Inwonderland

Hi,

I recently accepted a ~65% travel job in the US central/Midwest states. I am going from road sloth to warrior and need to get new bags to accommodate the frequent 1-2 overnight travel jaunts. I'd like to avoid gate checking if at all possible even on small regional jets.

I will have laptop, iPad, cell phone/s, other electronic items as deemed necessary, small mobile office supplies, etc. As I will need to take these items at all day on site, I'm thinking of getting a mobile rolling laptop bag (possibly @work or Verb Briggs and Riley?) and an extra small Red Oxx Aviator bag for my clothing, etc.

I may add a spinner (Transcend or Baseline depending upon which laptop bag I chose) in the future for longer jaunts or larger planes when the price of the original rolling laptop bag purchase wears off :-) The B&R will be a bit of a $ stretch in the beginning, but I'm thinking it would be best to invest in a quaility bag since it will be with me so often. The $30 Redd Oxx is definitely doable!

Of course I'm female so I'm not sure wear a very small purse in this scenario is going to fit - perhaps in one of the bags?

Does this sound like a reasonable plan? Any alternatives? What else should this Road Sloth to Warrior be considering?

Thank you!
Inwonderland

GadgetFreak

I find it a struggle to be sure that a rolling bag wont be gate checked. If I really dont want it checked I go with either a Tom Bihn Tristar or a Red Oxx Skytrain. The Red Oxx Air Boss has a lot of fans too. The Tristar has pockets for computers and such. The Skytrain is more free form, but I have put both clothes and a medium briefcase inside the Skytrain, and pulled the briefcase out to go under the seat while the Skytrain with the clothes went in the overhead on the small prop plane. Good luck and welcome to Flyertalk!

Megn

I also seek to avoid the gate check, but need the wheels to get to the gate. A rolling cabin tote or briefcase is allowed on the little regionals. The key measurement is 8" wide, as anything much wider won't slide in to the overhead. The other key is to have a roller that is personal bag sized, as GAs and FAs usually require gate checking for anything that looks like it might not fit.

Personally, I use a large backpack for the clothes; GAs generally allow a backpack, even when it's the size of a small house. Also, the compression straps keep everything in place and I have a free hand when I'm wearing it. At the gate, I put on the backpack, carry the cabin tote, and think small thoughts. No one has ever suggested that I gate check that combination. I pack a satchel large enough to carry my tablet and serve as a purse at destination, but don't use it while I travel.

I think your plan should work, as long as your roller isn't too wide.

As for other suggestions, go read the sticky at the top of the forum on how to pack, try to only carry what you absolutely need, get retractable cables that plug into a wall adapter for your gadgets, and pack the cables in a small pouch so they're always ready to go. Same with your toiletries. Assemble a complete set for travel and leave them packed. The less you have to organize before a trip, the less you're likely to forget.

cordelli

If it rolls, they may insist you gate check it. I would plan on it happening from time to time on the small planes, and have the things I need on board or don't want out of my sight in a removable sleeve just in case.

Cohiba1492

My wife is using something like this.. She can pack 3 days 2 nights worth of stuff in there. She does carry a purse in addition to this and she's happy with this overall setup.

brp1264

You can go the rolling mobile bag route, but just be prepared for the occasional GA to go rogue and demand you gate check it.

If you are physically able to carry your bag, there are better options in the form of the Air Boss or Tri Star. Simply use the two outside compartments of either for clothes, as they provide more than enough room for 1-3 day trips. In the middle compartment of either bag, you can put in a small laptop bag that would house your laptop, electronics, and iPad. When you get to your destination, simply pull out the laptop bag, leave the airboss/tri-star in the rental car or hotel, throw the shoulder strap from your main bag onto the laptop bag, and be on your way to the office/meeting/client site.

I would definitely go this route vs. a roller bag if I had a lot of shorter trips with the possibility for regional jets. Unfortunately, my job has some unique requirements in that I have to carry a never-ending amount of electronics that require a large laptop backpack and my travel duration ranges from 1-6 weeks. I have to carry some hand tools, sometimes food (if I'm off to a 3rd world country), and steel toe boots, so carry-on only is not an option 90% of the time. The best I would be able to do is my laptop backpack with all my gear and the Air Boss or extra small aviator for clothes/shoes.

Best of luck to you!

Megn

The trick with the rolling bag is to choose one that's small and then pick it up and carry it past the GA. I zip up the cover for the handle and carry the wheels toward me, so you'd have to look closely at it to see that it had wheels. If a GA ever did give me a claim ticket for it, I'd quietly take it, put it in my pocket, and carry the tote on anyway. I know for certain that my rolling tote fits under the seat, even on the smallest ones, with the one seat-two seat configuration. Having said that, my electronics are all in my backpack, with nothing in the roller that couldn't get checked if it had to.

tfar

Excellent advice! ^

Get the smallest rolling tote that still fits your stuff. Be ready to reduce the stuff a little, too. Make sure it is not bigger than 36 linear inches. That's one of the most common size limits for personal items.

