Posts Tagged carry-on bag
Sized Right: Tom Bihn Co-Pilot Personal Carry-On Travel Bag
When it comes to bags, bigger isn’t always better. And Tom Bihn’s new Co-Pilot bag is perfectly sized for those quick day trips when you need to keep things close at hand but don’t want to lug around a larger case.
The Co-Pilot is smaller than a typical laptop bag. But on a recent day trip, it was the perfect size for carrying my sunglasses case, a bottle of water, pill bottle, a GPS, extra shirt, papers and more. It’s still large enough, though, to carry a netbook or even my 12″ laptop.
The Co-Pilot features one main, zippered compartment with two open pouches, making it easy to organize gear and other necessities and keep them close at hand.
There are three zippered compartments on the front. One has a soft Ultrasuede-lined pocket that’s made for an iPhone or other cell phone, with room for a small toiletry kit, as well. Another front compartment will hold a small water bottle or a compact folding umbrella. And a third includes pen pockets and an o-ring to attach a key strap.
An open-top pocket on the back of the bag will carry a newspaper, magazine or book and still easily slip under an airline seat. The outside of the bag is made of abrasion-resistant ballistic nylon. All Tom Bihn bags are manufactured in Seattle.
The Co-Pilot sells for $110 in a choice of five colors and includes a standard shoulder strap. The optional Absolute Shoulder Strap ($30) has some extra “give” for carrying heavier items, with a patented control-stretch system.
Other Tom Bihn bags I’ve reviewed, including the checkpoint-friendly Checkpoint Flyer and the Tri-Star Travel Bag, have impressed me with their design and quality. The Co-Pilot carries on that tradition.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear on August 2nd, 2010
Ativa Mobil-IT Ultimate Rolling Overnighter
Next month I’m attending the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show in Salt Lake City. My boss Tim went to the winter show and said it was excellent in terms of meeting with marketing folks for just the travel products we like to cover here at PracticalTravelGear.com — from hiking shoes to camping gadgets to versatile jackets.
He also mentioned that it’s an intense show: that is, in addition to attending pre-scheduled appointments at various product booths all spread throughout a ridiculously humongous trade-show floor (we’re talking miles of walking during an 8-hour day), there are happy-hour beers to drink and late-night industry parties to attend. (Hey, somebody’s got to do it to learn about the fabulous new gear coming out in 2011.)
I wasn’t too concerned about keeping up with the hectic trade-show pace (heck, I”m a mom used to being on the go, juggling lots at once), but what the heck I was going to use to carry a) all of my purse essentials b) my laptop (because there is a media room and I’d like to be able to do some live blogging if possible) and c) all the samples and swag I’m likely to pick up along the way. I was also quite concerned about carrying around an overloaded tote, shoulder bag or backpack. Ouch, the neck and shoulders pain!
Then I remembered I had this bag in the corner of my office, awaiting review: the Ativa Mobil-IT Ultimate Rolling Overnighter. Problem solved! This durable bag has a sporty backpack look without screaming “business travel” or “techy geek” (the dress and vibe at the show is ultra-casual). Best part, it’s got a super-sturdy extended handle for pulling the bag on its wheels. Yep, I’m going to roll this puppy all over the trade-show floor for three days. (My outdoor-industry husband, who has been attending “OR” for years, assures me that many attendees pull bags of stuff/loot/gear/electronics behind them — some, even bigger than carry-on size.)
This one is plenty big for my purposes next month: at 18.5 x 13.5x 6 inches it’s meant to hold a laptop, in a separate padded compartment, enough clothes for a weekend away, and all of your electronics. The generously sized, zippered side pockets are ideal for carrying chargers (or socks and underwear), and the front organizer pocket has cute little symbols on different pouches specifying where you should put your mp3 player, phone, point-and-shoot camera and business cards. The main compartment really is huge, with interior adjustable straps you can pull tight to compress your clothes (or where I’ll be throwing anything I pick up along the way). The interior is a sassy red, which I like since the exterior is devoid of color in basic black.
I am confident that after I use this bag for my road trip to Salt Lake City, and during the event itself, I’ll find many other uses for it on my travels, whether as a plane carry-on bag,for more business meetings or on a weekend getaway.
