Disclaimer
Able Carry provided me with the Daily Plus for review purposes. No money exchanged hands, but I do get to keep the bag. The opinions in this review are entirely my own; Able Carry does not get to see this post before it's published. No links in this review are affiliate links.

Able Carry Daily Plus (21L) in 1680D Cordura ballistic nylon, black. I'm 173 cm, 66 kg (5'8", 145 lbs).

Introduction

In my Able Carry Daily review, I wondered whether I would have been better off with the Daily Plus. So, after Able Carry released the Daily Plus in one of my favorite fabrics — 1680D ballistic nylon — it was time to settle it.

A quick refresher on the Daily and the Daily Plus: the Plus launched in 2023 as a successor to the Daily—the first Able Carry bag. It bumps capacity from 20L to 21L, redesigns the organization around the laptop sleeve, reworks the front compartment, and adds a hidden water bottle pocket. It comes in three fabric options (1680D Cordura ballistic nylon, X-Pac VX21, 1000D Cordura) and a handful of colors.

The version I have is the 21L in black 1680D Cordura ballistic nylon. It retails for $199 USD. Over the course of the review, I’ll reference the regular Daily in olive green 1000D Cordura nylon, which retails for $139 USD.

Experience

The Daily Plus is my second Able Carry product after the Daily. Over the past month, I've taken it on long walks in the park, used it as my work-from-anywhere bag in coffee shops and coworking spaces in Chiang Mai, and carried it on regular shopping and errand runs. The average packed weight has been around 5 kg (11 lbs).

I haven't taken it on a hike or for travel, but that's arguably outside its everyday-carry DNA. That said, as I'll get into later, the Daily Plus makes a better short-trip bag than the Daily ever did.

Aesthetics

The Daily Plus keeps the tall, conus-like silhouette of the original Daily. The important differentiator here is the fabric. The Daily Plus features 1680D ballistic nylon that is noticeably thicker, feels smoother, and looks sleeker than the 1000D plain-weave nylon on the Daily.

Yet, while of higher denier, the 1680D nylon is softer, and the Daily Plus drapes differently when it’s not packed out. I wouldn’t call it wrinkly, but the way it folds into itself might not be to everyone’s liking.

Dimensions, Volume, and Weight

The Daily Plus measures 48 cm (18.8 in) tall, 20 cm (7.8 cm) deep, and its width varies along the shape — 37 cm (14.5 in) at the widest point and 24 cm (9.4 in) at the narrowest. The bag is more tapered than the official spec sheet suggests.

The new fabric adds weight. At 1.35 kg (3 lbs), it’s 150 grams (0.33 lbs) heavier than the regular Daily, which was already not a light bag by any means.

The interesting thing is how it carries volume in practice. On paper, the dimensions are nearly identical to the Daily's, but with packing cubes inside, the Daily Plus feels noticeably roomier. I suspect the 1680D being softer is doing a lot of the work here. Where the Daily's stiffer 1000D Cordura holds a fixed shape, the Plus's softer fabric flexes outward a touch to accommodate what you've packed, making cubes settle in a little easier.

The clearest test: the same Muji packing cubes I used in my Aer Travel Pack 4 review (medium and small) fit the Daily Plus with several centimeters of headroom to spare, while in the Daily they fill the main compartment edge to edge and barely let the bag close. And the headroom isn't just visual — with the cubes loaded, the front compartment still has room for a packable tote, a pack of tissues, and a wallet. In the Daily, when the main compartment is fully packed, the front compartment goes flush.

This opens up the Daily Plus from a new side. While the Daily was never a travel bag, the Daily Plus can work for short weekend trips. But do note that, technically, it’s still out of bounds for a personal item on most airlines.

Organization

The Daily Plus is split into four sections: the top pocket, the front compartment, the main compartment with its laptop sleeve, and the hidden bottle pocket.

Top Pocket

The top pocket carries over from the Daily and sits in the same place — right against your back, where it makes a natural valuables pocket. It has a 16 cm (6.3 in) zipper opening and 19 cm (7.4 in) of height. It's tight and sits against the back, so it's best reserved for flatter items. I keep my passport wallet and a car key in mine.

Front Compartment

The front compartment is the biggest departure from the Daily. Where the original Daily's front pocket takes the entire front panel, the Daily Plus's is angled and takes only a portion of it — narrower at the top, wider at the bottom. Measures 13 cm (5.1 in) at the top and 21 cm (8.2 in) at the bottom, 37 cm (14.5 in) in height, with a 31 cm (12.2 in) zipper opening.

Inside, there are two stretch pockets: a zippered one at 13 × 18 cm (5.1 × 7.1 in) and a non-zippered one at 13 × 21 cm (5.1 × 8.3 in). There is also a key leash.

While smaller in dimensions than the large drop compartment on the Daily, it stretches outward more and the layout is much better organized. I keep the packable tote, tissues and wet wipes in the main cavity. Hand sanitizer and mints in the zippered pocket and wallet in the non-zippered pocket. The compartment is designed for access on the go and works well when swinging the bag over the right shoulder and grabbing items with the left hand.

Main Compartment

The laptop sleeve itself carries over from the Daily and is still excellent: well padded, fits up to a 16" laptop, and the false bottom is generous so the laptop floats well above the base of the bag. But the organization group around the sleeve has been completely reworked.

