NeilA

Rather than paying big money for a lightweight duffel, there is always the alternative to simply buy material and a good zipper and have one made.

People to sew can usually be found on fabric store bulletin boards and asking around. It would probably be a very simple project for them.

greggarious

Does anyone have a suggestion for a soft sided bag that will meet Ryanair's carryon requirements?

Silver Fox

So I have this in my Amazon wish list because someone mentioned it once on one of the fora here - I have not bought it so cannot verify it but I did put it in there because someone said it was good!

NYTA

Cabin Zero backpack.

PV_Premier

Any experiences w/ this product?

http://www.ebags.com/product/a-saks/...ductid=1125189

GadgetFreak

I think I recall some older discussions of them on this forum. I seem to recall people were pretty happy with them but I don't have personal experience.

Luther Cale

I had to chuckle reading back to 2008 and people still recommending 4 pound bags as lightweight ways to carry things.

I think the lightest way to get items reliably from Point A to Point B will be in cuben fiber. Now, it's pricey stuff and there aren't a lot of 30-45L options.

The absolute lightest I have seen is the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Stuff Sack at .28 pounds (basically a 30L cuben stuff sack with backpack straps). But that's kind of translucent, so I think better to go up to at least the black Metro (.42 pounds) or black Summit (.89 pounds). Both come in at 30L, although the Summit can have some external storage as well with the outer lash straps and/or optional pocket.

As far as larger than 30L volumes, there are two duffle/backpack options that I am aware of: D3 Duffel at 40L and Outlier Duffelpack at 15-50L. Both pretty interesting bags, both eye watering expensive. The CiloGear Worksacks have backpack versions in the 30-45 range (but you will look you are going on a space shuttle mission!) and get down to 1 pound if you strip all the extras off. The D3 duffle is a touch over 1 pound, the Outlier duffle a touch over 2.

If these cuben packs aren't your thing, then there are a lot of more traditional nylon duffels around the 1 pound mark that would do the trick (Victorinox Werks 5.0 is one that I have used and is quite good, with the expandability being a standout feature).

I have personally gravitated to a two bag system, where I have a small 20L backpack and a small 20L duffel and that works really well for me, as neither bag is very heavy and then at my destination, I have a great daybag pack, rather than a compromised version.

pseudo

I think the only drawback with those soft bags is packing clothes neatly without having them thrown around. You would need to introduce something like packing cubes/garment folders to keep your clothes tidy.

Thats one reason those 4 pound bags were preferred.

I carry a slimline messenger bag, similar to your backpack arrangement and looking at getting a lightweight duffel that also wont mess up my clean folded clothes (probably will use the packing cube approach)

frankmu

frankmu

Speaking of Cuban fiber backpacks, here's one from Z-Packs http://www.zpacks.com/backpacks/nero.shtml

It's 38L, 10.9 oz. Only $199

I have their Arc Blast backpack, great quality and very light weight

Liza Lorena

Some luggage shown here are very expensive when purchasing directly from the vendor. I bought something in about $100 using some extensive research like shown on those cheap Delsey luggage deals

Sometimes newer models are cheaper than old ones so it's important to always check the new stuff and to enjoy travelling

tcl

I still have mine and use it surprisingly frequently although it is currently not my first choice for a carry-on.

What I love about it:
+ It folds flat so it can be a tag-a-long bag in a larger bag
+ It is single compartment so I can fit larger bulkier items such as toys and x'mas presents.
+ That single compartment expands, twice.
+ It's lightweight
+ It's goes on deep sale every few years and is a steal for all the reasons above.


What I detest about it:
- The velcro handles snag my clothes yet are not effective at keeping the handles closed during handling if checked. I always tie the handles together with a ribbon.
- If checking, make sure the tag goes between the sewn-in loops on the handle itself as the plastic snaps do come undone and the tag can slip off during handling. You have to be proactive and insistent on this as most check-in agents will ignore you unless you say that the handle is defective. While the plastic clips are perfectly strong enough for hand carry, they can pop open when yanked on by baggage handlers.

The only reason it is not my go-to bag anymore is that I prefer to have the weight on both shoulders or not at all and use the Eagle Creek Convertible Weekender or wheels (IT 20" rolling trolley)

MicWebb

I Googled these Ryanair restrictions:
55 x 35 x 20 cm (21.5 x 13.5 x 7.5 inches)
plus 1 small bag up to 35 x 20 x 20 cms

Is the 7.5" thickness limitation the problem? The height and width limits seem reasonable.

You may need to look for a "onebag" with exterior compression straps, or use thin packing cubes or a compressible packing board (from Eagle Creek) plus interior tie-down straps to keep the thickness under 7.5".

In the USA I would go with the Rick Steves Original Backdoor Bag.

Usually if there are luggage testing boxes, you can squeeze a softsided bag inside if you don't overstuff it, but if your contents shift and the onebag looks lumpy you may have more scrutiny than if you use interior cubes or packing board and exterior straps to tighten things down.

MicWebb

Rick Steves Classic Back Door Bag 1.95lbs
https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/classic-backpack

Outdoor Products Essentials Carryon
(might be discontinued but tends to go out of stock then come back)
https://www.gearbuyer.com/products/o..._carry_on.html
Or the Campmor website:
https://www.campmor.com/ProductUnpub...productId=null

I think the 20cm thickness limit is tough to meet since most travelers overstuff their bags, and even when not overstuffed, contents shift and make the bag lumpy towards the bottom. The only solution I can think of is to stabilized contents with a combination of packing cubes (and internal tie-downs) and packing boards (Eagle Creek), but these of course add weight.

The slightly heavier eBags Weekender onebag has three great features in this regard: (i) external compression straps; (ii) snap-in, optional divider panel to keep contents from shifting from top to bottom (in vertical carry mode); and (iii) interior tie-down straps that compress down instead of both down and inwards - they anchor from the mid-side panel not the bag's bottom. Look at the eBags photos and video demonstration, much easier to see it than read about it. Note how "fat" the eBags onebag can become, in the pictures, if you aren't disciplined in packing.
https://www.campmor.com/ProductUnpub...productId=null

fk1991

Arcido Faroe is a high end carry-on backpack which weighs just 900g (2lb)! I've got one and it's great. I'd highly recommend it as it's a lot better than other carry-ons I've used costing double. You can get it on their website or Amazon.