Office Depot sells the roller-bag on its website and in its stores; the bag retails for $119.99.
Posted by Kara in Business Gear on July 23rd, 2010
NorChill Soft-Sided Cooler for Road Trips — or Plane Travel
Ever use a soft-sided cooler bag as a carry-on? I did last month, when we were flying from Colorado to Minnesota to begin a wild mystery road trip through seven states. A cooler for storing water bottles, snacks, sandwiches and leftovers is a non-negotiable must have for our family road trips, and I knew I had to have a good one for this adventure that didn’t start from our own garage.
My brand-new soft-sided cooler, the NorChill 24-Pack (yes, it holds a case of soda or beer), did the trick — in so many more ways than one. First, I packed the heavy-duty, thickly padded bag with my DSLR camera, laptop computer and other necessities for my plane trip. It’s size — 10 by 18 by 12 inches — is ideal for carrying on a plane, as is the shoulder and hand straps. I also appreciated the extra cushion for my valuables; the external zipper pocket was ideal for storing I.D., boarding passes and paper itinerary.
Did I feel a little silly carrying a royal-blue, soft-sided cooler as my carry-on? For sure. It’s not quite as classy as my Briggs & Riley Shopping Tote or as sleek as other backpacks and rollerboards I have in my rotation, but it’s efficient to use a cooler as a suitcase, that’s for sure. Gotta love any travel item that can pull double duty.
Once we were on the road — from Minnesota to Texas over the course of a week! — we made use of the cooler daily. It fit perfectly between the kids in the backseat of our rented Ford Flex (when we needed a barrier between them to allay arguments) or at their feet when they were getting along. At hotels where we didn’t have a fridge in our room, we used bags of ice to keep our food cold overnight; we can confirm that the heavy-duty “leak-proof” liner indeed does not leak. We didn’t use it to keep hot foods hot, but the bag does have a “dual-temp insulation system” for just that use — great for transporting warm dishes to potluck parties.
I forsee using our NorChill cooler until it wears out. It does have a two-year warranty, that I need to activate online, but it’s so sturdy and solidly manufactured, I see this cooler lasting for a long time to come.
The 24-Pack Cooler retails for $49.99 on the Norchill site; also browse around Amazon.com to find it at a discounted price.
Posted by Kara in General Gear on July 16th, 2010
Crumpler’s Sinking Barge Deluxe Camera/Laptop Backpack
On a trip to Jamaica earlier this year, I traveled with a professional photographer. That is, I didn’t have someone in tow taking photos of me – he was the boyfriend of another travel writer also on the couples’ group trip. The photog carried a Crumpler “Million Dollar Home” messenger-style bag, and I coveted it — especially when he told me it was the best camera bag he’d every used. Comfortable and sturdy, it kept his equipment safe and readily at hand.
On return home, I researched all the bags the Australia-based company offers — and it’s a lot of them. Outside of the Million Dollar Homes (ranging from One Million to Eight Million, depending on the size), Crumpler makes roller gear bags, messenger bags without camera inserts, sturdy totes… and the camera/backpack laptop bag I asked to test. I’d been looking for a quality carry-on bag that could securely house my DSLR, my long lens, an extra battery and cleaning kit (and other small accessories), as well as my laptop that I never travel without.
I thought I’d struck the mother lode when I received the Sinking Barge Deluxe to test. Alas, it was just a little “too much bag” for this very amateur photographer, whose 15.4-inch Dell laptop with add-on, extra-life battery is just too stinking big to fit in the laptop sleeve. (Marketing materials say the laptop compartment would fit a slim, 15-inch MacBook pro, but I think non-Mac laptops that size would have a very tight fit.)
The workmanship and quality of this bag is excellent; it better be, since it has a lifetime guarantee. This is one hardy bag, with an exterior made of water-resistant ripstop nylon. But what makes this bag truly unique is all the crazy padded “pods”and separate, pull-apart padded “snake walls” and “capping straps” with Velcro that allow you to custom-fit your equipment inside the bag (see photo below). Truly, I could not believe the number of separate pieces that came out of this bag when I first opened it. I highly doubt I’d be able to put it all back together as intended without some sort of instruction manual.
