Short Business Travel Bag Suggestions

[Chewstay]

Hi All,

A portion of my job involves me flying and presenting/selling to C-level executives of 1000+ employee companies. Typically I fly out in casual clothes the day before a meeting, present the following day in formal suit/tie and either fly back that 2nd night or end up staying an extra day for exploring the city I'm in. 80% of the time these are 1nighters, 20% of the time it will be 2-3 nights.

My work items I am carrying are minimal:
- 13" Dell Ultrabook
- 4-5 misc adapters, small mouse, small laptop charger, phone charger
- Business Cards and Pens
- 8" Tablet

My problem is carrying all my extra items for the overnight trips while still looking professional in my suit at my meetings. In other words I can't use a backpack.

Extra items include:
- All above items
- Toiletries
- 1 Suit (likely packed since I will fly out the night before my meeting)
- 1 Dress Shirts
- Size 13 dress shoes
- 1 extra change of casual clothes depending on length of stay
- Socks/Underwear/Belt
- Extra cables... small misc items.. book?.. etc
- Sometimes a small bluetooth speaker if I have the space
- One additional optional set of clothing depending on the destination and what I'm doing (beach attire maybe, going out at night attire, company polo shirt for trade shows, etc)

I am 6'2 and 220 pounds so my clothes/shoes are not tiny.

Currently I travel with a briefcase and a carry-on roller and I absolutely hate it. Sometimes I overstuff my briefcase and it looks sloppy. I want 1 bag.

WF/Tri-star my best picks? WF too small? Other options?

Any feedback, tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated



Less important Bonus problem:

I really care the most about the above but if you are really gung-ho you could also suggest a daily briefcase to carry on my non-overnight trips as well as why you feel this is best. I only need to carry the 13" ultrabook, 8" tablet, mouse/cables/adapter, business cards and pens.

I haven't started doing much research in this area since it isn't really a problem as I have a bag, but the bag is old so I'd like to replace in the next 6-8 months.

Least important Bonus problem:

Best backpack for personal travel? 3-4 night trips, multiple change of clothes, 8" tablet, extra pair of shoes, no laptop, gym clothes, cables, adapters, bluetooth speaker, baseball hats, I guess just usual standard 30 year old techie items Also will double as a carry-on for longer trips with a checked bag


Just thinking out loud here but I guess realistically I could combine this with a smaller daily briefcase if I needed to stay longer or needed more space. But I'm still concerned about actually going to the business meeting when I'm flying out right afterwards. Carrying the backpack and my briefcase would look silly with my suit and leave a bad impression with some of the oldschool executives I meet with...

[Perseffect]

In my opinion to answer your three questions

1. Tri-Star
2. Pilot
3. Although my preference would be the Synapse 25, others would also recommend the Smart Alec for its load carrying capabilities

A word on the Tri-Star, although the Western Flyer might well work, the Tri-Star will just give that extra flexibility especially as you want to pack the suit and carry a laptop. I'm sure either will work but I'd be tempted to go slightly bigger and truly go one bag travel.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[moriond]

I hope other forum members will weigh in here, especially to comment on the Size 13 dress shoes. I would have immediately recommended the Tri-Star, but I gather that carrying those shoes inside the bag is one of the requirements.

moriond

[giantsteve]

In my opinion to answer your three questions

1. Tri-Star
2. Pilot
3. Although my preference would be the Synapse 25, others would also recommend the Smart Alec for its load carrying capabilities

A word on the Tri-Star, although the Western Flyer might well work, the Tri-Star will just give that extra flexibility especially as you want to pack the suit and carry a laptop. I'm sure either will work but I'd be tempted to go slightly bigger and truly go one bag travel.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Excellent advice... the Tri Star is very versatile and perfectly at home in a business setting. Definitely get an Eagle Creek mid size folder (18"): Shirts, ties and trousers come out in perfect condition and it fits inside the Tri Star like they were custom designed to go together.

As far as the backpack, I may differ from Perseffect... take a look at the Brain Bag... I can't imagine a more perfect bag (I do not have the Smart Alec, but did consider it). There is literally nothing I'd change on the Brain Bag.

[AVService]

TriStar for the win.
I also wear Size 13 and they should fit OK but will always take more room than you want them to too!
I also love the room in the TS and it is easy to not use it all but tough to stretch a smaller bag at least for me?
Also the extra benefit of being a Back Pack when needed but not also when needed.
Overall it is just a great flexible bag all around if not just a little too large as a briefcase but I have used mine just as you are proposing so many times I encourage you to do the same.

Synapse is ideal to me as a BP and I dare say as an EDC for your 1st bonus question too.
I would get the 25 for sure as my 19 looks silly on me mostly but does work well anyway.

[garrily]

1) Tri-Star in black or navy ballistic.

2) Cadet. Even though it's larger than your 13" laptop requires, I think this might work better for you than the Pilot because the look of it is more like a traditional laptop briefcase than the Pilot.

