[Poll] Are you a one-bag, two-bag, or more traveler?

[bouncing]

My husband is a complete minimalist. He travels for work & always brings a laptop when we travel for pleasure as well. So I have been looking at the Tri-Star or the Western Flyer for him. But I am worried when he uses it for work. I don't want it to look to bulky, as a he will take it to the office.

I agree that for work, he'll definitely look extremely goofy carrying his luggage in. Less so with a WF, obviously.

If he dresses for work, or he's in sales, management, or anything facing customers/subordinates, he probably needs to carry a legitimate briefcase. I've heard of people putting a Daylight Briefcase inside a Tristar, though my concern would be that a DLBC would still be a little casual and "techy" for certain jobs. There are some other brands of bags that might work better, that have a more professional look, but then they're always heavier.

Part of this is why, especially if I'm doing anything in a professional setting as I travel, I still usually bring separate bags for clothes and tech.

[tress29]

I am soo fascinated by this one bag travel. It seems like a great concept in theory. But I like to have a lot of clothing options.

I'm apparently a minimalist when it comes to clothes, because I wear the same 4-6 outfits for work every week!

When I travel, I've learned not to care about options. My family understands why I'd wear the same outfit twice, and who cares what strangers think! I do try to have at least two tops to match each pair of pants and will do a little laundry in case of a spill.

I have twin boys and started solo traveling with them when they were three. Teaching them to carry their own toys/electronics was the best thing I ever did! I had to police them a bit, to make sure they didn't leave anything behind, but after carrying their own bulky or heavy things, they often made different choices for the next trip.

[Flowerchild81]

@ Cristina. My 5 YO's carry on:

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[Cristina]

[Poll] Are you a one-bag, two-bag, or more traveler?

I am soo fascinated by this one bag travel. It seems like a great concept in theory. But I like to have a lot of clothing options. Also I have 2 small kiddos. When they were babies, I swear we traveled with half the house with us. I remember the pain of lugging all the bags, car seats, stroller. So I love the idea of packing minimally & not being so weighed down. We are leaving for 5 day Florida trip with 6 people. Grandma, Mom, Dad, 13 yo, 5yo,& 3yo. So far I am checking 2 medium rolling suitcases & everyone will have a backpack. (The littles have small 5L packs, for snacks, kindle, small toys & crayons). I feel pretty good about it. We are planning to visit Seattle this summer and plan to take the train to Vancouver. I think just Mom, Dad & 3 & 5 yo. Wondering if we can do it with the Aeronat 30 & the Western Flyer (w/ access to laundry facilities). The kids will have their small packs. I plan on using my Travel Cublet ( currently using as ED purse) & a packable BP for day outings. PLEASE any tips on traveling light with small kids would be appreciated. I may getting overly ambitious here as I have been watching to many one bag travel you tube videos. Of course NONE of these people have kids in tow [emoji4]

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I travel a lot with my 6 and 3yo, as the only adult. My strategy for managing all the stuff has been to find the smallest, lightest version of everything. Traveling alone with them I need to take a lot of 'just in case stuff' like a thermometer and packets of children's Tylenol/Calpol because my kids have gotten fevers more than once while traveling.

With clothes, I have a set of kids base layers that fold to nothing and are great Travel PJs for the kids.

H&M make girls' tops and leggings and dresses that also pack really small (most of my daughter's dresses are from Hanna Andersson which are fantastic but take up so much more room because the material is a nice and thick high quality cotton). She can also sleep in one of her dresses as a nightgown.

I have a Scrubba wash bag for doing laundry in a hotel (better than a sink!) and a stretchy clothesline.

For my own clothes, I've been slowly replacing things with items that are quick drying. Some are Travel-specific brands like Rohan and some are just regular brands but they're thin enough or the right material to dry fast overnight.

If the weather is supposed to be wet the kids will wear their boots and I'll pack their shoes which are thankfully small. I usually don't get room for another pair of shoes so I pack 'hotel socks' to use as slippers.

I have traveled with them for ten nights with a Hero's Journey (45+10L), four nights with a Medium Road Duffel (36L) and two nights with a Synapse 25, in all cases with my Parental Unit (13L) attached to my stroller as my day bag. I would love to try an A30. It's ambitious to pack in such a small bag for three people but if you wash clothes every night and have another adult with you to go out and get those emergency 'just in case' supplies you left at home it should be doable. Depending on the weather of course [emoji23]

The biggest obstacles I have to packing small with kids (apart from my 'just in case' mentality) is that the weather is so variable here. It is always both warm and cold and wet and dry.