Stacked in front of the laptop sleeve are two stretch drop sleeves designed for tech and flat items. The larger one is 21 × 21 cm (8.3 × 8.3 in); the smaller one tucked under it is 21 × 13 cm (8.3 × 5.1 in). The smaller pocket comfortably fits a Kindle and a B6 notebook — either separately, or both together if you don't mind a snug fit. And you could also fit bulkier items here. It does not look pretty, but the MX Anywhere 3 mouse fits well thanks to the stretchiness of the drop sleeves.

On the opposite side, there is a zippered pocket on the front-facing wall at 21 × 19 cm (8.3 × 7.5 in) with an 18 cm zipper opening. The vertical drop pocket that was present on the Daily is gone.

Overall I have mixed feelings about the redesign. While the drop sleeves are quite practical and if you regularly carry a tablet you'll love it, I think the zippered mesh pocket on the Daily was a little more versatile and I would have liked to have it instead of the smaller drop sleeve.

Bottle Pocket

The addition of the water bottle pocket is a major improvement over the Daily. It runs vertically along the side of the bag and measures 35 cm (13.8 in) at the tallest point with a 22 cm (8.7 in) zipper opening. It can fit a 1L Yeti, though it takes a bit of wiggling to get in there, and it stays clean and flat against the bag when empty.

The important thing to understand is that the pocket has no independent volume of its own — it borrows entirely from the main compartment. This results in a clean silhouette but limits the widths of the items you can carry in the main compartment. For example, the Evergoods CAP2 does fit horizontally when there is no bottle, but has to be put vertically if you put the bottle inside its pocket. Not a big deal for me personally, but definitely something that should be noted.

Putting It Together

The Daily Plus is better organized for daily carry than the regular Daily, mostly because the small things are easier to find. The front compartment is more usable, the tech sleeves keep order around the laptop, and the addition of the water bottle pocket is much welcome. The only piece I'd ask back from the original Daily is the zippered mesh pocket.

There is one functional gap worth being honest about: there is no real top-down access to the main compartment, and the bag does not self-stand. If those matter to you, the Daily Plus is a miss.

Like the Daily before it, the Plus has opinions — and if its opinions match yours, the organization is a pleasure to live with.

Materials, Hardware, and Build Quality

This is where Able Carry continues to do what Able Carry does best. Every quality note I made about the original Daily applies here and is refined further by a new fabric.

The 1680D Cordura ballistic nylon is excellent. I said in my Aer Travel Pack 4 review that this fabric was my favorite after trying it on the Aer Day Sling 4 — that still holds. It looks sharp, feels good in the hand, and is noticeably softer than the 1000D Cordura on the original Daily. So if you're wondering whether the 1680D is worth the extra $20 USD, I would say yes — if you don't mind that it only comes in black.

YKK zippers throughout and no PU-coating in sight. I've called the Daily's PU-coated zippers buttery smooth; the Plus's uncoated ones are arguably even more impressive, and there's no worry about coating peeling over time.

Webbing is smooth and seatbelt-like. Stitching is immaculate. Bartacks reinforce the stress points. Nothing has shifted, frayed, or loosened in a month of EDC, and I would expect this bag to last a very long time.

The A-frame internal structure is the brand's signature, and it does its job under load — the bag does not sag, even when packed heavier.

Comfort

The Daily Plus is almost identical to the Daily in terms of the harness system: same body-armor-like ventilated padding on the back panel, same excellent top handle, same convenient removable and adjustable sternum strap, same magnificent weight distribution. The difference is the shoulder straps. They're the same width and thickness but noticeably softer and bouncier.

All in all, I consider the Daily the most comfortable backpack in its class — but the Daily Plus manages to top it thanks to the improved shoulder straps.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Tops the Daily on comfort — same harness system, but softer, bouncier shoulder straps.
Premium 1680D Cordura ballistic nylon — smoother in hand than the 1000D Cordura on the Daily.
Uncoated YKK zippers glide as smoothly as the Daily's PU-coated ones, with none of the long-term peeling concern.
Genuinely useful hidden bottle pocket that disappears when empty — a major addition over the Daily.
Front compartment is better organized than the Daily's and built for swing-around access.
Packs more generously than the on-paper dimensions suggest — the same cubes that maxed out the Daily fit the Plus with headroom to spare, making it a credible 1-2 day trip bag in addition to EDC.
Drop sleeves around the laptop hold tech and flat items in place, with enough stretch to take bulkier items too.

Cons

No real top-down access.
Doesn't stand up on its own.
Bottle pocket borrows its volume entirely from the main compartment — limits the widths of what you can pack alongside a bottle.
The zippered mesh pocket from the Daily's main compartment didn't make it over — I'd trade one of the stretch sleeves for it.
Softer 1680D fabric drapes and slouches when the bag isn't packed out, where the Daily holds itself rigid.
1680D ballistic only comes in black, and costs $20 more than the 1000D Cordura version.
Heavier than the Daily by 150 g, at 1.35 kg (3 lbs) total — and like the Daily, won't work as a personal item on every airline.

Conclusion

After a month of EDC, the Daily Plus has earned its place over the regular Daily. The front compartment finally has proper organization. The laptop area has been thoughtfully reworked. The hidden bottle pocket, controversial as it is, is well implemented. The fabric is nicer, the zippers are uncoated, and the shoulder straps improve on what was already the most comfortable in its class. The practical volume surprised me too — enough to make the Plus viable for short trips, not just EDC. The Plus name is well earned.

Review: Able Carry Daily Plus (1680D ballistic nylon)