Do not show up at the gate with the roller, the Aviator AND the purse. Hide the purse in one of the other bags. With a total of 3 including one roller you will be a prime target.

I think the basic idea of a rolling office bag and a very lightweight simple bag for clothes is very good. Right on. The only problem is that the Aviator doesn't have a slip-through to attach it to the roller make it ride on top.

Maybe you can make do by using the grab handles on the Aviator. Perhaps you could also fix something up with an elastic cord but that's not so practical. Thus at least try to find a roller where the top surface is flat so the Aviator sits better. And try to find a roller with rather narrow extension handles so you can fit the Aviators handles over it. But don't take a roller with a mono-pole handle as you cannot really fix a bag to that type of pole easily (or not at all).

Till

Inwonderland

Thank you everyone for your great advice!

After a visit to the luggage store to look at the Verb Exp Med rolling bag, it still seemed a little wide to me to sneak onto a RJ. They had a Briggs KR305 in stock and that looks like a great bag - definitely stealth worthy. It's funny on the B&R site it lists the depth for both at 7", but in reality the Verb is significantly wider than the Kr305. I also learned that they give my current employer a 30% discount so I need to finalize this decision before the end of next week when I resign. I only wish I had more money to take advantage of this discount. From what I understand 30% off B&R or Rimowa is unheard of. Oh well.

I'm now considering the eBags weekender junior as the top soft bag for its compartments, carrying straps, etc. I haven't completely ruled out the Aviator yet though. From my research here, I'm hoping the Bag Bungee may help secure the top bag. I am also open to modifying a bag to accomplish this or to add a shoulder strap (which I wouldn't have to do with the ebags weekender jr.) I will still have some time to decide on which small soft top bag to consider, but if I go with the kr305 it will certainly have to have a narrow base given how slim that bag is.

I've also been looking at some of the nylon purses on eBags that I think I could include inside the top bag without much weight or space. And with the Big Skinny Groupon the wallet clutch may be a good option as well.

Thanks again for all of your input, I'll keep you updated as decisions are made and how effective they are in real life.

raymozet

Hello everyone.

Long time lurker here. I've gotten a ton of advice and quite a few good laughs from this site so for that I say thank you.

Inwonderland, I just purchased this bag from Tumi through Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Luggage-Compac...s=tumi+wheeled

I got it for a total of 40% off. (20% discount + 20% for signing up for Amazon's Apparel Email alerts. A tip I found here on Flyertalk)

In the bag I can easily fit 3-4 days worth of clothes plus all the electronics you mentioned in the bag. I'd also echo the advice to carry the bag onto a RJ and the GA will (probably) not give you a second look.

Megn

The Bag Bungee from Travelon works great for holding the soft bag on top of the roller. The straps from my backpack go on either side of the handle and with the bungee it is rock solid. The bungee buckles on to the handle on the roller. I just roll it up and insert it into the main zipper compartment when I get to the gate versus trying to unbuckle it and rebuckle it to the grab handle.

Segments

I have the Verb large rolling briefcase. Using the "carry it with wheels facing in" trick I've gotten it onto a Dash 8 and stored under the seat.

Wouldn't try it too often though as I really was pushing my luck. GA and FA ignored me. Mainly don't look like you are struggling with it or hold up the aisle to maneuver it under the seat

If you are frequently flying tiny RJ then opt for smaller and/ or be prepared to pull valuables for gate check of the roller. Pack a small nylon tote that folds to pocket size for this event (sold for "bringing home your souvenirs")

bhatnasx

I have something similar to this - http://www.amazon.com/Travelpro-Exec.../dp/B0019TKQVY - from when I was traveling weekly. I had a lot of 2-day business trips.

I think that you'll learn what's necessary and what's really not necessary when you travel and the more you travel, the less you'll find you'll need.

A good rolling briefcase can easily fit your work items + clothes all in one. That + a small backpack if needed should cover everything you need for 2-3 day trip.

Key things to think about when packing light:

-Do you really need all those cords & electronics? For a domestic biz trip, I take only the following electronic items and find they suffice: iPhone, inCase car charger, a dual-male ended cord to plug my phone into the car stereo for the rental cars (although if you rent from National, you can usually find a car that connects using the USB & don't even need that cord), a wall pulg for my phone (using the same cord for the car & the wall), my laptop and it's power cord, a kindle (no power cord as I charge it at home & that lasts almost a month on a single charge). If you don't have an iphone for work, maybe consider seeing if you can get one (yes Blackberry email is a thousand times better, of course) - that way you can potentially eliminate the need for an iPad to travel with as an iPhone is essentially a small iPad - regardless, an iPad doesn't take up a lot of room, so no biggie either way.

