Travel Products - The search for THE one bag

I travel 3-4 times a month domestically and need to pack 2 suits, 3 dress shirts, and 1 set of extra casual clothing. I prefer to also pack my dress shoes and wear more comfortable running shoes onboard (I also use them to exercise) I also pack a small bag with minimal toiletries. I would like to travel as light as possible with the aforementioned things. I also carry my work briefcase with my laptop/documents/etc.

Any recommendations as to the best bag for the job? I was thinking the Skyroll might be a good option.

I travel 3-4 times a month domestically and need to pack 2 suits, 3 dress shirts, and 1 set of extra casual clothing. I prefer to also pack my dress shoes and wear more comfortable running shoes onboard (I also use them to exercise) I also pack a small bag with minimal toiletries. I would like to travel as light as possible with the aforementioned things. I also carry my work briefcase with my laptop/documents/etc.

Any recommendations as to the best bag for the job? I was thinking the Skyroll might be a good option.

When I first started traveling heavily (I travel 100,000+ miles a year for the past 22 years), I started with American Tourister and in one month, it fell apart. I switched to Samsonite, lasted a little longer, until one day I was waiting for my bag at Florence Airport and saw my clothes on the conveyor belt; the zipper had broke! The bag was three months old! Now I consider my luggage an investment and spend the money on good, durable luggage.

I now have over 50 pcs of luxe luggage, from Hartmann to Hermès, depending on where I'm going (Serengeti is different than London or a week-end at a friend's house), how I'm going (private jet, 1st, biz, coach), method of travel if other than plane (train, ship) and duration of trip (1 day, 3-day, 7+ day).

Having tried just sbout every piece of luggage out there, I recommend for you:

Summer: Black TUMI Alpha (http://www.tumi.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12737590&prodFindSrc=paramNav)

Winter: Black Hartmann Intensity Carry-On (http://www.hartmann.com/shop/productDetail-sku-3225A-I&upc=145990) (I own two sets of the Intensity collection, incredible bags!)

I say Summer/Winter b/c Hartmann will fit a longer coat, TUMI is shorter. Make the investment, Samsonite, American Tourister, etc. are for people who travel once or twice a year.

I have travelled close to 3 million miles and learned the hard way you get what you pay for. The two pieces from Hartmann & TUMI will last you a lifetime. If something comes loose or missing, you can send it back and it will be fixed immediately.

Safe Travels!

UG

Your personal preferences will prevent you from traveling as light as possible but you probably know that. Meaning that if one wants to travel as light as possible it makes sense to either only have a single pair of shoes (none packed) or pack the lighter pair. You have two pairs and pack the heavier pair.

It also makes sense to pack only one suit and wear the other.

How long are you gone for on each trip. If you travel in casual clothing anyway, is it really necessary to take a complete extra set of casual clothing. I'd say that if you travel for up to five or six days that it is not necessary. But I would take another shirt then. It seems you might also have to do some packing list corrections rather than just finding the right bag. This is harder than finding the right bag but it will make your traveling that much easier.

That said, the simpler the bag, the lighter it will be. Thus feature-filled Tumis and Hartmanns ain't gonna cut it. Same for Briggs and Riley.

You also don't say whether you want wheels or not. When traveling with two bags, I prefer to have one of them wheeled. Why? Walking around Guerillero-style with two bags just looks ridiculous and is uncomfortable. Also hard on your back. Combining both bags into a single bag (possible with something like the Redoxx Airboss) gets heavy quickly. If you weigh less than 200lbs and have more than 20lbs hanging on one shoulder, you will know it at the end of the day and you will know it even better after some time traveling like that.

I'd thus say that IF you can get the weight down to less than 20lbs total (bags and all contents for office and clothing) then ONE bag is doable. I recently recommended the Tumi Expandable Carry-on for that. The A. Saks 21" Exp. is also a possibility combined with another light office bag that is stowed in the bigger A. Saks. Much cheaper and lighter solution than the Tumi. In between would be the Airboss solution.

If you cannot get the weight down to sub 20lbs, think of wheels (2 are enough). In that case you can choose a 20" model unless your suits are bigger than size 42. Then it gets hard to fold a suit nicely into a 20" bag. Some onebaggers poopoo people traveling with a roller plus briefcase but there is a reason many business people have adopted that solution: It is often the best way to do it given the requirements.

For folding suits correctly for any type of bag check out the packing sticky on top of this forum. The sticky also contains sample packing lists from various travelers.