With all of these different padded pieces, and the thick padding on the laptop compartment and the bag in general, gear is very safe in this backpack, for sure. I’m guessing that even if the bag fell from the top of a plane’s overhead compartment, you wouldn’t see any breakage. But with this tight fit, it is tough to get items in and out. At least I had hard time getting items in and out of the bag when I used it as a carry-on bag in April.
I stored my laptop inside the bag, yet outside of the Velcro-topped laptop compartment, and put papers, my book and other flat items where the laptop is supposed to go. I put my DSLR and extra lens in one of the removable pods that rested at the bottom front of the pack, and stuck little items — like my lipstick, mints, small wallet and other necessities — in the most exterior outer pocket. It all fit, with very little room to spare.
The bag is not light, with all of the padding and thick material, you need to be prepared to heft a load when electronics are stored inside. Fortunately, when I carried the backpack on my two shoulders, weight was distributed well; I had no trouble carrying it on my back.
Still, I don’t think for frequent-travel carry-on use, this bag is best for me — I need more of an all-purpose bag that will carry all my additional “stuff” while traveling. I did find a use for the removable zipper bag (and snake walls and capping straps) that came with the Sinking Barge Deluxe — that’s what I’ve popped in my Briggs & Riley Large Shopping Tote for my most recent plane trip. It kept my DSLR camera and extra lens nice and secure!
Crumpler’s Sinking Barge Deluxe designed for folks (with small-ish laptops) who take their photography a bit more seriously, who might be actively shooting in the outdoors and need to carry their gear in a product that will keep it unequivocally safe (and who could use the cool tripod carrying pouch that attaches to the side). If that’s you, then I recommend this Crumpler bag. It retails for $275 on sites like eBags.com. Or you can consult the global online store finder on Crumpler’s oh-so-slow-and-almost-makes-me-want-to-pull-my-fingernails-out Flash site.
Posted by Kara in Adventure Gear on June 18th, 2010
Amelia Convertible Tote Bag from Ellington Handbags
I write about a lot of bags here at Practical Travel Gear, and I always give bonus points for bags that pull double duty. The Amelia Convertible Tote gets quadruple points for its versatility. I’m freakishly giddy with excitement about the different ways I can use this Ellington tote bag this summer.
The major selling point for this sturdy and durable nylon bag: it can be carried several different ways. Grab two top handles to carry it like a tote bag; attach a long strap to wear across the body or over the shoulder; or expose two “stowaway” shoulder straps and use as a backpack.
Like most of my favorite bags I use every day and for travel, I’m partial to how many pockets and pouches this bag has: there are two with top drawstrings on either side for water bottles or a compact umbrella. You can slide a book, notebook or folders into the exterior pouch that also stores the backpack straps when not in use. The other side has two zipper pockets, one with a magnetic closure and a couple of mesh pouches for a cell phone or iPod. The main compartment is huge — and also has a couple of interior zipper and snap pockets.
I foresee bringing this water-resistant bag to the swimming pool, using it to cart books back to the library (the kids love the local summer reading program), or filling it with snacks and water bottles for a day’s outing to the park. I’m thinking it could carry a bottle of wine, cheese, crackers and crusty bread for a grown-up picnic during an outdoor concert.
While I’m way past the diapering stage with my kids, I think the Amelia Convertible Tote would make a great diaper bag. (It’s designed for women, but I bet my husband would carry it.) It’s plenty big to fit a netbook — the bag is 14-inches high), but it won’t zip shut with my 15-inch laptop inside. It’s not as big as many of the bags I’ve used as carry-on luggage lately, but if I don’t need a ton of stuff with me on the plane (i.e. if I’m not traveling with my laptop or my kids), I’d consider using this bag.
The tote comes in seven colors. I have the purple one (pictured above) with subtle olive-green piping; it’s much more dark gray than bright violet.
The bag is available for pre-order now for $79 on the Ellington Handbags website, with delivery beginning on June 15. Order now, and you don’t have to pay for shipping within the U.S. Also check pricing on Amazon.com for many (many!) other Ellington styles, like the Parkrose Tote or the Lightweight Travel Tote/Backpack.
Posted by Kara in Travel Light on May 28th, 2010
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