sfmom

We are a family of one bag, carry-on-only travelers gearing up for a three-week leisure trip to Asia. We've never had a problem relying on one carry-on each--except it's increasingly looking like my husband will be needing to attend one or two meetings for work, which will require a business suit and size 13 dress shoes. Whatever this solution is, it needs to be portable. In addition to flying inter-Asia we will also be taking the train from Osaka to Kyoto, Kyoto to Tokyo and Tokyo to Disneyland.

My current thinking is to get two bags - one carry-on size for his suit/shirt/shoes/laptop/toiletries and one personal item-ish item for his leisure clothing, which tends to be very small/light. His business suit and dress shoes are pricey, and we're looking for something that will keep them in fairly good shape. There's a lot of concrete on this trip we do want the carry on to have wheels, so not doing the Aeronaut, which we loved for Europe.

My current thinking is the Gate8 Trifold for his business attire/laptop, and maybe something like a Tom Bihn Aeronaut 30/Smart Alec/Super Ego for everything else? I know the Bihns are pushing it size-wise but was somewhat counting on the "backpacks don't count" effect. Separately, ideally he'd be able to rest the carry bag on the Trifold to wheel around, but I don't know if the Gate8 is sufficiently stable to handle that.

Does this make sense? Any other suggestions for combos? Buying two bags is expensive but I can't figure out what else to do. He could try stuffing all of it in his Aeronaut but I worry it will be very heavy (and result very wrinkled).

BlueMilk

I too am a one bag carry on traveller.

You might look at the RedOxx Air Boss. I own it and the Aeronaut 30; I love both.

For men's business clothes, the RedOxx is a better solution and has an overall greater capacity. Their website has a good overview of the bag's features.

In the rollaboard category, B&R baseline (sized for your airline of choice) has served me well. Less volume than the RedOxx, but makes it easier to carry a personal item, like a back-pack. Carry-on weight restrictions may be an issue if it's stuffed.

I have no experience with the other bags you mentioned, so I can't comment.

sfmom

Thank you for your thoughts. They're very helpful.

For a "personal item" (I use quotes as I realize these are big) which would you recommend, the Red Oxx or the Aeronaut 30? Do you think either would sit on a B&R Baseline?

I like B&Rs but they're so heavy.

aktchi

Mt answer might depend on whether you perceive this to be a one-time need or a frequently occurring one.

If you are generally all set with your 1-bag lifestyle and only have to manage this once, then I'd suggest you purchase/borrow a medium quality hard-side bag, around 20"-22", and check it in. An inexpensive hard bag would protect contents better than an inexpensive soft bag. Two wheels would be better in the long run than spinner. This would contain his business clothing, double-plastic-bagged toiletries, though obviously not the laptop. Everything else goes into your usual carry-ons. (Unless you are unhappy with your present carry-ons, I see no need to buy another.)

If you expect such business meetings to occur often, then I would upgrade the quality of this check-in bag. That also means you can use hard or soft bags. B&R Baseline is my evergreen recommendation, but ebags, costco etc should be fine at a lower price point. I don't have any experience with Gate8, that may be just fine as well.

Avoid over-priced under-warrantied stuff like Tumi---somebody has to help pay for all those stores in fancy shopping districts, malls, and airports, but you might not want to be that person.

Don't worry about the weight: you solve that problem by keeping the bag small.

It is risky to count on being able to take two carry-ons, even if you think of one as a big personal item. This is especially so abroad and, along with toiletries in a carry-on, will be a permanent stress.

sfmom

Thanks for the idea. The stress of risking getting called out at the gate is less for us than the stress of losing his business clothing. His shoes are handmade. If we check anything it will be his leisure clothing, which is pretty cheap.

Because of connections and inter Asia flights checking would be adding a lot of travel time. We are a party of six and he'd be the only one checking in!

I could get a personal item compliant bag like a smaller backpack and try to see if I can get his clothes in it. Or try to put his overflow in our bags. Really not sure.

He could maybe use a suiter type bag but doesn't travel for business all that often. That's a reason I'm leaning towards the Gate8 - it's a relatively gentle price point. Feel like I will have to try a bunch of bags first and return most of them.

Maybe someone should start a luggage sharing service. I bet some VC would fund it.

BlueMilk

I'm not the guy to ask about an oversized personal item. I prefer to conform.

I will say that the RedOxx can't pass as a personal item. It looks big when packed and I've had it sized for my carry-on item before.

aktchi

Hadn't realized this crucial information. I would suggest your husband can have one dedicated carry-on for business clothing and the rest can be spread around among the remaining 5 carry-ons.

After his meetings are over, you can consider shipping his business clothes home and be done with them!

