My (uneducated) findings on how to pack a B&R BRX 19"
Jul 9, 2011, 9:19 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1
My (uneducated) findings on how to pack a B&R BRX 19"
Hi everybody, after scouring these forums and various Web sites, I wanted to tell you about my experience with the B&R BRX 19", and specifically, how to pack it so that it's as flat as possible to fall within Air Canada's carry-on limit of 9" thick (BRX is 9" thick when not stuffed). Keep in mind: i'm not a seasoned traveler, so maybe some other veteran packers can chime in. I'm just an average vacationer :-)
I started out by taking a tip from one of the posters here, and buying a whole series of Eagle Creek packing aids, try them, and take back the ones I didn't need. Basically, I bought every one to see how it would fit... Slightly obsessive, I know :-)
Here is what I found:
1. Packing cubes don't work as well as flat packing. While, I can get all of my clothes into one of the large cubes, the issue is that the space that's left over is awkward. I can fit a couple of pairs of shoes in that space, but then there's still a lot of empty space. I can also fit a long skinny packing cube in that space (filled with socks and underwear), it's true, but I don't like that packing cube because I find it tricky to fill.
The other thing is that using a large packing cube for all my clothes fills up more of the bag, height-wise--in other words, it's thicker than if I just flat-packed. That's not good, because it has the effect of making the whole bag thicker (stuffed) and with a laptop in the front compartment, I'm worried about it exceeding Air Canada's carryon limit of a 9" thickness.
2. There's not enough room for two large cubes side-by-side, or even one large cube and a half cube side-by side. So you're forced to use the long skinny packing cube. As I've said previously, that skinny cube is hard to pack: my bras don't fit well in it, and it's slightly harder to hold every down to get the zipper closed. The other thing is that when you open it, things sort of spew out. I prefer a half-cube for the underwear/socks, or a double-sided half-cube, one side for socks, one side for underwear.
3. I'm not 100% sure, but packing folders are not as good as flat packing! This suitcase is small, so the bottom of it can double as the bottom of a packing folder. The nice thing is that it is wider than a packing folder, so you can lay the full width of the shirt flat, without having to fold the sides in. I suppose you can place some kind of board on top of your shirts to separate them from the rest of your stuff on top. Not using a packing folder eliminates a lot of bulk.
4. Bundle packing doesn't work as well as flat packing! Much like with the packing cubes, bundle packing creates an awkwardly shaped bundle, and the space unoccupied by the bundle is awkward.
5. flat packing seems to be the best. Here are the reasons: 1. My suitcase was a little over half full when flat packed (excluding hair brush, toiletries, and shoes). It left a nice, flat, half-empty surface on the top that was easy to compress. 2. The bag comes with large compression straps (i would call them "panels" -- see the B&R web site for pics) which work well with flat packing. They keep things tidy in the bottom. 3. My shoes slip into the corners nicely, again, keeping the suitcase as flater. There's just enough room for them (as opposed to way too much room for them with the packing folders method). 4. easier to unpack than bundling. 5. Keeps things just as unwrinkled, if not more so, than packing folders (although to be honest, I am a woman, and my tops aren't as big as a man's and therefore, don't need as much folding).
6. Toiletry bag goes in the front pocket. I used the Eagle creek bag with the 3 compartments. One compartment used for toothbrush, floss. Second for makeup. Third for 3-1-1 stuff. I like the compartmentalization because it causes it the packages to be flat.
7. 17" laptop goes it front pocket fine. I used a quarter cube for cables + ipod and earphones.
The *two* bad things about flat packing are:
1. the disorganization of underwear and socks. Underwear and socks fit in nicely in the corners and sides, but it is disorganized, and I don't like that. So what I did is used an eagle creek double-sided half cube (one side for underwear and one side for socks), and placed in on the top of my flat-packed clothes. It makes the suitcase bulkier on one side, but it's still compresses enough, I think (hope) for Air Canada's limit.
2. Not sure what to do with trousers if you are packing your nice shirts on the bottom (instead of using a packing folder for them). Seems like you'd have to pack trowsers on top, and then they'd get wrinkles in the knees, where they were folded...So maybe the pants-wrapped-around-an-15"-packing-folder strategy is the best policy if you need unwrinkled trowsers...I still think that this may leave a lot of wasted space, length-wise...Note that the 18" packing folder *just* fits in this bag, and there wouldn't be any room left over to wrap your trowsers around it...
