Originally Posted by
redraincoat
I'll look at LLBean and Patagonia site, thanks for the ideas.
I'll use it as an occasional briefcase for a laptop and papers. it doesn't need to be formal.
For this upcoming trip, I'll be using it for clothing for two kids, age 4 and 6. I've done some test packing, and each child's clothing fits into 1 large eagle creek packing cube. So the bag needs to be big enough for them. I can pack their shoes and raincoats in the wheelie. It's a 19" B&R BRX.
I would also like it for car camping trips for myself. Car camping often involves a short walk to the tenting site. Not hardcore hiking, but it would still be nice to have backpack straps. Still...Maybe the absolute strap is good enough?
I intend to pack for short 3 - 5 day trips, but up to 2 weeks. Just to give you an idea of the amount of stuff I bring, I can easily get 2 weeks' worth of clothes into 2 large eagle creek packing cubes. (I would need extra space for shoes).
The tri-star, aeoronaut, weekender TLS seem too big!
Maybe i should be looking at laptop bags
Would a backpack be out of the question? There are some sqare'ish ones that would accomodate the packing cubes. In addition, I've found some sales on small Swiss Army bags that look like miniature versions of the Aeronaut. My wife has one she is quite happy with. The center compartment holds packing cubes and the end compartments hold shoes and hairdryers. This particular one - long discontinued - was about $75 on closeout and has a handle pocket. Most have really bad straps so you'll want to get something like the absolute stap, the Red Oxx equivalent or something similar.