I agree---and have experience trying and failing in many airports, e.g., LHR, ICN, BKK. Often the airline would have accepted two carry-ons as I was in business class and no checked bags, but the airport security won't.

sfmom

Yes maybe a combination of him carrying some of it and spreading out the rest could work.

Of course his main meeting is likely in Tokyo, which is at the very end of the trip, with another possibly in Seoul, at the very beginning. We're staying at the Park Hyatt in both cities, so I was considering asking one if it could ship to the other (so we're not encumbered in between). That would help a lot.

I'm now looking at Tom Bihn Smart Alec backpack, which over in the Bihn forums is sometimes used as a personal item.

Badenoch

Here's what I'd suggest. Use the roller of your choice plus an unexpanded Briggs and Riley 231X as a personal item. I use mine with a B&R 119CX.

http://www.briggs-riley.com/category...31X&sec=travel

mbece

I'd go with the Alec and you should check out the suiter bag from Lat56 for the work clothes.

sfmom

Thanks for all the ideas. Having studied the Gate8 more carefully, I do think he can fit at least a jump start on his leisure stuff (socks, underwear, toiletries, one pair pants and maybe a couple of shirts). The real attraction of that bag is the laptop feature.

We don't do wheels in Europe, and if we go to South America maybe not there either. But since we're going mostly to cities with sidewalks and elevators we're leaning towards a roller. We have a couple of months so I may wait to see what the new Lat56 roller looks like.

I'm now leaning to the Smart Alec. We love Tom Bihn and we could really use a backpack in our everyday lives. The Synapse 19 fits personal item standards but I think it would look oddly small on him in everyday life (he's 6'2"). From what I've read, one can use the bungee cords to "shrink" the Smart Alec when not full so it's smaller than stated dimensions.

The only wrinkle to this plan is that I'm sure he'll be tempted to stack the Smart Alec onto the Gate8, and really not sure that would work.

freecia

Within Japan, you can have luggage delivered in less than two days with Takkyubin luggage delivery. It is very common to do so and includes tracking (also in English basic webpage with Yamamoto aka kuroneko).
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html

If there are just one or two meetings, I'd send some luggage ahead from Kyoto to Tokyo. Keep the business wear as hand carry if worried about losing stuff. It might be practical to offload some of each person's carry-on into a consolidated bag couriered to a location somewhere in the middle or later in the trip. Most shikansen only have space above the seat for luggage and while I'd expect an Aeronaut to fit, it can be nice to send it ahead while you simply step off the train and can do some sightseeing before check-in. Some wheeled carry-on suitcases might not fit if stuffed overly full.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2274.html

N1120A

Red Oxx Air Boss and a Red Oxx CPA. Great combo in this situation.

Cargojon

For a personal item / laptop bag / etc I highly recommend this.

http://www.luggagepros.com/travelpro...FY9hfgodn0MAJA

I own it and use it as part of my 2 bag system. It has a strap to ride on top of other luggage, but also rolls on its own as needed, with a padded laptop compartment as well.

I guarantee it fits under the seat of any aircraft (unless there is a weird seat bracket or something like that.) I've had it underseat on a 777, Dash 8, ERJ 145 and everything in between.

sfmom

That's an interesting idea. We have the B&R version of the Travelpro - he could bring that with his suit, and put the Smart Alec on top.

We also have Aeronauts, which we like, but wanted wheels for Asia cities. There was no 30" when we bought ours - I wish I'd had that option, as mine is never full. That's it for us luggage-wise.

I'm a big on rolling/bundle packing, and the threads on suit packing inspired me to think I can skip a suiter and put his suit in cubes instead, giving us the flexibility to get any kind of carry-on we want. Our kids each have Lojel Wave 20" spinners - they meet all cabin restrictions, are 4.3 lbs and and have held up remarkably well particularly given the beating my son delivers. They aren't too pricey either. I am on the road as we speak but when I return one of my first to-do items is to see whether I can get my husband's shoes (which are, regrettably for this situation, enormous) and his suit enconsed in one of these without creating major wrinkling problems. I'm also going to see if I can get it all into the B&R - thank you Cargojon for the idea.

Despite my faith in my packing skills I'm not feeling super optimistic I will succeed, mostly because of his size 12 shoes. Both bags are very small and the interior space of the Lojel is hampered by the dual handle structure. We will see.

If that fails I'm thinking about the Rimowa Air Salsa. It strikes me as overpriced but I'm highly committed to staying as light as possible, and it may be just bigger enough to fit everything. It also strikes me as a bag we could use for other trips going forward. My two main hesitations besides price is the fact it doesn't comply with carry on restrictions for many airlines plus the single handle would make stacking difficult.

Thanks everyone for their ideas!