Searched for best bags, best luggage, and best suiters and couldn't find much of a consensus.

So my question:

Is there a BEST bag out there for my needs?

2-3 Casual Outfitts (Tshirt, jeans,chinos, polos)
1 Dressy Casual
2 Suits
Toilettires
1 Packed pair of shoes.

Which article, that I don't have to check in, meets on board requirements, and will not make me spend an hour steaming/ironing my clothes in the morning.^

Thankfully I am small (6feet 130lbs) so I can get more in there, but still I really don't want to fly all night and then get up for ironing in the morning.

Money is no object (within reason).($100-$700) :cool:

What you use and works is great, just point me in the right direction so I know I am getting the best thing I can. Will be doing this packing for 15 times in the next year, so anything that makes it easier is great...


Cy

If you are concerned about ironing then you should look more to what goes in the pack rather than the suitcase. I generally travel with wrinkle free shirts and although they claim to be that, I generally find that packing suits/shirts with the plastic bags and hangers from dry cleaners work wonders. I have even rolled them up and had no more than enough wrinkles a quick hang in the bathroom with some steam couldn't take care of.

But if you are looking for suitcases, then I am biased and would have to go with Tumi. But they are expensive, so TravelPro is also pretty good. I got one of these after I noticed all the flight crews had them and afterwards realized why, they are lighter than my Samsonite roll on and less expensive. They are more classical, no fancy designs or color schemes so will last through any fads too.

I am a huge fan of the Kirkland (Costco) 21" bag. I can pack for up to a week, and it's very well-built. IIRC, they are about $140 and come in three colors.

I use the Red Oxx "Air Boss" bag and could not be happier with it.

http://www.onebag.com/business-bags.html

I am a huge fan of the Kirkland (Costco) 21" bag. I can pack for up to a week, and it's very well-built. IIRC, they are about $140 and come in three colors.

^ ^ ^ Lifetime warranty. If a zipper breaks, take it back to Costco and get a new replacement.

As I've done twice in 10 years.

If you are looking at a suiter (garment bag) then I have a cautionary tale about Samsonite, their shoulder strap clasps aren't up to much. I have a suiter from them that looks a lot like this (http://www.tripp.co.uk/detail.cfm/sku/29754), and the shoulder strap has come away from the bag at one end, almost every occasion I have used the bag. The clasps are not a normal type, or one that I have come across before, and to my mind it sucks as a design. The clasp is on the bag not the strap, and is a circular disc that has two inner locking pieces that act like pincers on the strap ends.

__________
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._|.....|_
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The above ASCII art is supposed to represent the strap ends and the indent is a groove cut into the rod where the pincers are supposed to grip it. To release the strap, you just twist the outside of the circular clasp and it opens both pincers at the same time, letting the strap go free.

The problem occurs when the rod pushes against one of the pincers which are connected together, so pushing one pincer opens the other one the same amount. It is all too easy for the strap to allow the rod to push against one of the pincers, and the other opens as a result and the bag falls. :mad:

Tumi and most other brands are very heavy bags....btwn 6-11 lbs and to me a total waste. I've been traveling to Asia for last 20 yrs, 3-4X a year, doing anything from 10 days to 30+ days with one carry-on bag, a tumi computer bag and small backpack.

The carry-on bag, equal to about 21" is a italy brand "Bric's". Nothing fancy, just a square box but no wasted weight or space and I can pack one suit, two extra slacks, 3 dress shirts, one sweater, two golf shirts, undies, ties and belts and sometimes squeeze something else...toilet kit and sneakers go in backpack.

Do search to see where you can buy Bric's, not cheap. My wife got two sets of luggage years back in Italy but know it's sold in states.

And I love the Tumi that I use as a 4-5 day carry-on. It handles everything, including all of my electronics (and there is quite a bit there) with ease and simplicity.. And it fits in the overhead with no problem.

And it's almost bulletproof.


Tumi and most other brands are very heavy bags....btwn 6-11 lbs and to me a total waste. I've been traveling to Asia for last 20 yrs, 3-4X a year, doing anything from 10 days to 30+ days with one carry-on bag, a tumi computer bag and small backpack.

The carry-on bag, equal to about 21" is a italy brand "Bric's". Nothing fancy, just a square box but no wasted weight or space and I can pack one suit, two extra slacks, 3 dress shirts, one sweater, two golf shirts, undies, ties and belts and sometimes squeeze something else...toilet kit and sneakers go in backpack.

