Yes packing cubes.
Yes packing cubes.
Seconded (thirded?) the packing cubes.
I use packing cubes and packing envelopes for business travel. They work really well at keeping things organized, separated, packed small and light.
I use an Osprey Farpoint 55 and mine has held up well, it's maybe seen light use since I bought it for a Norway trip just prior to the pandemic, and it's mostly been in the closet since. I was able to easily pack 10 days of gear for that hiking-intensive trip and the way the bag is designed, it unzips into two carry-on sized packs. Very nice for when you're taking multiple modes of transit like planes, trains etc.
Kelty's packs seem like they fly under the radar for some reason. Wife and I have abused our Kelty Flyway on several Euro trips, and we vastly prefer them over a suitcase. Probably a bit too large for OP's purposes, and I think they discontinued the Flyway.
Looks like the Slate, Flint and Redwing models are all sub $80
Well, poop. I was going to spend some more time researching this, but apparently I am traveling again on Monday. Any recommendations for something I can pick up fairly locally, or is in stock on Amazon for 1 day shipping?
The MotherLodeJr mtn posted was my top choice so far.
Anything Osprey or Camelbak. I've had both and all 3 bags have lasted 10+ years. Moves, multi-day hikes, flights, you name it. Osprey is made for hiking by people who use them. Camelbak has just been good, not sure their design philosophy. If you can get your hands on the M&P version of Camelbak, go with that.
Tasmanian Tiger is surprisingly decent mid-budget option, especially if you need a bigger pack. I have 30L one for my backpacking trips and honestly, I coulda went with smaller one. At the same time, I think their max model is like 40L+(dunno who needs this much but hey it's an option). Lately been thinking about getting a 23L hiking backpack from https://gritroutdoors.com/ for shorter trips, since 30 is nice for 3+days, but hella overkill for 1 night camps on weekend.
For the latest trip I got a set of packing cubes and repurposed my Osprey hiking bag.
It wasn't perfect, but it worked out fairly well. I'm a bit concerned the laptop corners will damage the bag if I continue that use. A dedicated laptop slot would have been great.
That said, the Osprey hiking bag I have has the honeycomb/anti-sweat offset area which is niiiiiicccceeee
mtn said:THAT said, what I have heard is that since they've been bought, they're not the same quality. I am skeptical of that, at least for their old models (the ones I posted), but I am no longer a big cheerleader of theirs. At least not without this disclaimer.
My mom got me one of the Motherlode bags suggested earlier in the thread. Apparently eBags was a nightmare to deal with. It took over a month to come (missed xmas by a good bit), they were pretty difficult to communicate with, and ultimately the color was not what was represented online. I didn't see it myself, just taking my moms word for it.
So she returned it and I'm looking through the other recommendations here. This is becoming an increasing need, and I'm willing to sacrifice overall space for multiple days of travel clothes if I can fit a laptop & accessories. It seems the timbuk2 bags list being compatible with a 15" laptop, which isn't going to cut it for me if they are referring to screen size. my 17" work issued computer measures 15"x10"
In reply to ProDarwin :
My timbuk2 does fit a 16" MacBook Pro, but I don't think there is a lot of extra space left. I think a 17" laptop - especially one with a larger bezel - is going to be problematic in that backpack.
In reply to ProDarwin :
At this point can you just go to an REI or similar, actually look/touch at the bags and just take one home?
I have a "crazy ants" tactical bag from amazon. Its like the 511 bags but super cheap. I used mine daily for years. Many flights and other work travel, its held up amazing.
different brand but still super cheap and looks good.
Cheap “tactical” bags
z31maniac said:In reply to ProDarwin :
At this point can you just go to an REI or similar, actually look/touch at the bags and just take one home?
Probably the plan, but its always nice to have recommendations. If the information I need was online, I'd prefer to shop that way. Also I'm lazy and REI is like 35mins away.
TJL (Forum Supporter) said:I have a "crazy ants" tactical bag from amazon. Its like the 511 bags but super cheap. I used mine daily for years. Many flights and other work travel, its held up amazing.
different brand but still super cheap and looks good.
Cheap “tactical” bags
I came to suggest a 5:11. I may have already done it and forgotten. My dd bag is a 5:11. I can carry a 15" laptop, some clothes, shoes, a water bottle, a Glock, 3 extra mags, and a bag of funyuns pretty easily. My bag is one of the smaller ones- they make a ton of different sizes.
Edited to add- and it's got enough pockets that it took the tsa a solid 5 minutes to locate the knife I'd forgotten was in there. That was fun.
Recently got a Cotopaxi, love it.
For business use, Tom Bihn is quite nice but likely overkill. I'm also interested in an Evergoods Civic Travel Bag (but honestly would probably prefer their 35 L duffel).
There's also a whole range of amazing bags people talk about on r/OneBag.
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