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

[aedifica]

I always use my A45 with my Large SuperEgo. between the two I'm good. However, I'm looking for something to replace the SuperEgo that can carry my laptop and day stuff, as well as work well with my A45.

Are you looking for something as big as the Super Ego, or would something smaller work? And am I right in assuming you'd like it to be another messenger-style bag and not a backpack or hand carry?

[MikeL]

I always use my A45 with my Large SuperEgo. between the two I'm good. However, I'm looking for something to replace the SuperEgo that can carry my laptop and day stuff, as well as work well with my A45.

[bouncing]

I LOVED Peru. I navigated Peru last year with a backpack and a PCSB. Hubby had a backpack and a daypack as his extra item, which we shared on hikes. The temperature can be quite hot in the sun in the Andes and quite cold in the shade, so I found myself changing up my layers as I walked around. It was nice having the PCSB on me, day to day, to hold a sweater. Anyway, the backpack approach to travel paid off in Cusco. When we arrived, there were strikes that shut down vehicle travel on all the roads. All the people at the airport with large roller bags were essentially stuck there as they couldn't pull those up the cobblestone hills. With just our small packs, we had no issues.

When I arrived in Cusco, there was a festival/parade down the main drag and my hotel was up the hill on the other side. He couldn't find a way through and the cops said he'd have to wait.

Fortunately, I was packing light enough just to walk from the plaza up the hill. It was a good warm-up at 11,000 feet though!

[Lami]

In mid-March, I'll head to Peru (including Cusco, Urubamba, and Machu Picchu) for nine days with a combination I tried on a trip to Seattle at Christmas -- a Shadow Guide as my main bag, with a Side Kick around my waist. And I'll have a packing cube shoulder bag inside the SG, in case I want something a little bigger than the Side Kick once I'm there.

I love how the SG carries, and since my lodgings in Urubamba are a half kilometer from the nearest road, that will come in handy.

I LOVED Peru. I navigated Peru last year with a backpack and a PCSB. Hubby had a backpack and a daypack as his extra item, which we shared on hikes. The temperature can be quite hot in the sun in the Andes and quite cold in the shade, so I found myself changing up my layers as I walked around. It was nice having the PCSB on me, day to day, to hold a sweater. Anyway, the backpack approach to travel paid off in Cusco. When we arrived, there were strikes that shut down vehicle travel on all the roads. All the people at the airport with large roller bags were essentially stuck there as they couldn't pull those up the cobblestone hills. With just our small packs, we had no issues.

[haraya]

I mean, arguably, it's precisely when you are doing a whirlwind tour that you want to travel as light as possible! I doubt Anderson Cooper travels with a twelve-piece set of matched luggage!

"You have a six week itinerary."

"Correct."

"And no bags?"

"Just the carry-on."

She seemed taken aback. I had room to spare.

[haraya]

I wanted to pick more than one option!

By air:

If traveling by myself, to a destination (or destinations where conditions are pretty similar across stops: that is, we're not going to a hot place and a cold place on the same trip, or to a black-tie wedding and a hiking adventure): I prefer one big bag (carry-on) and one small one. So that could be the A30 + Maker's Bag (if I am taking a computer), or my Smart Alec and my MCB, or *A30 +S19*. Lately I've liked that last *combo* because I'm most comfortable with the S19 as a travel and daypack, even though it's slightly heavier than, say, the DLBP. The SA is too big for my EDC, and the MB is fussy when I want to be hands-free.

- not sure if it's still two-bag travel if I often bring a LSB with me for use when I get to where I'm going? It's often nice to have a shopping bag (groceries, souvenirs) on the ground. And I am so spoiled by the Poron handles, that I don't like to use other brands that might pack smaller.

If traveling with the family: often we're headed some place where we need extra gear or kit (skiing, or maybe the beach where I like to bring extra clothing so that there's always something dry to change into), so usually we have one or two shared, checked bags between the four of us, and we might take a rollaboard for extra insurance in case our big bags don't make it/overflow capacity if we think we might bring home fragile souvenirs. But recently we've managed with the kids each taking their own backpack (S19s) onboard, in addition to checked bags. We try not to have tight connections, so it's not about saving time at baggage claim, and so far I feel the slight hassle of checking suitcases is worth it so that I don't spend my entire trip either doing laundry, or buying items to replace what we can bring from home.

- But this is only if we are heading directly to our main destination! If we are doing multiple stops, then the big checked bags are of course more complicated to deal with. I'm not sure I have an optimal solution for this yet. We're doing a multi-stop trip this summer. I might see if we can downsize the checked bags, to start.

Road trips:

- I still like the A30 + S19 combo. But I let everyone else pack their own bags, which means we are remarkably inefficient, haha.

[Cristina]

I'd never tried the Sidekick as a waist bag. You wear it like a fanny pack?

I am not the person you asked but I sometimes wear the Side Kick on my waist. I prefer using the Padded Hip Belt for it if it's heavy. Works great!

[bouncing]

In mid-March, I'll head to Peru (including Cusco, Urubamba, and Machu Picchu) for nine days with a combination I tried on a trip to Seattle at Christmas -- a Shadow Guide as my main bag, with a Side Kick around my waist. And I'll have a packing cube shoulder bag inside the SG, in case I want something a little bigger than the Side Kick once I'm there.