Do search to see where you can buy Bric's, not cheap. My wife got two sets of luggage years back in Italy but know it's sold in states.

I have a Hartmann I like a lot. Good design, decent weight (i.e. not as light as I would like), rugged, nice appearance. Expands although I rarely use that since getting it into the overhead would be hard.

I'm a briggs & riley fan myself. I have an earlier model of 20" Carry-On Expandable Upright #U420NX. The no questions asked lifetime warranty is quite handy and works well. Mine is in to the shop atm to have new wheels (all the ball bearings fell out), a new clip for my carryon, and a new pull handle. They won't ask any questions and they sometimes find things you don't even notice.

I can stuff 7 - 10 days of clothes in that thing without expanding it. If you expand it you generally need to check it, but it's nice to convert the rollaboard to a checked piece easily. If you don't want the expandability the non expandable ones are lighter and cheaper.

Definitely pick up a couple of Pack-It Folders and Cubes. Great for organizing and keeping wrinkles to a minimum.

www.eaglecreek.com

Definitely pick up a couple of Pack-It Folders and Cubes. Great for organizing and keeping wrinkles to a minimum.

www.eaglecreek.com

Agree! One of my clients got me hooked on those. I have a couple of small cubes. One big, a shoe bag and a couple of folders. It is amazing how much you can squeeze in to your bag using them.

I've also started using ziplock bags and squeeze the air out when closing them. Great for shoes, socks and underwear and doubles for bringing laundry back home. (Mind you, I've started buying underwear and socks at inexpensive places and throw away as they get used on a trip. No need to carry the soiled stuff home.)

/E

I use the Red Oxx "Air Boss" bag and could not be happier with it.

http://www.onebag.com/business-bags.html

One more plug for this bag. I use this bag for most of my domestic business travel. The center compartment fits even a large laptop in a sleeve quite well. I had Red Oxx retrofit a rain flap that covers the top of the zippers so I don't have to worry about any water getting into the bag. They only charged me about $20 for the retrofit too.

And I love the Tumi that I use as a 4-5 day carry-on. It handles everything, including all of my electronics (and there is quite a bit there) with ease and simplicity.. And it fits in the overhead with no problem.

And it's almost bulletproof.

Link or name, please? :)

Not really Travel Technology related, so I'm moving this thread to TravelBuzz. Please follow it there.

Definitely pick up a couple of Pack-It Folders and Cubes. Great for organizing and keeping wrinkles to a minimum.

www.eaglecreek.com

I also love these. Got started in my interest in them when a travel/back packing store gave me one for my birthday a few years ago. I now have a large collection of them and even use them at home to keep my undies packed and ready for travel at all times.

They are washable!

They save you from loosing items along your way and also make repacking to return home much easier.

One suggestion to keep clothes from wrinkling: instead of folding the clothes, try rolling them into a cylinder shape. That way, they take up less room and there's no creases in the clothes.

Tumi and most other brands are very heavy bags....btwn 6-11 lbs and to me a total waste. I've been traveling to Asia for last 20 yrs, 3-4X a year, doing anything from 10 days to 30+ days with one carry-on bag, a tumi computer bag and small backpack.

The carry-on bag, equal to about 21" is a italy brand "Bric's". Nothing fancy, just a square box but no wasted weight or space and I can pack one suit, two extra slacks, 3 dress shirts, one sweater, two golf shirts, undies, ties and belts and sometimes squeeze something else...toilet kit and sneakers go in backpack.

Do search to see where you can buy Bric's, not cheap. My wife got two sets of luggage years back in Italy but know it's sold in states.


I know it sounds crazy, but I am 6(six) feet tall and about 130lbs wet... Skinny, but not particularly small...

Thanks for all the recommendations, you guys are good...

:cool:

Cy

I use the Red Oxx "Air Boss" bag and could not be happier with it.

http://www.onebag.com/business-bags.html

I second that. I've had mine about 2 years and it's great. I also recommend looking into the fabric types you pack. A male colleague swears by Brooks Brothers wrinkle free shirts. I've switched to microfiber as much as possible.

If anyone is looking for the Eagle Creek products, I've been successful getting them cheap from Sierra Trading Post.

