It’s my bag, baby
Last weekend we took our first post-trip trip to do some spring skiing for the weekend with friends at Mammoth. It was fun, and it was also great to have all our gear – proper hats, gloves, socks, pants, jackets, goggles, and every other accessory specifically designed for skiing. Since we had no “one bag” restriction like on the RTW trip, I was pretty excited to be able to throw in an extra sweater (or two or three).
With packing on my mind, I think it’s time to tackle the blog that I’ve been putting off for a while. I’ve wanted to write a review of our bags, but it was hard to decide my opinion about them. Before the trip started, I read a lot of articles and forums about whether to use a backpack or a more traditional suitcase. I didn’t intend to do much actual backpacking on the trip, but jumping on/off trains with a big case is no fun. We compromised and bought bags with handles and wheels that also have backpack straps. In the end we only used them as backpacks once – they are really too big and heavy to make them practical for that purpose. However, the wheels are totally key and I wouldn’t suggest traveling without them.
I went with the Osprey Meridian 28 inch “wheeled convertible pack” and Eric got the Victorinix 26 inch Trek Pack Plus. They both have an external detachable daypack, which were OK for grocery shopping or toting around laundry, but too small to be really useful for day hiking (for that we used our regular daypacks/carry-ons). The main bag size is just about right for long term travel. When we left I though they were incredibly small, but after a year, I probably could have gotten by with an even smaller one. When fully stuffed, with clothes and books, they were just around 15 kg, which is often the weight limit for “free” checked-in bags on many international airlines.
The wheels on both bags were pretty rugged and we put them to the test, rolling and bumping them over everything from cobblestones to escalators. I only had one minor issue. There is a plastic piece on the bottom that helps the bag “stand” upright on the wheels. It is held in place with a few rivets, but tends to get caught on curbs and steps if you don’t lift the bag enough. Eventually one of the fasteners broke and I had to replace it with a nut/bolt combo we bought along the way (but it did give me an excuse to learn the Spanish word “tornillo”). The fabric of the bag generally held up to airline baggage handling, except for a small puncture on the back, which I fixed with an iron-on patch and it never got any bigger.
Eric’s bag came through about the same, except for a torn seam along one of the zippers that I think was just from over-stuffing. We got it fixed at a tailor in Turkey for roughly $2, so it wasn’t a big deal. Both of our bags were dark red/maroon which made them easy to spot on the airport baggage carousels, but really shows the dirt. After a few months they both looked pretty grungy and stayed that way for the rest of the trip.
My final opinion on the bags is that for our type of travel they were the right choice. We had a car for a lot of our trip, so weight wasn’t the most important thing. However, if I were going to do a more “mobile” trip with more trains, buses, or visiting more countries, I would probably use a smaller bag, possibly a true backpack. However, that would mean making a lot more tradeoffs on what gear to bring and that’s a topic for another blog.
Here I am in Istanbul with the beast on my back. Note the fine example of Turkish parking in the background:
halftime
April 20th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Debby and I traveled with the same Victorinox bag. We (I?) had a moment of panic when we go to Uganda (our first stop) and my bag was missing one of the wheels. I called Victorinox back in the US (via Skype!) and they agreed to fedex a replacement wheel free of charge. Talk about customer service!
Meanwhile I decided to get the bag fixed locally. They used what was available, of course, which was a slightly smaller wheel. Fortunately we got it fixed while we had time because the replacements never arrived from the US (never found out what happened).
Once back in the US I had the wheel replaced and it’s ready for the next trip.
We used packing cubes to keep things organized. I would choose a different bag if cubes were not an option.
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Looks like you’re about to conquer Mt. McKinley :>)
May 2nd, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Packing Cubes! How could I forget. Debby told me about them before we left and it was great advice.
We had a couple from LL Bean and a some from Eagle Creek. They are such a good way to keep your back organized. Shirts in one, sock and small stuff in another, etc.
They were also great when we took some side trips. We left our big bags at a hotel or in the car and then went off for a few days with just our small daypacks. It was great to have a cube with clothes to keep them separate from the rest of the gear.
Thanks for reminding me!