If you can take only 1 piece of luggage (carry-on) abroad, what would it be?
 

If you're traveling from say, the U.S. to Europe for 2-3 weeks, and you only want to take one piece of luggage that must be carry-on, what will it be? Assume you'll be flying to and from Europe and traveling on trains most days between cities through 5 countries, and you'll have to walk significant distances (1-2 miles occasionally through a city) with the bag and lift it a lot, and possibly store it in train station and hostel lockers. Suitcase on wheels with pull-out handle, shoulder bag with strap, medium-size backpack big enough for all your stuff and good back support, or something else?

I couldn't see a way to make a poll here, so you can vote here on a poll:
http://www.poll-maker.com/poll415443x37984bBe-17

Thanks.

Voted. B&R expandable carry on (one of the many).

E Bags etech 2.0 Weekender Convertible. Have used it for several 2 week trips to Europe and the Middle East. Reasonably priced, lifetime warranty.

http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/e...uctid=10211619

Red Oxx Air Boss.

I've been using one for three years including several 5+ week trips through Asia, two months in India plus some 1-2 week trips in Europe. I've taken it on at least a hundred 3-4 day domestic business trips. Plenty of trains, walking, even a few longtail boats in Thailand.

200,000 miles and it still shows virtually no signs of wear or tear.

I can comfortably walk for a few miles with this bag hoisted on left shoulder such that the bag is bouncing on my rear. Over shorter distances (hotel to train station or long treks down an airport concourse) I have no trouble adding a laptop bag hoisted on my right shoulder or hand-held.

Same bag I've used for those trips for years: rolling LL Bean duffle with a small backpack in it for day use. (I see they've issued a new model of the bag I have, and unhelpfully it's 22x14x10.5. That's just dumb...)

wg

This is really individual, but if your back and shoulders are at all able, a hiking or mountaineering backpack is probably best suited for this type of travel. Assuming there isn't a need to look presentable, and most of your travel is going to be on foot or train, or bus, or donkey cart, etc. backpacks and rugged duffels are made for this sort of thing. Wheeled luggage is great, I'm traveling right now with a Rimowa Cabin Multiwheel IATA and love it for airports and sidewalks and taxis and hotels, but I wouldn't go trekking around Europe with it. If you must do wheels, take a look at the Patagonia wheeled black hole duffels.

This IS the only bag I ever carry, the Goruck GR 1, and I spent nearly a month in Europe this summer, for example, with it...

http://www.goruck.com/gr1-black-/p/GEAR-000066

Take a look at the MEI Executive Overnighter bag. It is quite similar to the Red Oxx Air Boss, but it adds backpack straps that you can easily hide in a separate compartment.
Otherwise similar concept, three main compartments. It is not as popular as the Air Boss, and the small company does not invest in a flashy web presence, unfortunately. Search this forum, and if you want to go with a soft bag with shoulder straps/backback straps, there are some good and fairly recent posts.

While I use both wheeled and non-wheeled bags on my business trips, for the trip envisioned, I would go with a non-wheeled bag ONLY if you can reasonably limit the weight of the stuff you pack...

Absolutely go with the Red Oxx Air Boss. It is specifically designed for this.

I have one of these in midnight and it’s perfect. Not only that, when I am traveling heavier, I’ll use a B&R 122CX and the Air Boss is my checked bag. It’s indestructible. But for one bag, unless you want a backpack, the Air Boss is the way to go.

Just a word of caution: the Air Boss and similar bags with a shoulder strap (but not a backpack strap option) are surely wonderful bags, but you wrote "have to walk significant distances (1-2 miles occasionally through a city)".

While I sometimes use my MEI E/O bag (similar to Air Boss in most respects) just with the shoulder strap walking through airports, it gets heavy after a while, but we are talking relatively short gate-to-gate distances here. I could never imagine walking with a fully loaded bag (let's say 20 pounds/10kg or more - mine has sometimes 13kg) for 1-2 miles. Therefore, my humble suggestion, be realistic with your weight assumptions. If you can really pack light, a non-backpack softbag might be perfect, but beyond a certain weight, consider wheels, or a backpack bag. The Red Oxx Sky Train comes to my mind (even though this one has only two compartments).
Or join a gym a few months before embarking on your trip. :)

Osprey Farpoint 40. It's a convertible backpack but differs from most in that it has a very lightweight frame and a comfortable waist belt. I travel to Europe for business almost monthly sometimes for up to 3 weeks at a time and this, along with my purse, is all I bring. I use trains extensively. I've had several of the other bags mentioned but don't use them any more.

The frame and waist belt take the weight off my shoulders and I could walk forever with this bag. It comes in 2 sizes to fit different size people. I have the small/medium. I am a 64 year old woman who is not particularly fit.

As Kyoto indicated, if you have to walk a considerable distance with a load of 20 pounds or more, avoid luggage with just one shoulder strap. Instead get a travel pack with concealable shoulder straps and a waist belt. With the straps and belt concealed the pack looks quite presentable. Rick Steeves in his travel shows on PBS is seen wearing a travel pack.

If you can take only 1 piece of luggage (carry-on) abroad, what would it be?
 

Although the Red Oxx AirBoss is bigger than I need, it would be my choice for OneBag travel. I just wouldn't fill it up. Advantage of being a small person.