I love how the SG carries, and since my lodgings in Urubamba are a half kilometer from the nearest road, that will come in handy.

I'd never tried the Sidekick as a waist bag. You wear it like a fanny pack?

[pvn]

I voted one bag, but I don't think one is the "optimal" number of bags, it's not for everyone.

I do think most people take way too much stuff with them on trips in general but one bag travel really requires a lot of compromises that most people aren't prepared to make and honestly most people don't NEED to make those compromises. That said, they could still benefit by bringing less garbage they don't need.

My one bag load is a brain bag with clothes in the rear compartment and my camera and ristretto in the front compartment. I don't generally take the ristretto out, I just use that because I use the ristretto when I'm at home and it's easier/faster to just drop it into the BB than to take all my pens and doodads out and transfer them individually to the BB. That also gives me the flexibility to remove the Ristretto if I happen to pick up a bunch of extra stuff on the way, though honestly that rarely happens (I'd rather mail any acquistions home than carry them).

[Buffalonian]

In mid-March, I'll head to Peru (including Cusco, Urubamba, and Machu Picchu) for nine days with a combination I tried on a trip to Seattle at Christmas -- a Shadow Guide as my main bag, with a Side Kick around my waist. And I'll have a packing cube shoulder bag inside the SG, in case I want something a little bigger than the Side Kick once I'm there.

I love how the SG carries, and since my lodgings in Urubamba are a half kilometer from the nearest road, that will come in handy.

[Kaadk]

.... If he leaves on a Sunday he has to pack a little more & carry jeans home & tennis shoes home.

Even if I have to do a Sunday night (which I try to avoid at all costs), I don't bother with jeans and runners. The same dress shoes I wear on a Monday morning are just as good on a Sunday night. And while jeans are more comfortable, they just don't pack as well. More often then not, I'll just stretch my pants usage to 3 days from 2. The pair I wear out the door on Sunday will get carefully hung up Sunday night, I'll wear the packed pair for Mon/Tue, and then switch back to the other pair for Wed/Thu and the flight home. My only excess on a Sunday departure or a Friday return trip is usually 1 extra shirt, an extra pair of roos, and an extra pair of socks. All easily accommodated in the WF.

[Flowerchild81]

Yes that's exactly my husband's situation (consulting too). He would be wearing one work outfit if leaving on a Monday morning. Bringing 3 work shirts, 1 pant, 3 underwear & socks. Small clear cube with toiletries. He really is pretty minimal. If he leaves on a Sunday he has to pack a little more & carry jeans home & tennis shoes home.

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[Kaadk]

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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If he's truly a minimalist, then he should have no problems with either the WF or TS. I've often done my 'consulting week' (Fly out Monday morning, 3 nights on the road, return Thursday evening) with either my WF or my Pilot. I'll admit I prefer packing in my Pilot if for no other reason than the 'shock-factor' when people realize it's my only luggage, but you have to be really minimal to pull it off. I've got shots of my first attempts in this thread here and I've since adjusted to even more packable items:

https://forums.tombihn.com/questions-about-bags/11886-pilot-western-flyer-need-request-test-pack-help-decide-post138522.html#post138522

But I found I couldn't always pull it off. If I needed a suit, or winter gear (toque, scarf, gloves, etc..), or even just thicker shirts for wintertime, I needed a little more room. Like you, I was worried that it would be too bulky to use as my laptop case once I was at the client site. What finally convinced me was a discussion (with photos!) in this thread, that pointed out how the WF is designed to look even smaller than it actually is:

https://forums.tombihn.com/photos-videos-and-reviews/13004-western-flyer-tardis-effect-post151961.html#post151961

I have to say, having traveled with it, yep, it doesn't even register a second glance in an office setting. I tend to feel bad about the excessive wasted space in the bag (so it seems) when used just to carry my laptop to work, but looks wise it appears just as small as most other laptop bags. I've actually seen bigger bags used by the client's workers to transport their laptops, with notes, lunches, water bottles, etc.... so the WF really hasn't looked too out of place.

[bouncing]

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.

Every now and then, I use all my points to get a first-class award ticket international. I know some people who are pretty good at gaming the system and figuring out how to get the best redemption possible.

Once I was checking in an international first class 12-hour flight. It was a six week round trip ticket, with 3 stops -- so kind of a whirlwind. I got up to the ticket counter, presented my passport, and the lady said,

"Okay sir, and where are your bags?" English wasn't her first language, so she must have thought she was mistaken when she heard me, because she said, "No, sir, where are your bags to check?"

"I don't have any. I'm going carry-on only."

"You have a six week itinerary."

"Correct."

"And no bags?"

"Just the carry-on."

She seemed taken aback. I had room to spare.

[bouncing]

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 think you stand out far more to strangers lugging that 65lbs bag around the cobblestone streets of Italy than you do wearing a similar outfit twice in a week.

The idea that you should never repeat an outfit, and that you should bring everything plus the kitchen sink, isn't exactly a uniquely American idea, but insofar as I've been exposed to other cultures, I've noticed elsewhere the default is that you travel light. There's absolutely a trope in Europe of Americans arriving with two overweight suitcases and clug-clug-clugging them for 2 hours, stopping to sweat and complain, etc. Then one person goes inside a store to buy bottled water while the other tries to "look over" six suitcases, pensively glancing back and forth, wearing misfitting clothes and ... okay, I'm taking the American tourist stereotype too far.