So there is my slightly control-freaky, obsessive view of how to flat pack a B&R BRX 19" :-) I hope somebody will find it useful :-)
I started out by taking a tip from one of the posters here, and buying a whole series of Eagle Creek packing aids, try them, and take back the ones I didn't need. Basically, I bought every one to see how it would fit... Slightly obsessive, I know :-)
Here is what I found:
1. Packing cubes don't work as well as flat packing. While, I can get all of my clothes into one of the large cubes, the issue is that the space that's left over is awkward. I can fit a couple of pairs of shoes in that space, but then there's still a lot of empty space. I can also fit a long skinny packing cube in that space (filled with socks and underwear), it's true, but I don't like that packing cube because I find it tricky to fill.
The other thing is that using a large packing cube for all my clothes fills up more of the bag, height-wise--in other words, it's thicker than if I just flat-packed. That's not good, because it has the effect of making the whole bag thicker (stuffed) and with a laptop in the front compartment, I'm worried about it exceeding Air Canada's carryon limit of a 9" thickness.
2. There's not enough room for two large cubes side-by-side, or even one large cube and a half cube side-by side. So you're forced to use the long skinny packing cube. As I've said previously, that skinny cube is hard to pack: my bras don't fit well in it, and it's slightly harder to hold every down to get the zipper closed. The other thing is that when you open it, things sort of spew out. I prefer a half-cube for the underwear/socks, or a double-sided half-cube, one side for socks, one side for underwear.
3. I'm not 100% sure, but packing folders are not as good as flat packing! This suitcase is small, so the bottom of it can double as the bottom of a packing folder. The nice thing is that it is wider than a packing folder, so you can lay the full width of the shirt flat, without having to fold the sides in. I suppose you can place some kind of board on top of your shirts to separate them from the rest of your stuff on top. Not using a packing folder eliminates a lot of bulk.
4. Bundle packing doesn't work as well as flat packing! Much like with the packing cubes, bundle packing creates an awkwardly shaped bundle, and the space unoccupied by the bundle is awkward.
5. flat packing seems to be the best. Here are the reasons: 1. My suitcase was a little over half full when flat packed (excluding hair brush, toiletries, and shoes). It left a nice, flat, half-empty surface on the top that was easy to compress. 2. The bag comes with large compression straps (i would call them "panels" -- see the B&R web site for pics) which work well with flat packing. They keep things tidy in the bottom. 3. My shoes slip into the corners nicely, again, keeping the suitcase as flater. There's just enough room for them (as opposed to way too much room for them with the packing folders method). 4. easier to unpack than bundling. 5. Keeps things just as unwrinkled, if not more so, than packing folders (although to be honest, I am a woman, and my tops aren't as big as a man's and therefore, don't need as much folding).
6. Toiletry bag goes in the front pocket. I used the Eagle creek bag with the 3 compartments. One compartment used for toothbrush, floss. Second for makeup. Third for 3-1-1 stuff. I like the compartmentalization because it causes it the packages to be flat.
7. 17" laptop goes it front pocket fine. I used a quarter cube for cables + ipod and earphones.
The *two* bad things about flat packing are:
1. the disorganization of underwear and socks. Underwear and socks fit in nicely in the corners and sides, but it is disorganized, and I don't like that. So what I did is used an eagle creek double-sided half cube (one side for underwear and one side for socks), and placed in on the top of my flat-packed clothes. It makes the suitcase bulkier on one side, but it's still compresses enough, I think (hope) for Air Canada's limit.
2. Not sure what to do with trousers if you are packing your nice shirts on the bottom (instead of using a packing folder for them). Seems like you'd have to pack trowsers on top, and then they'd get wrinkles in the knees, where they were folded...So maybe the pants-wrapped-around-an-15"-packing-folder strategy is the best policy if you need unwrinkled trowsers...I still think that this may leave a lot of wasted space, length-wise...Note that the 18" packing folder *just* fits in this bag, and there wouldn't be any room left over to wrap your trowsers around it...
So there is my slightly control-freaky, obsessive view of how to flat pack a B&R BRX 19" :-) I hope somebody will find it useful :-)
