gaia06

Anyone own one of these carryon bags? I've read some reviews that seem to proclaim it as "the savior" for travellers. I'm going on a trip and flying BA in Oct. and have read some stories about BA NOT ACCEPTING some roller-bags sized as 22" but when placed in their baggage measurement box, the wheels seem to make it too big! I've used the same carryon for years, but am not in the mood to have to check my carryon! I'd like to make sure I arrive with at least ONE BAG with me!!

Anyone own this bag? What is your recommendation?

gaia

phillychuck

I've had this bag for about a month now. Only traveled domestically in the US, and no problems. I'm off to Japan on Thursday and will use is a my second carry on then.

gaia06

Hi, phillychuck,
Do you like the bag? Does it hold a lot of stuff and is it easy to carry? I'm a kinda small woman and was wondering if it's a bit unwieldy to hoist onto my shoulder or use the handles and navigate through the airport and onto the plane. Of course, the real deal has to do with how much and how heavy the junk is I put in it, I guess! Looks like a really great bag.

gaia

alanR

Nothing to do with BA - the rules are set by the British Government

As for the bag itself - it's expensive and Rick Steves does bags that do meet the requirements for a third of the price. I'd also want to know how much it weighs as whilst that is not a problem with BA, it is with other airlines

You should also check out Eagle Creek & Lowe Alpine though I believe in the llatter case their carry on bag is the 55x45x20cm used by most European low costs airlines and hence has a capacity of about two-thirds of that of their US counterparts

Lurker1999

The bag is worth the premium you pay for it in my opinion. Weight-wise, it is just under 3 pounds. The shoulder strap is great and won't slide on any type of clothing. Be aware that you can very easily overstuff this bag to close to 30 pounds if you choose to but then it likely won't fit into a UK sizing box. However if you keep it conservative it won't be an issue.

I found the handles to be quite comfortable. You can see where you're paying for the quality as the stitching on the bag is top rate and the zippers are the same. The shoulder strap D-loops are metal and designed to carry the bag with the small pocket against your body to prevent roaming hands from access the contents.

I haven't seen the Rick Steves bags but from the website they use some type of "rugged, water-resistant high-density polyester" but looking it up on the web they may use the same 1000 weight nylon of the Air Boss. The Air Boss should definitely hold up to most overpacking efforts and the usual wear and tear of clearing airport security and transporation.

If you're going to get the Rick Steves bag I'd also look at the MEI Voyageur which I think is a superior product to his carry-on bag.

GadgetFreak

This looks like a very interesting bag. Im wondering how it does at handling both clothing, etc and work stuff (computer, a few files, PDA, phone and stuff). According to the RedOxx web page it looks like it was designed for this but the details are pretty thin. Any comments on how much a computer and stuff takes up and how much is left for the clothes. Thanks.

Lurker1999

The main/middle compartment is padded on both side. When the bag was designed it was intended to not have this padding by Doug Dyment but Red Oxx wanted more structure to the bag so it could stand up on its own. There is no padding on the top or bottom of the bag though so I would never put a laptop in the compartment without using a sleeve. Depending on how large your laptop is you can put something about the size of a 15" laptop with all associated peripherals in the main compartment and have space on both sides to pack clothing. With my 10" Fujitsu I can probably put a pair of running shoes into the main compartment along with all of my electronics.

The key thing to keep in mind is that you're not limited like a rollaboard with this bag. You can hugely overstuff the bag so it's significantly thicker than the listed 8 inches. I have no problems packing everything I need for a one week trip where I don't need business clothes into this bag including a pair of running shoes. If you're not as much into re-using clothing I'd say you can probably put 4-5 days worth of things without too much of an issue into the bag.

Just remember, no wheels. You pack it, you carry it. Of course this the case anyway if you're say wandering up and down the stairs in the subway.

gaia06

This particular bag seemed pricey to me as well, but when I started comparing it to a tumi or rimowa carryon, I was encouraged by the price. Plus, after reading many customer appraisals of this bag, I'm convinced I'll use it a lot over time. I'll be able to loan it to my husband and grown kids knowing it'll pass muster on all airlines and in Europe.

What I love is the way you can pack so much plus that great padded center section. I was wondering about whether or not a computer could be packed in it, but I've settled on a sleeve added for mine upon reading the suggestion above. Thanks for that. Just ordered mine a few minutes ago.