The inventory changes, as they currently don't have the cubes but they still have the folders which work great for your clothing. ^ Find a free shipping riddle online (such as on Fatwallet) and you'll get a good deal.

I use the Red Oxx "Air Boss" bag and could not be happier with it.

http://www.onebag.com/business-bags.html

I've fallen in love with the little and inexpensive 'Little Roy' RedOxx bag. At $25. it is a real deal. I bought a bunch of them to have on hand to give as gifts to visiting firemen. They are a great little digital camera bag, stand in for a purse and/or handy bag to organize all sorts of gear. Great color selection.

I can attach it to my other RedOxx bags including the Gator and have small items easily at hand.

RedOxx has so many bags to choose from, I've had to telephone and email them to get advice on which bags would be the best for our needs. The product reviews on their WEB site are very helpful as well.

RedOxx really rocks! www.redoxx.com

I've fallen in love with the little and inexpensive 'Little Roy' RedOxx bag. At $25. it is a real deal. I bought a bunch of them to have on hand to give as gifts to visiting firemen. They are a great little digital camera bag, stand in for a purse and/or handy bag to organize all sorts of gear. Great color selection.

I can attach it to my other RedOxx bags including the Gator and have small items easily at hand.

RedOxx has so many bags to choose from, I've had to telephone and email them to get advice on which bags would be the best for our needs. The product reviews on their WEB site are very helpful as well.

RedOxx really rocks! www.redoxx.com

My two cents... the Sky Train from Redoxx is great. I have used it on two short trips to Germany and one (which I am int he midst of) visiting Phoenix on a LGA - IAD - LAX - PHX - LAX - DEN - LGA semi-mileage run.

They are great customer service wise and the product is top notch, fits a lot of stuff and fits (with some strategic packing) in a CRJ and ERJ overhead bin.

Downside, is that you have to carry it - no wheels, but it has the claw strap and the backpack strap. All good - highly recommended

Thanks for all the recommendations, you guys are good...

One thing to consider also is how to travel light, since your original message seems to indicate packing 6 complete outfits. Perhaps careful mixing and matching may let you get away with packing fewer clothes, and choosing carefully may reduce the the weight and bulk (e.g. jeans are relatively heavy and bulky and don't dry quickly if you need to wash them mid-trip).

Another strong plug for the Skytrain from Red Oxx. Its been my main bag since it came out last fall. I used it at LHR where I had my clothes in the Skytrain, then put my briefcase in the other pocket so I could carry on everything despite the one bag rule. Its a great, flexible bag.

A strong recommendation for the Tom Bihn Aeronaut bag. Easily takes you through a 3-day trip or longer, weighs less than 3 lbs., comfortable to carry, and sized to carry onboard.

http://www.tombihn.com
(And no, I am not connected with the Tom Bihn company, other than being a very pleased customer.)

let me give the heartiest possible recommendation for the Patagonia MLC (Maximum Legal Carry-On). It has been recently updated, but I have had mine for over six years now. Traveled for three weeks throughout SE Asia, with just this, and a small backpack for personal items. It is designed and made to Patagonia's typical standards -- bulletproof. It is 21.5" x 14.5" x 8", and has three compartment. The main is where you will find my Eagle Creek Packit folder, with the shirts and pants neatly compressed -- other items, including toiletries around the outside. The second, full sized zippered is where I put my hooded GoreTex raincoat (essential item in SE Asia), in a compression ziplock bag -- along with other relatively flat folding items. The external zippered pocket had flat, quick access items that I didn't want in the backpack.

The beauty of this, though, isn't in the expansive capacity (I continue to be amazed at how I can always add just a little bit more!) -- it is in the external shoulder straps, in their own pocket. Pull them out, clip them to the rings on the bottom, and now your carry-on is transformed into a backpack! My standard MO was to put the small back pack over my shoulder, but in front. Put the MLC on my back, and off I strode out of the airport -- three weeks worth of clothes, cameras, music -- you name it -- and my hands free.

You can see the updated MLC at http://http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/product/product_focus.jsp?OPTION=PRODUCT_FOCUS_DISPLAY_HAN DLER&catcode=MAIN_SP_US.CLOTHING_GEAR.PACKS/TRAVEL_GEAR.TRAVEL_GEAR&style_color=48105-589&ws=

One other thing -- it is only $159 -- $65 less than the comparable RedOxx Air Boss