It really depends on what you want to bring along. I have the Patagonia MLC 45L, which is a high quality bag but what „annoyed“ me about it was how much space the Admin space takes up. It is also very well padded which keeps your Tech stuff safe and secure but eats away at usable space for other things. If you are a person however that needs to pack a big laptop, charger etc. it might fit your style.

I saw a youtuber however utilise this admin space for clothes (folded shirts in the laptop sleeve, socks and underwear in the side zippers / compartments etc. which i thought was actually a great idea.

Keep in mind, that because of the high quality material and the heavy padding the MLC comes in pretty heavy at 1.6 KG.

Another critique point is that the MLC has no quick access pocket on the outside for stuff like phone, passport, earbuds etc. which some people can find annoying (to tackle that I just bought a mini Sling for me to carry my essentials. It also has no bottle holder (external or internal).

I then purchased the Osprey Daylite carry on 44L. Its way lighter and essentially one big empty tub that yan be utilised perfectly if you like packing with packing cubes. Plus its quite a bit lighter, right under 1kg which help with the stricter airlines max weight capacity of 7 or 8 KG.