IsleOfMan

I'm bag shopping again, looking to replace a 5-6 year old low-end TravelPro 22" roll-aboard that is showing some age. My business travel is looking to pick up in earnest again for the first time since early-2010. Trips will mostly be 2-3 nights, sometimes up to 4-5.

For 2-night trips, my TravelPro Wall Street VIP Deluxe Expandable Rolling Computer Brief (that's the official name, swear to God) is the perfect size as it holds everything I need in a single rolling bag that (due to the horizontal configuration) rarely requires gate-check on RJs. The current TravelPro equivalent is the Executive Pro Deluxe Computer Brief, but it moves the laptop compartment into the main clothing compartment which, IMHO, is less convenient. The Wall Street VIP is still going strong after about 6 years and isn't showing any signs of quitting.

The new bag would be for 3+ nights. I've got it down to the Crew 9 20", FlightCrew4 20", and Kirkland Signature 21.5". I'm really hoping to spend less than $150 (lowest I've seen the Crew9 20") but would prefer to spend less. My questions are really two-fold:

1.) How would the FlightCrew4 20" compare to the Crew9 20" Business? It's hard to find much info on the FlightCrew series as it's not sold at retail, but the FlightCrew4 seems to be a similar (if not tougher) version of the Crew9 at a lower price ($129 vs $169), but at the cost of a 3-year commercial warranty on the FlightCrew4 instead of the Limited Lifetime on the Crew9. Thought?

2.) For those with the Kirkland Signature, do you ever use the front pocket for laptop storage, either in a sleeve or loose? Do you feel safe with it here? For trips where I know I won't be carrying my laptop into an office or client, I prefer not to have another laptop bag hanging from or on-top of my main bag. Does the built-in suiter outweigh the benefit of a purpose-build padded laptop compartment?

In addition, I'm open to other alternatives, ESPECIALLY if you know of something fairly robust under 21.5" with a laptop compartment AND suiter.

Thanks in advance!

ck777

I was in the same spot about a year ago, but I wasn't looking at the Kirkland model (Don't have a Costco membership).

I really went back and forth between the flightcrew4 and Crew9. I had such a hard time deciding. I think what most folks will say is the flightcrew4 is better built and more sturdy.

I ended up going with the crew9; I think I found a pretty good deal on it. I wasn't a huge fan of the back pocket on the flightcrew4, but that is completely personal.

I've done loads of trips with the crew9 and I've been pretty happy overall, especially for the price. I really like the handle and find it pretty sturdy. I can easily do 7 days with it.

Good luck and let us know what you end up getting.

handspring088

I've used the Flightcrew4 now for a few trips and like its weight and durability. I also looked at the Purdy (Luggageworks) suiter and a few other bags. All in all, the flightcrew 4 had the best combination of weight, expanadability and durability. The Purdy looks like it would last a lifetime, but I eventually demured because of the weight.

IsleOfMan

Can you confirm that the FlightCrew4 20" has a dedicated laptop pocket? There seems to be mixed info from the various retailers, no good pictures showing it, and no official product listing on the TravelPro webpage.

Thanks in advance!

linsj

According to this description, it does. I have the FlightCrew 18" with a similar description, and it does have the laptop pocket.

http://www.flightattendantshop.com/p.../nid/6/pid/477

handspring088

Yes, I can confirm that it does have a laptop pocket. Cushion is about 1/2" in thickness.

IsleOfMan

Just to show my bag choice ADD, can anyone confirm if the Walkabout Lite 4 22" has a laptop compartment? From some pictures of the front pocket half-open, it seems that it MIGHT. It also has a suiter, so the combination of the two would be ideal for me. It's not as high-end of a bag, but I'd really like to get both laptop compartment and suiter in one bag.

IsleOfMan

I checked out the Walkabout Lite 4 at a Mori Luggage shop yesterday. It doesn't have a dedicated laptop compartment, just a gusset keeping the front pocket flap from opening too far.

At this point, I think I'm going to decided between one of the Travelpro 20" models (Crew, FlightCrew, Platinum, or Walkabout Lite 4) depending on how much I end up deciding to spend. From there I'll just go with the Eagle Creek Pack-It 18 inside as a make-shift suiter (and likely wear the coat on travel days instead of packing it anyway).

IsleOfMan

I think I'm down to two bags, both closeouts of older models... it's either the Platinum 7 20" Business for $150 or the Crew 7 22" for $130. At the moment I'm leaning towards the 20" Platinum 7 for the laptop compartment and common carrier damage warranty, mainly to cover abuse in the instances where I have to gate-check on an RJ. I can't think of a reason I would ever check it if flying on a mainline aircraft.

I'll still have my older low-end 22" TravelPro for 4-5 night trips (which should only be 3-4/year) and, for those kinds of trips, I'm more likely to want a stand-alone laptop bag anyway (leaning towards a Cocoon GridIt at the moment).