-For clothes - literally the minimum required. Ladies underwear is pretty small, so that shouldn't be an issue - for longer trips, I actually take exOfficio Give-n-Go's and do sink washing. Can do a 2 week trip with 2-3 pairs of boxers if motivated - saves a ton of room. If you're required to dress up, pack outfits that allow you to use the same blazer, belt (if needed), and shoes each day if you can (again, may be easier for men's clothing). In a bag such as the one above, I can easily pack 2 dress shirts, 2 ties, 2 boxers, 2 socks, 2 undershirts and extra pair of dress pants. I notice that most seasoned female business travelers in my company tend to stick to pant suits as opposed to skirts - maybe they're more flexible? Not sure - just an observation.

-Regarding gym wear - I work out in hotel gyms - my gym clothes are quick dry and I pack a pair of quick dry shorts, shirt, and boxers that I can wash in the sink & dry with a towel/overnight if needed. For shoes, I use Vibram 5-fingers - they're great to run on a treadmill with and they're fine for a hotel gym. Also, they weigh next to nothing and a flexible to fit into luggage as needed and no extra socks required. If you don't currently work out - as a new road warrior, I recommend you starting to do so - at least when you're on the road. When I was a weekly traveler, I found myself often eating crap food - yes, I'm on an expense account and have a per diem so getting healthier food was an option - but sometimes you just want something quick or you eat at the hotel restaurant or room service or you go out with your business clients and healthy eating gets tossed out the window. Having an exercise routine also helps with jetlag, I think - and it keeps you active.

-Toiletries - take as little as possible and transfer into smaller containers if needed. I usually stay at Marriotts and occassionally Hilton and rarely Starwood hotels on business travel - their bath products are good enough for me, so I don't carry shampoo/conditioner/soap - I just use what they have - if you want to carry your own, great - but since it's only 2 day trips, you should be able to use portable smaller bottles (check out REI for refillable bottles) - for other toiletries, try to work with as little as possible. Also, buy extras of everything so you don't have to take your home products with you. For example, I have a travel razor (same one as my home razor - so the disposable blades are all I need to change out - the handle is the same) and I use a very specific hair gel/cream product so I've transferred enough of it into a small plastic container from REI. For things like toothpaste & shaving cream - the trial size section at CVS sells travel size for about $1, so all that works out nicely.

-Not sure what you do, so I don't know if you have to carry a lot of paperwork & other mobile office supplies (when you wrote that, I couldn't think of what you were thinking about because as a weekly traveler, I could do almost everything I needed with a laptop, my blackberry (now iPhone), a couple of pens, a small notebook, and some business paper materials that I had to take with me and leave with the folks I was meeting with - anything else I brought wasn't used often enough to warrant bringing again - or I could get whatever I needed from my hotel or contacts.

Carrying less is more - find out what you don't use on your trips and dummy down your bag as you continue to gain more experience.

The only other extra items I carried with me are Bose noise cancelling headphones (if you're flying a lot, it's so worth it to drown out the rest of the world - at $300, it seems steep, but one of the best investments I've ever made from a travel perspecitve), my Kindle (I have the cheapest lightest one possible - it was like $50 and I download all my books for free using Soulseek - if I lose it, no big deal. It was the ad-supported one, but you can hack it so it doesn't display ads ever).

Also - as a new road warrior - try to stick to one hotel chain and one airline to get all the points, miles, and status you can! Once you gain your status - life as a road warrior becomes more tolerable. Finally, see if your company will pay for club access - the services in the clubs are great (from rebooking tickets, to grabbing a quick snack/drink, to having a work station between flights) - for the $400 or so it probably costs, it'll pay for itself if traveling 65% of the time (assuming you're traveling to/from an airport that has a lounge). If they won't pay out right, see if they'll do it as a compensatory expense (where they pay for it & add it to your wages as if it was additional pay so you pay taxes on it - that's what our company does).

EmptyKim

I just got one of these for my RJ flights because I was sick of gate checking. 2-3 nights are no problem. Fits into the overhead bins of CRJ7/900s. Never had a gate agent question it.

http://www.amazon.com/Ricardo-Beverl...rdo+luggage+17

Then you can get a full size carry-on for longer travels.

lwildernorva

I'm a very big fan of the Red Oxx Extra Small Aviator, but the bag will work best if you make some of the adjustments in your packing scheme as suggested by others above. I just returned from a 10-day trip to Italy using the XS as my only bag. I was able to pack enough for varied conditions and activities, with rain some days and temps ranging from the 50s to the 70s as well as events ranging from an evening concert in Rome to urban hiking up to the Piazzale del Michaelangelo in Florence, by keeping in mind three principles: pack around two basic color schemes at the maximum, everything you pack must have more than one purpose, and pack no more than two complete basic outfits in addition to the outfit you wear to travel. These three principles reflect my basic belief that it is unlikely that anyone will see you more than three days in a row so you really shouldn't worry if you're concerned about the impression having to wear the same outfit twice during the same trip might make. Besides, if you build your travel wardrobe around two color schemes, you can still mix and match--thus increasing the effective number of outfit combinations you're carrying.

