Troubadour Women’s Arc Tote: An Elevated Travel and Commuter Backpack?

Did you know that most commuter and travel backpacks were designed for men’s bodies? Even if you see women modeling some of the best-selling and most well-known “personal item backpacks” or commuter laptop bags, they weren’t designed with women’s bodies in mind.

This is why I was thrilled to try the Troubadour Women’s Arc Tote. It’s a convertible tote-backpack laptop bag made specifically for women’s backs and uses, and I could feel the difference immediately.

This review covers the look and feel of this stylish laptop backpack with an urban chic aesthetic. I got compliments on it the first time I used it at an event in NYC, and it’s quickly one of my favorite small-size women’s travel backpacks that looks great every time I wear it.

Key highlights summary: What I’ll cover in this review

• The look and style: This bag is a flat style, rather than boxy or puffy, with minimal straps and semi-circle vegan leather handles for tote carrying.
• The functional features: zipper pockets, phone slips, laptop sleeve with a waterproof zipper, and more. I’ll tell you how it all works.
• The style and fit: it’s woman-specific, so a top thing to know is that the shoulder straps are narrower than a unisex or gender-neutral backpack
• Is it worth it for women who need a commuter laptop bag, or a personal item-sized travel backpack? I think the answer might be yes, but you have to read on.
• Where to get the Arc Tote and the best deal you can find online

Try it here: Troubadour Women’s Arc Tote Backpack with a women’s fit.

Why I got the Women’s Arc Tote laptop backpack for travel

I’ve been wearing Troubadour bags since 2021 in an array of different styles. My most recent favorites are the daypack-size Apex Mini backpack, which I like for its small size, but in all truth, the straps run a little wide on me.

I’m a 5’2” petite woman and all my life, most backpacks look either ridiculously big, or the straps run wide and uncomfortable on my back. I reviewed the Troubadour Elemental Backpack, one of the most impressive travel backpacks I’ve ever seen, but at the end of the day, it has a unisex fit. It’s not woman-specific.

So when Troubadour came out with the Arc Tote, a backpack designed specifically for women’s backs, not a unisex “meet in the middle” sizing scheme, I wanted to be the first to try it.

And I was not disappointed. The first time I used my Arc Tote, I had a meeting in NYC and packed my Arc Tote with my MacBook Air, snacks, a water bottle, my tripod (for shooting photos of myself wearing it, that you’ll see in my videos!), ear buds and a backup battery pack.

This review will detail how everything worked out for me so that you can see if this women’s backpack is going to fit your needs, too.

Women’s Arc Tote Backpack: Features I use

At the end of my meeting, several people wanted to see more about my Arc Tote laptop backpack. I even offered for them to try it out!

I made sure everyone knew that this is a women’s backpack: it would feel small and too narrow for men, but for women, especially those of us who run narrow and have had issues with regularly-sized backpacks all our lives, this one is a perfect fit.

Here are the parts of the Arc Tote that I used, and what you should know about them.

Tote handles

These are the chic part of the bag that make it a handle tote, or even, as I use it, a hand bag. If I’m out at happy hour in Manhattan and wearing a backpack feels a little out of place, the Arc Tote becomes an accessory on my arm.

I like the semicircle design, which is a nice geometry paired with the squareness of the backpack itself.

Backpack straps (and adjustments)

This is the hallmark woman-specific area of the Arc Tote backpack. The backpack straps are significantly narrower than the ‘regular’ and unisex-style travel backpacks and commuter bags I have used. I can feel that they’re pinned closer together than the wider-set straps on bags geared toward both men and women.

It makes me wonder why I haven’t been using women’s travel bags all my life. This is what I need.

The only issue I experienced with the straps is one that I will detail in “complaints,” below.

Laptop compartment

What I like best is that it has a weatherproofed zipper. This is one of Troubadour’s hallmark features and it’s important to know that not every brand is weatherproofing their zippers on laptop compartments! It’s the type of thing that takes this backpack to a premium level.

The backpack compartment is located at the back of the backpack, and it’s a separate compartment from the main cavity. So, what I like is that I can take out my backpack without having my other things like snacks, tripod and water bottle, roll out, while I want to do some typing on my laptop if I’m sitting on the train (which I am doing now).

Interior organization

Troubadour excels at organization options in all its bags, and in the Arc Tote, there are two zippered storage pockets inside. They’re both deep. I use them for snack bars, my AirPods case, a lip balm and things like tickets or receipts I have to stash.

There are also slip pockets that stretch and have little tabs on them to help with quick snatching of my stuff in a jiffy.

Exterior pockets and accents

I like the vegan leather slanted pocket on the outside front of the Arc Tote. It makes it feel urban, sleek and elevated, rather than plain.