On the ten night trip we started with freezing temps and ended the trip (in the same city) with really warm weather. I was boiling on the return trip because I had to wear my big jacket as I couldn't pack it or carry it. Since then I have gotten myself packable jackets so that I can put them away when I don't need them. The kids always wear rain jackets with layers underneath depending on the temperature when we travel.

In terms of the actual packing, sometimes I pack a Travel Stuff Sack with their PJs and toothbrushes separately, if we are arriving late, that way I don't have to unpack everything if I need to do kid bedtime quickly.

Hope this helps!! Feel free to post your packing list, either for fun or if you need some help sorting it all out. I love that they have their own 5L bags! My daughter sometimes carries a Travel Cubelet full of toys. Holds a surprising amount! 6 Paw Patrol pups, 5 construction vehicles, notebooks and pens.

Edited to add pic:


Also, FWIW, many people on here like the Western Flyer because it can pass as a briefcase, but the consensus seems to be that the Tristar is too big for that.

[experimentjon]

Well, I've certainly never done it with kids in tow. And just going carry-on only is sometimes kind of a moot point when my wife (who travels differently) insists on checking a bag.

For me the struggle with one-bag travel on Tom Bihn is that there's never a good place to put a laptop in Tom Bihn's larger Aeronaut bags. On their smaller Tristar, you can use a cache, but the Tristar is kind of a weird packing system I'm not sure I can fully embrace and the cache isn't my ideal way of carrying a laptop (I'd much prefer a pocket sown into the bag).

But when I do pull off one-bag travel, I feel like a ninja, especially if it's a multi-stop itinerary. Getting out of a taxi, I just grab my one bag. Hopping on the train, it goes right with me. I'm unfazed by all modes of transportation, of walks across terminals, of cobblestone streets. Airbnb not ready yet? No worries, I'll just take my one bag out to a cafe and enjoy some people watching. Late flight? Just do some sightseeing on the way to the airport.

It's pretty amazing when you can pull it off.

This only ever happens for me when I'm doing an overnight trip and can comfortably fit everything into a backpack...but you're 100% right. It feels amazing to have the freedom and have the uber driver pick you up at the airport and be surprised that you have no luggage.

[Flowerchild81]

Well, I've certainly never done it with kids in tow. And just going carry-on only is sometimes kind of a moot point when my wife (who travels differently) insists on checking a bag.

For me the struggle with one-bag travel on Tom Bihn is that there's never a good place to put a laptop in Tom Bihn's larger Aeronaut bags. On their smaller Tristar, you can use a cache, but the Tristar is kind of a weird packing system I'm not sure I can fully embrace and the cache isn't my ideal way of carrying a laptop (I'd much prefer a pocket sown into the bag).

But when I do pull off one-bag travel, I feel like a ninja, especially if it's a multi-stop itinerary. Getting out of a taxi, I just grab my one bag. Hopping on the train, it goes right with me. I'm unfazed by all modes of transportation, of walks across terminals, of cobblestone streets. Airbnb not ready yet? No worries, I'll just take my one bag out to a cafe and enjoy some people watching. Late flight? Just do some sightseeing on the way to the airport.

It's pretty amazing when you can pull it off.

My husband is a complete minimalist. He travels for work & always brings a laptop when we travel for pleasure as well. So I have been looking at the Tri-Star or the Western Flyer for him. But I am worried when he uses it for work. I don't want it to look to bulky, as a he will take it to the office.


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[bouncing]

I am soo fascinated by this one bag travel. It seems like a great concept in theory. But I like to have a lot of clothing options. Also I have 2 small kiddos. When they were babies, I swear we traveled with half the house with us. I remember the pain of lugging all the bags, car seats, stroller. So I love the idea of packing minimally & not being so weighed down. We are leaving for 5 day Florida trip with 6 people. Grandma, Mom, Dad, 13 yo, 5yo,& 3yo. So far I am checking 2 medium rolling suitcases & everyone will have a backpack. (The littles have small 5L packs, for snacks, kindle, small toys & crayons). I feel pretty good about it. We are planning to visit Seattle this summer and plan to take the train to Vancouver. I think just Mom, Dad & 3 & 5 yo. Wondering if we can do it with the Aeronat 30 & the Western Flyer (w/ access to laundry facilities). The kids will have their small packs. I plan on using my Travel Cublet ( currently using as ED purse) & a packable BP for day outings. PLEASE any tips on traveling light with small kids would be appreciated. I may getting overly ambitious here as I have been watching to many one bag travel you tube videos. Of course NONE of these people have kids in tow

Well, I've certainly never done it with kids in tow. And just going carry-on only is sometimes kind of a moot point when my wife (who travels differently) insists on checking a bag.