Having set out the principles, here's how I packed for Italy:
The shirts, sweaters, and non-tech fabric pants went into two 15-inch folders facing each other in the XS--the folders fit the dimensions of the bag almost perfectly and provide some needed structure. The shoes, in cloth bags and stacked together with the toe of one shoe mated to the heel of the other, went into the bottom of the bag in the space between the folders. The belt, rolled, fit into the remaining space at the bottom of the bag. The t-shirt, cotton polo, merino underwear, Rocky socks, and REI pants, rolled, were placed atop the belt and the shoes. The toiletries kit went on top of the clothes. There was still room for me to stick in my Nook Color in a sleeve, an international electrical outlet adapter plug, a small multi-outlet plug, an additional cellphone for use in Italy, a few small USB cords that fit into electrical plugs for recharging the Nook and the cellphone, and a small bag with noise-canceling earbuds, an MP3 player, and an airline adapter plug. Packed this way, the XS measured 15x12x8, small enough to fit under the seat in front of me, and weighed 13 pounds.

I wore on the plane another pair of tech fabric underwear, a pair of tech fabric socks, a white tech fabric polo shirt, a grey cashmere sweater, a pair of black pants with a black belt, and a pair of black Rockport waterproof slip-on shoes. I believe in having one set of tech clothing with me on trips. I figure in case of the worst emergency, I can wash them in a hotel room, let them dry overnight, and have a fresh set of clothes in the morning. The tech underwear, ExOfficio or other brands, work very well, can be washed in a sink and will dry by morning, and will allow you to reduce the number of underwear items you pack.

I added a light, lined water-repellent jacket from Land's End to the ensemble--keep in mind that in many cases, airlines will allow you to store the jacket in the overhead bin in addition to your bag. I'm not a ScottVest person, but if you get a jacket with zippered pockets, you can include small items there, such as cellphones and the GPS loaded with maps of Italy that I put in one pocket. I could have easily put my Nook Color and the headphones in those pockets as well.

This wasn't a business trip so my list doesn't quite meet your needs, but if I had needed to pack for business, I could have easily changed out one of the polo shirts for another buttondown dress shirt, added a couple of ties, exchanged the khakis for dressier pants, and substituted a blue blazer for the Land's End jacket. There may be occasions when much dressier attire is needed, but I believe the outfits I just mentioned would exceed the dress requirements for almost every business occasion I can think of other than a job interview for a high-level position at a Fortune 500 company, an initial sales call to a similarly-placed executive at such a company, or an argument before Supreme Courts and appellate courts of the US and the 50 states.

I agree with others that culling your electronics offers the opportunity for the biggest savings in weight. Since these trips are for business, you're undoubtedly stuck with carrying a work laptop with you. Many times, these laptops are way bigger than you'd like to carry so I understand your desire for a roller. If getting a smaller ultrabook isn't a possibility (and I'd lobby hard for one if not already provided), consider limiting yourself to the laptop, the power brick, a GridIt organizer with USB drives and various cords for cellphones, etc. The temptation to take an extra laptop battery is understandable, but it's just more weight. I've even seen people carrying both a work and personal laptop but carrying more just unduly burdens you.

Is the iPad solely personal or needed for work? If not needed for work, consider leaving the iPad at home. I've found that a lot of apps work incredibly well on smartphones now. I wouldn't have taken my Nook Color with me if my trip had been within the states because my Android phone apps work so well. And I no longer take a laptop/netbook/ultrabook with me on personal trips--it's just more stuff to lug around.

I also work out in hotels, but I don't use the gyms. As soon as you do that, you're having to look at another set of clothes and another pair of shoes. Even using Vibrams means a sacrifice of additional space. There are tons of workout apps available for Apple and Android platforms that will allow you to fit in a workout in your room. Instead of treadmills, I use human locomotion as my workout equipment--both of my pairs of shoes double as comfortable walking shoes.

It goes without saying that at least one of your pairs of shoes must be flats, and I'd argue that both should be. As a guy, I don't need to worry about that issue. My shoes may not be the dressiest shoes available, although I believe that they meet acceptable business standards, but they allow me to take walks of two or three miles in addition to my room workouts. Unless you're a marathoner or weightlifting competitor, I think this is an acceptable approach for keeping your fitness level up and offsetting some of the deplorable eating habits we sometimes fall into on business trips.