learned

This week, I took my first trip with a new friend. That friend, the Osprey Porter 46 is a light weight, no wheels piece of luggage. For as long as I can remember, I have been carrying the TravelPro roll aboard style luggage. The zipper is starting to fail on the TravelPro, so I knew I would need an interim piece of luggage while I sent it off for repairs. As I looked at my schedule this week, I realized I would be creating my own sequel to Planes, Trains & Automobiles.

To put things in perspective, my trip started with my normal car service to the airport. From there, I took two flights with a short connection to Providence, Rhode Island. From PVD airport, I grabbed a taxi to Providence Station, to catch a commuter rail into Boston. Arriving at Boston's South Station, I grabbed the Silver Line over to Logan Airport where I could call my hotel shuttle to come pick me up. The return was in essence, a reverse routing. As to why I had such a bizarre trip, suffice it to say air fares and travel budget.

Anyway, looking at that schedule I started dreading running for trains and climbing onto crowded subways all the while dragging my trusted, but heavy TravelPro. This seemed as good a time as any to see if I could come up with a more elegant solution. After some research, and a few hours wt REI looking at options, I settled on the Osprey Porter 46, weighing in at a whopping 3 lbs., 2 ounces.

For some time, I've been a fan of the Eagle Creek Pack-It system, though never used it religiously. As I was starting with a new bag, and one thT was only semi-structured at that, they seemed a good addition to the mix. I would be gone a week, so I laid out the following items.

- 2 pair of pants
- 3 dress shirts
- 1 short sleeve casual shirt
- 1 workout shirt
- 1 pair of shorts/swim trunks
- 2 pair underwear
- 3 pair socks
- 2 ties
- 1 sports jacket
- toiletries
- camera
- various chargers, cables, cube-tap
- running shoes

The pants and shirts went I to an Pack-It sleeve to be placed in the base of the Osprey. All the electronics went into a half cube to be tucked into the base of the pack. Other items went into tubes and half tubes tucked around the edges. The shoes were slipped into bags and went on top of the sleeve with the sports jacket folded finally on top. My first impression was being amazed that the bag did not seem crowded at all and there was plenty more room available. I closed the bag, pulled the compression straps, took a deep breath and picked it up. I could swear it was as light packed as my roll aboard was empty.

The Porter 46 has two padded handles, one on top and one on the side, making for easy carrying. In addition, it has very nice tuck away back straps for turning it into a makeshift backpack. Those proved very convenient when running through the airport, freeing my hand for the ever important Starbucks. My second plane was a CRJ-200. Anyone who travels often will know this means extremely small overhead space, and typically gate-checking the bag. I walked on board and my Porter slipped right into the small overhead. Let's hear it for compression straps.

My overall impression of the bag is one of total delight. Another thing I noticed is that as I knew I would be carrying it, I paid more attention when packing. The roll aboard let me develop lazy habits. Over the course of multiple trips, it would slowly gain weight as things never quite made it out of the bag at the end of a trip. Loose change and what not would gather, slowly adding more and more weight to the bag. The big difference though was the overall sense of freedom this bag gave me, not being weighed down by wheels.

I am sitting on the return flight now as I write this. I stood by for a direct flight home, and therefore was the last to board. Knowing all the overhead bins would be full by then, I was reconciled with having to check my new friend. Still, I carried it on, just in case. Getting to my seat, the bins were indeed full. On a whim, I tried tucking it under the seat in front of me and what do you know; it fits there as well!

I can't say I will never use my TravelPro again, but i can safely say that I won't miss it while I send it out for repairs.

While I was at REI, I picked up a new TSA approved laptop sleeve. This is the type that allows you to just lay it open and not remove the laptop. The sleeve is thin, light, and easily held laptop, iPad, cleaning cloth, a few connector cables, presentation remote, stylus, business cards and a few papers. With the addition of this piece, my TSA process is streamlined even more. Set down the Porter, lay open the laptop sleeve, remove shoes and present myself for groping. If I'm at a 'must remove belt' checkpoint, it goes in the shoe. No bins, no muss, no fuss.

While there are a few minor changes I'd make to the Porter 46 design, they are indeed minor. Overall, this is one fine travel bag for the road warrior, and, at under $100 retail, it's a bargain as well.

chollie

OP, thanks for a terrific, detailed review! Thanks for including the packing list - that particularly helps me compare packing habits to mine.

You mention at the end of your post that there are slight improvements/enhancements that could be made? Just curious what they are.

lwildernorva

Two observations. Although I don't have the Osprey, I have found that soft-sided bags really benefit from a folder/cube system, giving the bag structure it otherwise lacks and organization that makes it easy to find what you're looking for.

In addition, it is extremely easy to overpack a soft-sided bag, and by extension, exceed whatever its rated dimensions are. I've noticed that a very overstuffed bag, even with compression straps, may exceed its advertised total linear dimensions by five or six inches. I think this "feature" partially explains why so many overhead bins are stuffed with bags that officially are within carryon limits. Your packing list seems pretty well organized and undoubtedly kept you from overpacking.

oldpenny16

In my household we have 7 different Osprey bags as it seems we have a variety of opinions.

Could someone make a comparison between this Osprey and a comparable RedOxx bag?

