OneBagManiac

I'm looking for recommendations.. I travel one to two times per week, anything from day trips to three or four days. I'm not a fan of wheeled luggage because the excess space they require, and I only use the wheels when moving from gate to gate or to rental car pickup.

And I have a bad back.

I'm looking for a single bag in which I can carry the following:
1) up to 3 nights worth of clothes

2) a small briefcase in which to carry an ipad and a small computer (I currently use a MS Surface Pro). I don't like carrying backpacks to business meetings, so the backpack would be left in a rental car or hotel room during meetings, and the meeting specific materials (notebook, laptop & charger, maybe some thin file folders, minimal other basic stuff).

3) my electronics charging kit

4) toilet kit

5) stash pockets for keys, watch, wallet, etc, when going through security

6) water bottle holder

I know there's a space "penalty" for carrying a briefcase inside a backpack, but since I'm carrying small and light electronics, the briefcase can be quite minimal.

I'd also love it if the backpack had some kind of external compression straps so I could affect the external size depending on whether I am travelling "heavy" or "light".

I live in Albany NY and there are no luggage stores to consult. And even if there were, the sales people rarely have a lot of insight to share.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to read about them!

Filmbuff

if you have a bad back, i don't know if getting a backpack is the wisest thing to do. even if the bag is only used to get you from home to airport to destination, having wheels is generally easier on the back than using a backpack.

that said, ebags makes a couple of backpack type carry-on bags that you can look at for starters. if none of them click for you, their site sells a decent selection of other carry-on/travel bags. the same goes for if you want a slimmer briefcase.

http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/m...ertible/143101

obie131

I agree that a backpack may not be the right thing for you. Without letting us know what your clothes are, i.e. casual or business attire, it's hard to make a recommendation.

I would say you couldn't go wrong with Tom Bihn. They have several backpacks that would fit your requirement. I often travel with their Brain Bag and then a co-pilot as a shoulder bag, which would fit an iPad. Their new pilot, would fit a full size laptop, so you could see if that would work for you.

OneBagManiac

Thanks! I was reading other threads and found Gate 8. There's a lot of positive press about them. I've looked at Tom Bihn products in the past, but have hesitated on pulling the trigger. The Gate 8 products look compelling as the laptop bag zips off the front of the larger bag. But they're wheeled. And given the back issue, you're both right - I should be looking at wheeled options.

My aversion to wheeled options in the past was sacrificing size in order to get overhead bin fit on ERJs. In looking at other threads today, the gate8 purportedly fits... I've reached out to them via email to ask about interior volumes of their products, and IF I end up buying, I'll post a review!