Thanks again for the personal info from those of you who own it.

gaia

aktchi

Red Oxx Air Boss, despite appearing expensive, is one of the two very best long-term values among carry-ons. The other is Briggs and Riley Suiter Tote #235X. (I like my carry-ons with several compartments. However, the two companies also have very good duffel style models in various sizes if that would serve you better.)

Remember, these are frameless softsided bags, so it is possible to overpack them, in which case they may not fit in the airport sizer bins. But that's up to you. If you don't overpack, there should be no problem.

PS. Red Oxx offerings are available in a large variety of colors; with the B&R your choice is limited to classic sober colors like black, olive/tan.

Madhouse24

Let me throw in my vote for the Briggs and Riley Tote #235X!! After needed a new tote for some time, I decided on this one based on some reviews here at FT and let me tell you... Did an MR, BWI-ORD-SFO-SNA-LAX-BOS-PHI-PBI-BWI and it handled everything beautifully!!!!!

birdstrike

This thread got me excited, but. . .

The Air Boss claims it is 21"x13"x8".

BAA limits are 22"x17.5"x9.85"

The Air Boss is leaving a lot of space on the table

The B&R is 20.8 x 12.5 x 10 which seems too thich for the BAA requirements, unless understuffed.

Looks like I'll have to build a BAA sizer for home use

alanR

It's smaller than the European Low Costs Airlines size (55x40x20cm - 21.7x15.7x7.9") rather than the international size of 56x45x25cm (22x17.7x10") - so you are losing about one third of your hand allowance size

So it's even more overpriced than I thought

gaia06

Yes, it's smaller, but that's what is sooo cool. Nobody is going to stop you and question the size. Yet, you can get away with a lot of overpacking; thus, you're able to carry so much more than the usual carryon - especially the wheeled variety. I've read reviews from others saying they've taken only this bag for a full week's stay overseas. That impresses me. Now, maybe these folks are men and don't pack the way a woman does (lol), but I'm not trying to take enough for a week in this bag - just all the important things. I'm also impressed with the side pockets and toggles, etc. It's just a really well-planned bag. Of course there are other good ones. Of that, I'm sure. This one is pricey, but I'm thinking it's going to give me a lot of service based upon reviews from folks using other bags from this company as well as this one. Go to their website and see for yourself. These folks do things right and spend a lot of time trying to refine their products based upon customer suggestions, etc. I was reading someone was lamenting there was no way to carry this bag? (not sure, maybe another style) as a backpack and the company said they're in the process of changing that.

gaia

AllanJ

I have seen many bags where the wheel assembly wastes a lot of space, namely has a lot of external air around it.

If the bag does not fit into the sizing frame, the airline can disallow the bag. But if the bag has mainly soft stuff inside and will squeeze to fit, then the airline should allow it.

Travel tips: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm

aktchi

Not really, both Air Boss and B&R 235X are plenty big. Remember these are soft-sided and you want them to remain acceptable after they have been packed! They don't waste any space, unlike wheeled ones where the frame, wheels, handle etc use up much of the theoretical capacity.

The following case is cited in http://www.onebag.com/wheeled-bags.html :

"Here's a careful comparison of two carryon-sized bags (with the same exterior dimensions, from the same design line of the same manufacturer), the first without wheels, the second with -

" * Eagle Creek Solo Journey: 3200 cu.in. (52 liter) capacity; weighs 3 lbs, 10 oz (1.6 kg); full suspension system (internal frame, padded hip belt and shoulder straps, adjustable sternum strap); soft construction.

" * Eagle Creek Switchback Compact: 1850 cu. in. (30 liter, though EC curiously claims just 26) capacity; weighs 6 lbs, 5 oz (2.9 kg); only basic shoulder straps; rigid construction. Also much more expensive.

"I hope that the reasons underlying so many experts' dislike of wheeled luggage are now more clear. In this (typical) example, the weight is increased by 75% and the carrying capacity decreased by almost half."

As for the price, that is certainly a subjective decision. Of course you can buy cheaper brands, but I own both of these bags and consider the money well spent: Tumi quality with much better warranty at 1/2 the price. (FWIW, the Air Boss is unlikely to be available at discount, but B&R being a well-distributed brand could probably be located on seasonal sales.)