bassmomma

I also have several travel bags. The most recently purchased one came from eBags and is a Pacsafe hobo. I am looking forward to "trying it out" this fall. I also have a Travelon crossbody in very lightweight leather and it is quite nice. My favorite of all is from Ellington and is a man's gear bag in black microfibler. I have used it so many, many times. It has a slot/compartment for everything.

smartinez

I got this crossbody a couple of months ago - Urban Oxide Speed http://www.amazon.com/International-...dp/B00GONHBR2/

It comes in a lot of colors, I have it in silver and it looks great, holds a lot more than it looks like it will, and is very light. I can slip it into my computer bag as it keeps a very thin profile and doesn't bulk out like other small purses I've had. Very reasonable too, like $45.

The brand is a sub-brand of Hobo, which is my favorite brand for wallets - but I didn't know that before I bought it!

By the way, I use this wallet for travel - http://www.amazon.com/HOBO-Venice-Eu...dp/B00H9FDIRQ/
and it turns out you can fit a US passport in the bill pocket, a nice bonus.

TxPepper

I know this is a little late, but I recently purchased a Travelon Anti-theft Travel Bag bag via ebags. They were having a sale, etc, etc.

It has RFID shielding in several areas. The cut-proof strap is wide enough that it doesn't dig into my shoulder. There are enough interior pockets for organization that small items can be neatly kept without getting 'lost' inside. Additionally, the interior is light taupe/gray colored so it is easy to see things. Some of the pockets are made of mesh so it's easier to see what is in them.

I carried a Samsung NX1000 in the small-ish front pocket and it fit without bulging out too much. A small London Fog Clipper Mist 6.5 inch collapsible umbrella (no longer made) fits easily in the rear section. It's pretty low profile and hangs off of the body better than a similar Baggallini that I have.

My cons for this item are not insurmountable....when I wear my bags cross-body, I have the strap on my right shoulder -- the bag on my left side. Because of this, I feel that the zippers open in the wrong direction for me. [If looking at the bag from the front, the zipper tab opens from my right to left. So when wearing the bag cross-body, being right-handed, I have to reach over the top of the bag to grab the tab...and as a result, I don't use the security catches...which are on the wrong side for me also. If Travelon had used double open zippers and placed at least one security catch on the water-bottle side, it would be problem solved. Also, I find that the two outside small side pockets (for a water bottle and a mobile phone) are marginal in size. The water bottle pocket is a little too shallow to really support a standard 16 oz bottle well...but it will work. The other pocket which is for a mobile phone? again is too short. It just holds my Nokia Lumia 925 width-wise, but I wouldn't use it for phone storage. It's good to store a small pad of paper for easy access...or some other inconsequential item.

It's unisex looking enough that I wouldn't have a problem asking a guy-friend to hold or carry it for awhile.

Since my trip (that I purchased it for) is now a memory, I've been carrying it everyday.

voodoogirl

Just returned from 10 days in Europe with this Derek Alexander cross body in black. The outside zip compartment has place inside that is perfect for an ipad mini, with a velcro closure to keep it doubly secure. I wore that side that towards my body. Don't really have any complaints about it at all.

http://www.ebags.com/product/derek-a...uctid=10185527

SanDiego1K

This looks very interesting. I don't carry a purse on the airplane as I have my roller and my tote. How flat does this compress for packing?

voodoogirl

I also pack the same way. I ended up folding it in half and kind of sticking it down the edge of my carryon roller because it had room there, but it lays pretty flat as well. It has lots of pockets and zip places, sometimes so many I forgot which one I put my apartment key in lol. And it's plenty deep that I didn't worry about my wallet as much in the bottom with it zipped. The black has grey lining. I am usually a Kipling girl, but I really liked this one more than the Kipling Machida, which I kept having an issue with the zipper (unusual for them.) I take the Kipling Sherpa as my personal item.

It's definitely not a tiny bag, but I became the default for 'can you hold this?' when traveling with 5 guys. And it held a lot!

SaraJH

I'm in the UK and have a Fossil Explorer Crossbody which I use everyday and for travel aswell.

creamdavid

Check out the Baliloca... It's leather and sticks to your side so you don't worry about it being stolen, and weighs almost nothing. www.baliloca.com Can't wrestle it away from my girlfriend.

JR14

I've had great luck ordering custom bags off Etsy and making sure they're fitted to a good quality purse organizer (like this one from Levenger). It's a practical approach if you're picky about your bags, since with a lot of Etsy sellers you can customize things like pockets and dimensions. Just make sure you go with a seller who's gotten good reviews in the past.

beachmouse

I discovered Tom Bihn bags from the Travel Products forum here, and am currently having much fun trying out one of their Cafe Bags as a purse:

http://www.tombihn.com/messenger_bags/TB0202.html

It's a heavier fabric than most nylon, but not as heavy as leather. And then there are almost an infinite number of cute little pouches you can clip to the O rings inside the bag:

http://www.tombihn.com/CTGY/accessories.html

Que-girl

I found these Mosey bags, made in Canada, to be very travel friendly. Great colors, ID holder on a strap, zipper pockets, good organization. Holds water bottle, iPads etc. Have to be careful not to make it overly heavy with all it can old. Check out https://www.moseylife.com/collection/
Dillards carrys them now. Amazon, Zappos, many others I'm sure.
Mine packs flat so that I use it when I arrive. I take a tote on board with my carry on piece + my Mosey when I arrive. Done.

jewels421

I have a Travelon cross-body anti-theft bag. It was a gift, but I ended up liking it quite a bit.

future elite

I use a Fossil crossbody that I purchased in 2013. I don't remember the model name and don't think it is offered right now. It has a flap and two brass twisty enclosures. It can fit with some maneuvering my DSLR, phone, umbrella, wallet and sunglasses. I sometimes pair it with a simple tote bag.

catarina

Thanks for this. I'm doing Spain/Portugal next summer and need to carry just the basics - lots of walking - but don't like nylon bags.

catarina

I could wear this under my coat and not have it count as one of my carry one pieces ... With just my phone wallet, (my iPhone case is my wallet) passport & a lipstick, very slim indeed.