I am very happy with RedOxx but am always willing to entertain new ideas (in luggage).

slidergirl

I have the Osprey Porter 65 and it's wheeled cousin, the Sojourn 25". I've used both of the for trips of up to 3 weeks. I had the Porter first - when I decided I wanted a larger wheeled bag than my Eagle Creek Tarmac 22", I got the Sojourn. I also use the packing cubes and it does make things easy to pack and find. I don't think you can really overpack the Porter - It isn't a true soft side - the bottom of pretty rigid and the two long sides are a little stiff.
To the OP - if you want to add a little to the Porter, check out the Osprey Daylite daypack. It clips onto the top of the Porter so you don't have to carry it around until you want to. It would make running through the airport with that Starbucks in your hand still pretty easy :-)

davewg

Can I ask which laptop sleeve you wound up with? I've been looking for something to carry my laptop, iPad and a few minimal accessories.

Great review on the Porter. Will have to check it out too.

Thanks

mcditolla

Just bought the Osprey based on that review, great info!

Drile

Haven't used that bag before, but another ^ for Osprey. Great customer service.

learned

After a couple of trips, I've pretty much narrowed down my thoughts to a couple of things.

At the top of the Osprey bag there is an outside pocket that is very handy. I would like to see an additional hidden pocket inside of it for things like passport and/or travel document storage. Just one extra closure to keep those important items from falling out when you are fishing through that pocket. I use that also for things like chargers (always be charging) that are needed in airports.

I think the biggest weakness to the Osprey bag is in it's documentation. I've read the documentation on the daypack a few times and it's still not clear exactly how it attaches. Also there are a few extra connection points and clips that I don't see documented as to what they are for. It's certainly not a weakness that would stop me from acquiring the bag.

The one other suggestion I would have is on the backpack straps. As I tighten them down, I end up with a lot of dangling strap. A piece of velcro or some quick way to manage that excess strap would be nice.

One final comment to the person that mentioned packing cubes. I agree! In the case of the Osprey Porter, these cubes really improve the packing experience!

Other than that I continue to be delighted with the bag, and have a whole new sense of freedom. With the move toward smaller regional planes, I can smile now while I walk past all the people that had to gate check their rollaboards.

learned

I ended up with an RCI brand that folds open for TSA. Here is a link to it.

http://www.rei.com/product/795064/re...-sleeve-medium

So far I've been very happy with it.

davewg

Thanks for the info. I wondered if that might be it - nice to know a laptop and ipad will fit.

slidergirl

OK. I have the Daylite bag, too. It took me a little to figure it out, but once I did, it is really cool. On the two top compression straps of the Daylite, you'll find a rectangular "slider", like what you would use to keep loose strap in place. If you turn the piece sideways, you will slide it through that D-link on the Porter. Then, turn it back to "normal", and it will stay in place. Tighten the strap and it tightens the connection between the Porter and the Daylite. Do the same with the two "sliders" that are on the little hlp strap. Once you see how it works, it's pretty easy and fast to attach and detach. I hope that helps. The Daylite attaches to both my Porter and my Sojourn bag, which makes it really neat!!!

OskiBear

i have both the porter and the daypack.
Love them both - the only recommendation I would make is to keep the daypack relatively empty if using it on top of the porter.
The extra weight makes me feel like i might tip backwards - and also makes my back stick out far so that I don't without hitting the wall or people

drbobguy

Thank you for this excellent thread!

Based on your recommendation I have gone ahead and ordered a Porter 46 for an upcoming month-long trip in January to Ukraine/Russia.

I lived in Moscow for two years and speak Russian well and enjoy traveling around to smaller towns. While I was there I would take a nice North Face pack around with me for up to a week or so.

Now that I'm going back for a month I wanted something bigger (as even a week out of a normal-sized backpack in the summer is a stretch). It being winter I needed more space for warm clothes, but a suitcase with wheels is a hindrance because of the snow. In smaller cities/towns in the former Soviet Union most of the sidewalks are not cleared of snow. Wheeling a suitcase around is not an option.

I had resigned myself to buying a traditional style internal-frame pack, like for backpacking in the wilderness. I'm very glad I checked this forum though, as I had no idea this kind of class of product even existed. A backpack oriented toward air travelers. Very cool!

I understand they make tradeoffs like smaller straps with less padding that aren't great for extended walking, but for an hour or two (like from a train station to a hostel or around a town center) is just perfect.

Some may say that the Porter 46 is too small for an extended trip, but I traveled to Eastern Europe this past March for 10 days using only a North Face Yavapai which has a 30L capacity. The Porter is over 50% larger, at 46 liters. I'm 100% confident it will be more than enough for me, even bringing a Macbook Air, Kindle 4, scarf, and other things. I try to pack very light and never bring extra shoes (besides a single pair that I wear) or many toiletries. I also find it helps to wear undershirts, which are very small/light and so you only need 2-3 long sleeve shirts. That and underwear, socks, a single pair of jeans (plus the ones I'm wearing) is fine for me for a month.

I will update here after my trip and let you know how it holds up. I'll be going to probably 7-8 towns in a month in Ukraine and Russia in the dead of winter, traveling by trains, buses, and what the Russians call "marshrutki" (small vans acting as buses). Should be a good test of the Osprey Porter 46's durability!

Giggleswick

drbobguy--

Coincidentally, I have a North Face Yavapai and an Osprey Porter 46, and I can confirm that if you can do 10 days with a Yavapai, you can easily do a month with the Porter. Also, the Porter's easier to pack and unpack, since it unzips almost all the way so that you can flip it open, rather than having to shove things down into it. I think you'll be happy with it. And while I wouldn't want to hike with it, I found it comfortable enough for walking to and from the station, standing while riding on city buses, etc.

One OT thing, though. I realize YMMV, but do you really never bring a spare pair of shoes? I always do, because there's no knowing when the main pair might get soaked through, suddenly break a strap or an eyelet or something, or decide to cause some kind of heel pain or hot spot even after being well broken in. But I'm no good at living dangerously....