Does anything compare to the Ebags Mother Lode TLS Weekender?
 

Does anything compare (in size and similar or better quality) to the Ebags Mother Lode TLS Weekender?
I have several other bags (Red Oxx Sky Train, Tom Bihn Aeronaut and 21" Briggs and Reilly) but need something a bit bigger that I can fit a medium camera bag into yet pull the camera bag out and gate check if need be.
Thanks in advance!

The Osprey Porter 46, perhaps? Osprey backs up their products, and the build quality is excellent. It also has a great, functional hip belt, and both the hip belt and the backpack straps can be securely hidden away should you ever need to check the pack.

You can get the Osprey Porter 46 from eBags, so you could always order a Mother Load TS Weekender and a Porter 46, check them out side-by-side, and keep the one you like best and return the other.

I agree with the last part. I personally use the Mother Lode TLS Weekender and really like it, but can see why the aesthetics aren't for everyone. Build quality is decent, but it's not Tumi. There is also the regular Weekender which does not have the space for a computer, is cheaper, and, in my opinion, looks better (the all black one, I'm not enthused about the giant "ebags" label on my bag, but it probably does help deter thieves!).

Depending on the size of the camera bag, the L.L. Bean Quickload Travel Pack has a fairly large outer pocket (not the one with the mesh organizer) that can easily be accessed without undoing the external straps. I have put a large Tom Bihn Cafe Bag in it (13 x 12 x 3) with the idea that it could be easily removed should the main bag have to be gate checked.

Fortunately, I never have had to. It always passed muster.

The LL Bean Quickload was #2 on my list. My Ebags Mother Lode TLS weekender arrived today and I did a mock packing though I am not leaving for another 2.5 weeks. My packing cubes worked well in the main compartment and my camera bag (ThinkTank Urban Disguise 35v2) fit just fine into the big front compartment. The bag is comfortable on my back as a backpack. I don't like the shoulder strap that came with it (though I doubt I will be shouldering it much) and am thinking of using a Tom Bihn or Optech strap with neoprene that I already have.

I actually did that very thing. I left the tags on and loaded up both bags with stuff and carried them around the house. I decided, in the end, that I preferred the Porter 46. While I enjoyed all of the pockets in the Mother Lode, I realized that I wouldn't actually be using them while I was flying so it didn't really matter how well organized things were.

I took the Osprey Porter on a week long trip and it did really well for me. I used the backpack straps while moving through the airports and trains, used one of my other shoulder straps for quick-toting, and then tucked everything in and carried it by the handle when I wanted to convince the gate agents that my overstuffed bag wasn't really all that big.

If what you need to do is comfortably shlep stuff then the Porter 46 is the way to go. If you need a little more organization for business travel, then the Mother Lode is probably the way to go.

Oh yeah, it's also worth noting that the Osprey Porter 46 doesn't really have anything that serves as a laptop compartment. So if you're trying to keep everything on your back you'll have to do some planning. A smaller laptop may fit in the compartment where the backpack straps go, but it's certainly not ideal.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...-backpack.html tons of bags, really.