Originally Posted by
Dianne47
Slightly off topic, but "bundle packing" is suitable for a trip where you get somewhere and unpack everything, then hang items on hangers or put them in drawers. It's time-consuming and inefficient for trips where you need access to only certain items each day, or are moving from place to place and need to pack and unpack often. I prefer using packing cubes, one packing folder, and/or 2-gallon ziplock bags. Much more efficient and I find that using the ziplocks allows me to pack more, since I can squeeze the air out of each bagful.
I'm with the person who said s/he prefers a wheeled bag. By the time I get a maximum-carry-on bag packed, it's far too heavy to carry around airports, train stations, etc. - great shoulder strap or not. Good luck with your decision, the Red Oxx bags seem to get high marks from flyertalkers.
I agree about bundle packing. I have tried it and will probably try again but I really like the convenience of the folders.
In terms of rolling or not I also go back and forth a bit. Right now I am making an active process of cutting down as much as I can when I travel. I have done some mileage runs recently and even though they are one day trips (NY to LAX or SFO and back the same day) I pack as if it were an overnight trip in case I get delayed, a flight is canceled or whatever. Since I was doing those I kept cutting down the amount until I got it down to what would fit in an LL Bean Turbo backpack. I had a business trip last week that was an overnight trip and figured I might as well try it with the backpack and it worked well. An Airboss would have been half empty in comparison.
One reason I got the Sky Train was to force myself to pack lighter. When something is going on my shoulder I am more careful about whether I really want to take it. It has helped me in that regard. The other reason is that I really hate struggling finding a place to put a rolling bag on a crowded flight. It is sometimes tough even in business and first. It is especially tough if you get upgraded (tougher if you dont) at the last minute and cant preboard of if you arrive late for boarding because of a delay. I find that I can about always stuff my Sky Train into a space, and a lot of times its spaces that the roller wouldnt fit.