For me the struggle with one-bag travel on Tom Bihn is that there's never a good place to put a laptop in Tom Bihn's larger Aeronaut bags. On their smaller Tristar, you can use a cache, but the Tristar is kind of a weird packing system I'm not sure I can fully embrace and the cache isn't my ideal way of carrying a laptop (I'd much prefer a pocket sown into the bag).

But when I do pull off one-bag travel, I feel like a ninja, especially if it's a multi-stop itinerary. Getting out of a taxi, I just grab my one bag. Hopping on the train, it goes right with me. I'm unfazed by all modes of transportation, of walks across terminals, of cobblestone streets. Airbnb not ready yet? No worries, I'll just take my one bag out to a cafe and enjoy some people watching. Late flight? Just do some sightseeing on the way to the airport.

It's pretty amazing when you can pull it off.

[Flowerchild81]

I am soo fascinated by this one bag travel. It seems like a great concept in theory. But I like to have a lot of clothing options. Also I have 2 small kiddos. When they were babies, I swear we traveled with half the house with us. I remember the pain of lugging all the bags, car seats, stroller. So I love the idea of packing minimally & not being so weighed down. We are leaving for 5 day Florida trip with 6 people. Grandma, Mom, Dad, 13 yo, 5yo,& 3yo. So far I am checking 2 medium rolling suitcases & everyone will have a backpack. (The littles have small 5L packs, for snacks, kindle, small toys & crayons). I feel pretty good about it. We are planning to visit Seattle this summer and plan to take the train to Vancouver. I think just Mom, Dad & 3 & 5 yo. Wondering if we can do it with the Aeronat 30 & the Western Flyer (w/ access to laundry facilities). The kids will have their small packs. I plan on using my Travel Cublet ( currently using as ED purse) & a packable BP for day outings. PLEASE any tips on traveling light with small kids would be appreciated. I may getting overly ambitious here as I have been watching to many one bag travel you tube videos. Of course NONE of these people have kids in tow

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[curieux]

i do the same. I don't sweat a lot. so I don't need more than one thick jacket and one thick sweater, which I'll wear all the time. all I need to pack in my bag would be t shirts, underwear, one or two extra jeans, socks, and one or two thin slow sleeve mid/base layer, just in case.

[bouncing]

My S25 only, whether it's for work or pleasure. Short term or long term.

Is that enough even for visiting cold weather? Cold weather clothes are bulky.

[InAustin]

My S25 only, whether it's for work or pleasure. Short term or long term.

[Mrs_Wilde]

A30 plus Side Effect so I count that as two bags because I wear the Side Effect. Although on my recent (very snowy) trip to Seattle/Boise I carried the A30 and a Co-Pilot (with Side Effect inside the Co-Pilot) as a test. I like a smaller bag so back to the A30 & Side Effect only.

[Cristina]

I have the same dilemma. It carries over also into in-plane use, because in a plane I'll want a little "kit" of in-flight stuff (headphones, kindle, chapstick, etc); that stuff is about 60% overlapping what I'd want in my nightstand travel tray and what I'd also carry everyday.

For most purposes, I have a little pouch I just move from bag to bag. But it's not a perfect solution.

Yes! This is me. For the most part my Travel Cubelet/Parental Unit Russian doll setup works well, as those 'sometimes' items fit well in the PU.

And yet. Some items must be duplicated for peace of mind, usually things I would be really unhappy to be without like lip balm, ear buds, or sunscreen. Mostly lip balm though. And the nightstand lip balm has to be the right kind and kept with the toiletries so I know where it is when it's time to pull out the bedside Travel Tray [emoji23]

[ClicketySnap]

I haven't been able to test out my Tom Bihn gear for travel yet, but generally speaking I have been a two-bag packer for a while. I get irrationally irritated watching people constantly getting up out of their seat to get stuff out of their bag in the overhead bin. Since in the past I have had a small rolling carry-on that has to go in the bin, I am much happier having all of my in-flight "essentials" in a cross-body tote or purse to tuck under the seat in front of me. Technically my Sidekick will fit inside my Aeronaut 30, and I may experiment with being a hybrid packer on the way to my destination, but I doubt that will last long at an airport. I like having my passport, wallet, and camera handy in my cross-body bag.

[gregcswanson]

I'm all over the shop on this, when not checking luggage:

For international travel I technically two bag it, marsupial style. A30 with a DLBC inside. Both in halcyon for lighter weight.

For short getaways it's one bag with either the synapse 25 or pilot depending on duration, but I am thinking of getting a cafe bag (deep blue W coyote to match GE synapse) to go inside the S25.

When checking luggage, checked A30 and carry on pilot.


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