Till

Your personal preferences will prevent you from traveling as light as possible but you probably know that. Meaning that if one wants to travel as light as possible it makes sense to either only have a single pair of shoes (none packed) or pack the lighter pair. You have two pairs and pack the heavier pair.

It also makes sense to pack only one suit and wear the other.

How long are you gone for on each trip. If you travel in casual clothing anyway, is it really necessary to take a complete extra set of casual clothing. I'd say that if you travel for up to five or six days that it is not necessary. But I would take another shirt then. It seems you might also have to do some packing list corrections rather than just finding the right bag. This is harder than finding the right bag but it will make your traveling that much easier.

That said, the simpler the bag, the lighter it will be. Thus feature-filled Tumis and Hartmanns ain't gonna cut it. Same for Briggs and Riley.

You also don't say whether you want wheels or not. When traveling with two bags, I prefer to have one of them wheeled. Why? Walking around Guerillero-style with two bags just looks ridiculous and is uncomfortable. Also hard on your back. Combining both bags into a single bag (possible with something like the Redoxx Airboss) gets heavy quickly. If you weigh less than 200lbs and have more than 20lbs hanging on one shoulder, you will know it at the end of the day and you will know it even better after some time traveling like that.

I'd thus say that IF you can get the weight down to less than 20lbs total (bags and all contents for office and clothing) then ONE bag is doable. I recently recommended the Tumi Expandable Carry-on for that. The A. Saks 21" Exp. is also a possibility combined with another light office bag that is stowed in the bigger A. Saks. Much cheaper and lighter solution than the Tumi. In between would be the Airboss solution.

If you cannot get the weight down to sub 20lbs, think of wheels (2 are enough). In that case you can choose a 20" model unless your suits are bigger than size 42. Then it gets hard to fold a suit nicely into a 20" bag. Some onebaggers poopoo people traveling with a roller plus briefcase but there is a reason many business people have adopted that solution: It is often the best way to do it given the requirements.

For folding suits correctly for any type of bag check out the packing sticky on top of this forum. The sticky also contains sample packing lists from various travelers.

Till

My travel involves destinations where in the morning I'm in a meeting and the afternoon I'm out in the field in either 85 degree weather or 25 degree weather depending on the trip (never anything moderate, go figure). That's why an extra set of clothing is essential to me. My trips can be anywhere from 4 days to over a week and I try to keep things pretty standardized. Right now I use a wheeled Travelpro Crew 8 with the rolling tote for most of my trips and it can get pretty heavy with everything loaded up. I think you're right about reducing some of the things that I'm bringing. Getting rid of a dress shirt seems like a doable option, as well as the extra pants/shorts in my casual clothing set.

I'm just looking for a better, lighter way to do things.

I just wore this Hartmann bag out after about 400,000 miles. Here are the pros/cons of the bag:

http://www.hartmann.com/shop/productDetail-sku-3520-I

pros:

Nylon really does stand up, bag looked great to about 350K
The expandable compartment is handy, especially coming back from Asia or conferences where there is more to bring home. (with check-in)
It is the biggest possible bag you can still carry on (in most territories)
Zippers held up to overstuffing
Looks professional


cons:

Really squeaky wheels - to the point that I got looks walking along the concourse
The telescoping handle was a litttle tricky to get up/down after about 100K


Why I am looking for a different bag to replace it: the squeaky wheels. After having a passing pilot, the CEO of our company and others comment on it I cannot go through another 3 years of walking down the concourse sounding like I have a family of distressed hamsters in my bag.

Hopefully this thread will find some good tips. I agree that spending $ on a great bag is $ well spent.

I just wore this Hartmann bag out after about 400,000 miles. Here are the pros/cons of the bag:



Ebags, $79 today. Does all you need, with quiet wheels, good warranty and an exceptional price.

http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/ballistic-nylon-carry-on/217623?productid=10142640

(Personally, I prefer the rolling duffel, but this is more of a biz bag)

I too am a big Hartmann fan and have 12 pieces most of which are tweed. My favorite Hartmann is the 22" Belting Leather Deluxe Mobel Traveler. I can get two suits (46 long) with 2 pairs of pants each in the suiter section, dress shoes, 4 shirts, socks and under stuff with no problems.

I also have two 41" Mobile Traveler Garment Bags; one belting leather and the other tweed. Great bags with lots of capacity. I don't use them much now because of the sizing mania from a few years ago (I don't see that as often now); I also manage to have a First Class ticket on all my flights which helps when they announce the carry-on policies and "the sizer".

Both of these models would have carry-on problems for example at LHR where you are better off with a 20" bag.

I'm not worried so much about the weight as the capacity.