inch MacBook Pro) with room to spare on the sides for documents or a thin tablet. There is a separate top-access laptop sleeve that pops open flat for TSA screening. I cannot overstate how useful this is. I walk up to security, unzip the top panel, laptop slides out without digging through clothes, and I am through the scanner in under a minute. On a trip with multiple flights this alone saves meaningful frustration.

The front compartment is a grid of elastic loops, pockets, and a key clip. I use it for cables, my power bank, earbuds, and a small notebook. Everything has a designated spot and nothing rattles around. There is a separate side pocket for a water bottle that is easy to reach while wearing the bag, and a small top-handle pocket sized perfectly for a phone, boarding pass, and a card.

The USB port on the right side runs to an internal cable loop where a power bank sits. You plug your power bank into the internal cable, then plug your phone into the external USB port. I want to be clear about something that some buyers miss: the bag does not have a battery. It just routes your power bank to the outside. That is fine and actually preferable in my opinion, since built-in batteries are a lithium-airline-restriction headache. I use an Anker 10,000mAh bank and charge my phone on the way to the airport with no fumbling.

Fit, Comfort, and Long-Haul Realities

The shoulder straps are padded and comfortable for the first two to three hours of continuous wear. After that, if you are carrying a full load (laptop, clothes, all accessories), you start to feel it. The straps are not contoured to a spine and there is no hip belt or sternum strap. For a day of sightseeing with a lighter load, totally fine. For a full transit day where you are wearing the bag from the taxi to the airport to a two-hour layover to the next taxi, you will want to put it down every hour or so.

The back panel is lightly padded with a channel running down the center for airflow. In a Thai summer that channel makes a small difference. The bag does not become a sauna on your back, but it is not a frameless ultralight shell either. People who do serious long-distance walking with a fully loaded bag should look at bags with better suspension systems. The MATEIN is made for transit, city exploration, and day trips, not for ten-mile hiking days.

I am five-foot-six and the bag fits me proportionally. A few of my taller travel companions found it sat a little low on their backs. MATEIN makes a larger version but the sizing is built around a medium-frame torso. If you are over six feet, try it on before committing.

Durability After Eight Months

The zippers have not split or snagged. That is the first thing I check on any bag after six-plus months because zippers are usually where budget bags fail. The YKK-style pulls (MATEIN does not spec the zipper brand) still pull smoothly. The water-resistant coating has worn slightly at the bottom corners, which see the most abrasion from being set down on rough surfaces. The bag still sheds light rain, but I would not trust it in a sustained heavy downpour the way I did on day one.

The stitching at the shoulder strap attachment points shows no signs of stress. The grab handle on top, which I use constantly for lifting into overhead bins, is still solid. The elastic on the front organizer pockets has retained its tension. Two machine washes on cold have not affected the fabric or any hardware. I genuinely cannot find damage on this bag beyond cosmetic wear on the bottom panel.

For a bag at this price point, the durability has been a genuine surprise. I have paid more for bags that failed faster.

Airline Sizing and Carry-On Compliance

The MATEIN measures approximately 18.9 x 12.2 x 7.9 inches when fully packed. Most major airlines allow a personal item up to 18 x 14 x 8 inches and a carry-on up to 22 x 14 x 9 inches. This bag lives in the overlap zone. On budget carriers in Southeast Asia (AirAsia, Scoot) I had it slide through the sizing box without issue when packed to about 70 percent capacity. When stuffed completely full, it does not fit the personal-item sizers cleanly. Know which category you are targeting before you board.

For the overhead bin on any normal-sized commercial aircraft, fully loaded, no problems. The bag compresses slightly and slides in. I have never had a gate agent challenge it as a carry-on. If you are flying Spirit or Frontier domestically and trying to use this as a free personal item at full load, you may want to reduce what you pack in.

How It Compares to Pricier Alternatives

The obvious comparison is the Osprey Farpoint 40, which costs three to four times as much. The Farpoint has a far better suspension system, a detachable daypack, and is genuinely designed for people walking long distances with a full load. If your travel involves hiking days or you need a bag that doubles as a frame pack, the Osprey is worth the investment. If you spend most of your travel time in cities moving between taxis, trains, and airport terminals, the MATEIN does the same organizational job at a fraction of the price. I have made my choice and it is the MATEIN for most of my trips. I go deeper on this comparison in my MATEIN vs Osprey Farpoint showdown if you want the full side-by-side breakdown.

Other budget competitors I have tried in this category tend to cut corners on zipper quality or interior organization. The MATEIN's organizing panel in the front compartment is more thoughtfully laid out than bags that cost twice as much. That matters when you are digging for a cable at a charging station in a crowded airport.

Who This Is For

The MATEIN is built for city travelers, frequent fliers, and anyone who has ever had their bag pocket unzipped in a crowd without knowing it. If you move between hotels and Airbnbs, ride a lot of public transit, spend time in busy markets, and want a single bag that handles a laptop and a few days of clothes without checking a bag, this delivers. It is also a genuinely solid choice for work commuters who occasionally travel, because it looks professional, holds a 17-inch laptop, and does not scream "tourist backpack" the way some outdoor packs do. For more reasons this bag earns a permanent spot in your rotation, check out my 10 reasons an anti-theft backpack is worth the switch.

Who Should Skip It

If your trips involve long walks with a heavy load, hiking between destinations, or any kind of active outdoor itinerary, the shoulder strap system will let you down before the day is over. You need a bag with a hip belt and internal frame. If you need waterproofing you can count on in sustained rain (not just light drizzle), look at bags with a waterproof shell or a built-in rain cover. And if you regularly fly ultra-budget domestic carriers where the personal item box is enforced strictly, measure carefully before assuming the MATEIN fits free of charge.