Inside, I found a slip pocket for a phone, and I used this if I was eating lunch at a table near some lunch vendors, and then quickly stashing my phone for getting on the move for my meeting.

Trolley sleeve

There is a luggage slip at the back of the bag, and true to Troubadour’s expertise in designing travel features into commuter laptop backpacks, you hardly notice it. In fact, it even acts as lumbar support. This is pretty nifty. I have yet to fly with this bag, but I know it would slip onto the handles of my luggage, or carry-on, seamlessly.

This travel feature makes the Arc Tote a perfect choice if you’re going to go travel and work remotely with a laptop packed.

Why Troubadour’s Women’s Line is a win, for female travelers

I’ve been a Troubadour backpack and luggage fan for years now, and maybe you have been, too. If you’re a woman, or if you’re reading this review for a woman in your life, it should be exciting that the brand finally debuted a collection of products dedicated to a woman-specific fit.

And at the end of the day, women do want different things. For one thing, on average, our backs and shoulder spans are more narrow (on average*). So the fact that the Arc Tote is made for a narrower shoulder width is why it feels good on me, as a 5’2” petite woman. It’s why I got a more natural-feeling fit from it from the get-go.

And for that reason, it’s a more comfortable carry. While commuting with the Arc Tote, I don’t feel like the straps are falling off my shoulders, which is a concern I’ve had with other travel or commuter backpacks through the years.

In developing their women’s collection of backpacks and bags, Troubadour understands that women need something unique beyond a regular ‘unisex’ fit (which is something I feel they are nailing in best-sellers like the Apex backpacks, but still, not woman-specific, til now).

Complaints and room for improvement

In my use of the Arc Tote for a fast-paced commute in NYC (from home to office), I only experienced one glitch in my wearing of the Arc Tote.

Everything about it went swimmingly, if not fantastically, much like all the experiences I’ve had with Troubadour bags. The zippers, the pocket storage, the interior organization design and the laptop sleeve all worked out superbly.

It was in the strap adjustments, though, that I experienced a bit of slipping. I like to wear my backpacks rather high up on my back, for ultimate support rather than sagging and back strain.

So when the strap adjusters of the shoulder straps started slipping a little beyond my control (and I had packed my bag with my MacBook Air, snacks, a filming tripod and water bottle), I felt a little bit of lack. I’m not sure if everyone woman would experience this, because as I wrote, I do wear my backpacks pretty high up on my back.

Should you get the Arc Tote, and try Troubadour’s Women’s Line?

This is a strong and resounding “yes” from me, because as someone who wears petite clothes and seeks out petite fits from everything I own (have you seen my petite style YouTube channel?), a women’s fit backpack looks and feels better.

The average backpack is not made with a woman in mind. Most travel and commuter backpacks are made to appeal to both men and women, at the same time, and favor mens’ bodies and builds.

Having a woman’s commuter and laptop backpack from Troubadour, that’s ready to travel with me, is a head-turning and confidence-boosting bag for my backpack repertoire. With Troubadour’s mark of quality and durability, and all the fixin’s that women want in a backpack (heaps of storage, sleek look and lightweight build), this one is a winner for me.

Where to get the Arc Tote

To get yours, head to the Troubadour website and get free shipping on all backpacks, as well as the 5-Year Troubadour Guarantee. I’ve seen Troubadour products sell out, so I recommend getting yours while it is in stock.

Why I’m passionate about women’s-fit backpacks

I think this is pretty clear: I have a narrow frame, and I wear size XS across the board in all brands I wear. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the average ‘travel backpack’ basically falls off my shoulders.

For years, I thought I had sloping shoulders, but I’m just a woman. I’m a petite woman, at that—maybe you’ve seen my list of the best travel pants for women and if they’re good for petites, as a bonus aside on each product.

So, when I see a brand that builds a backpack based on the female anatomy and the needs of a woman, as well as a lightweight and woman-specific fit, I have to try it. Previously, it was the Ki Backpack from Troubadour that I reviewed, but as it was discontinued a few years ago, I was on the edge of my seat to see what Troubadour would do for their professional daypack collection launches.

You’ll see I crafted the best travel backpacks for women guide, and on each backpack entry, I comment on the fit or I provide photos of how this backpack really fits me.

I hope that this article has helped you discover a new women’s travel backpack to try, or has solidified for you how Troubadour nailed the women’s line like the Arc Tote backpack from the start.

Thank you to Troubadour Goods for collaborating with me on this review and providing an early press sample of the Arc Tote laptop backpack for women. All opinions, thoughts and experiences expressed in this review are genuinely and honestly mine.