Tri-star vs briefcase

[Mark1966]

First impressions from a noob on the TS:

• not as big as I thought - which is a good thing will not look like a travel bag
• those zipper pulls are noisy - read the threads on quietening then, will see how they go in real life first
• did a quick test pack today - this thing has the physics of a woman's handbag - more goes in than is possible (see below)
• packing cubes are great. Will get some more for general packing, not sure whether to just get the EC ones from a local supplier because of postage or some more TBs.

My test pack was very quick and without trying to pack carefully. I stuffed RMs boots, toiletries, 5 days of socks and jocks, two pairs of jeans, 5 long sleeve shirts, 3 t-shirts and 3 polos along with a jumper into the thing as well as my laptop, papers etc. It looked stuffed to the gills and would probably not fit in the test unit at the gate but I could carry it easily enough.

More sensible packing could easily make this a 5 day bag WITHOUT having to wash.

I've taken some quick and nasty pics below of the TS compared to an old-fashioned briefcase. I've seen lots of pics with other TB bags or the Airboss or Patagonia MLC but nothing that gave me a perspective of what it looks like outside it competitors.

I hope they are helpful (click on them for full-size pics)



Just to be clear - the TS is empty in these pics

[snowbot]

Delightful photos.

[moriond]

Agreed, very nice photos taken from a new perspective. The Tri-Star, fully packed, can look distinctly wider than that briefcase. Probably the Western Flyer looks more closely matched to a briefcase.

[Mark1966]

Thanks for the comments.

Yes, when I had this packed in my quick test test pack it was MUCH wider than the briefcase.

At some stage I might try and get some pics of it packed in comparison to the briefcase as well.

While I read the specifications and lots of reviews on the TS I was still surprised when it arrived at how 'small' it was because all the pics I'd seen were of just the TS or the TS and other competitor bags so I didn't really have a good point of reference. Although when really full it will be wider than the briefcase for a short 1 -2 night trip I reckon I can keep it a pretty similar in size to a briefcase and still looking pretty professional.

[Lani]

It looked stuffed to the gills and would probably not fit in the test unit at the gate but I could carry it easily enough.

Au contraire -- you will be surprised to discover that it will more than likely fit!

Remember that the bag sizers are designed for allowances on 21" rolling uprights. And one advantage you have is that, if you've overpacked the Tri-Star, you can try to actually SQUEEZE it into the sizer. You wouldn't be able to do that with most rolling uprights, especially hard-sided ones.

That said, the Tri-Star may have looked to big for a sizer, but if you were to sit it next to a rolling upright, you would've found that the Tri-Star is most likely smaller.

That said, I agree, it's definitely substantially bigger than most briefcases.

A Western Flyer will be closer to a briefcase size.

Even then, it has the ability to get filled pretty full.

That said, your briefcase looks HUGE!

[mcginnis]

Great photos, thanks for posting!