3) My favorite 1-bag travel backpack is the Smart Alec. If the majority of the volume is taken by clothes, the SA works best for me. If I have a lot of small items that I need relatively quick access to, the Synapse is better, but it's not as easy to pack the rectangular Packing Cubes in it. Choosing between the SA and S25 really comes down to your packing style and whether you can tolerate digging around a bit for small things. On reading your use case for the backpack, my immediate thought was Smart Alec.

[jhnmason]

@Chewstay,

While I can't speak for your Business related traveling I can share my experience with both the Smart Alec and Synapse 25(S25). I sought an EDC for me to bring to work, I'm a school teacher, but I often ride my bike to work so while I want it to look professional I also need something practical. I'd be the first to admit that a backpack isn't a professional bag but the S25 looks about as great as any other backpack I've ever seen and it has worked perfectly so far. I ordered both the SA and S25 originally but found that the S25 just organized everything for me perfectly. The SA is more of one large pocket, which offers more flexibility, but may need more accessories or more digging around to find thing. The S25 keeps everything within reach with a large enough main compartment for almost everything else for me. I'd suggest ordering both and returning one to get a feel for it, I found I immediately gravitated towards the S25.

[deemav]

I'll start backwards...

#3--I echo everything that jhnmason said except for me, the opposite revelation was true. I would rather not fuss with putting everything in its proper place. I am far more of a "throw it in there anywhere" sort of packer so the SA is perfect for me.

#2--I recently got the Pilot for both business travel and an EDC. In addition to what you carry, I also bring along a 3-ring binder, reading glasses, and water bottle. Because I only carry the binder when I'm traveling, the Pilot is almost too big as an EDC. There's a lot of dead space which drives me crazy. I would recommend looking at the Cadet as others have mentioned.

#1--Another vote for the Tristar. My husband is 6" and 30-ish with all the latest gadgets. He often travels to and from places that have wildly different climates and I am always amazed at how much he can pack in that bag. In case this is useful, he uses an 18-inch packing folder, an A30 travel stuff sack, and a shoe bag in the back compartment of the Tristar. This allows him to pack his shoes horizontally rather than vertically without wasting space.

[hachkc]

I have a very similar job though I tend to be about day longer in travel per week. My suggestion would be the Tristar which I do use in a similar way. The shoes are probably the biggest problem as folks have mentioned already. As for the WF, you might be able to do this with just that bag but the shoes could be a problem as discussed in this post. The Tristar in black or steel doesn't really look out of place in professional setting as it looks like a large briefcase.

The only issues I have with the tristar is for more than 2 nights at the same location, lugging the tristar around with the just the laptop is a bit awkward which may not be an issue for you. Also the Tristar can be carried as a backpack but it isn't really style backpack like you might use for walking around town casually. I constantly bounce back and forth between just the tristar or a backpack (Synapse or custom Timbuk2) and a small duffel for clothes. The roller only gets used for longer trips with a single destination. As for backpacks in professional settings, I don't see an issue with it depending on the backpack but you know your target audience. In my case a lot depends on the trip details, lots of walking or public trans in downtown chicago or nyc means 1 bag. If its simply a rental car to the hotel, a few days at a single customer site and rental back to the airport, multiple bags may be a better option.

[tebnewyork]

I'll start backwards...

#3--I echo everything that jhnmason said except for me, the opposite revelation was true. I would rather not fuss with putting everything in its proper place. I am far more of a "throw it in there anywhere" sort of packer so the SA is perfect for me.

.

I'm new here and haven't used the synapses but found the Smart Alec to be a brilliant bag (using it with packing cubes). I love how when not full it can be compacted with the bungee. In addition, with the big open compartment you have a lot of choices on what you can pack in it especially if you need to take some bulkier sweaters for cooler climates. I respect that some like to put items in all different pockets but the larger main compartment seems to make the bag much more flexible. Mine is Dyneema so a bit more malleable than ballistic again which is nice when not full.

My intent was to get an Aeronaut 30 and was waiting for Dyneema. Got the Smart Alec and it held plenty (5 day trip to San Francisco) which surprised me. So instead of the Aeronaut I have a TriStar arriving tomorrow figuring that would be the more "structured" travel bag when I need it.

I think this picture of the Smart Alec is a good depiction on how when not full the bag takes on a more streamlined appearance

[tebnewyork]

The only issues I have with the tristar is for more than 2 nights at the same location, lugging the tristar around with the just the laptop is a bit awkward which may not be an issue for you. Also the Tristar can be carried as a backpack but it isn't really style backpack like you might use for walking around town casually.

Why not just pack a DLBC flat in the TriStar and use that when you don't want to take the TriStar with just a laptop to the client's office?

[JohnDel]

Daily briefcase - Cadet
Its structure and padding maintains its shape and ease of carrying from empty to full. The three pen/pencil/laser pointer/small flashlight/whatever slots, a business card slot and two other adjacent small pockets in the front pocket take care of all the miscellaneous items.

I've had one for about four years and have found it to be a great bag.

[hachkc]

Why not just pack a DLBC flat in the TriStar and use that when you don't want to take the TriStar with just a laptop to the client's office?

Doesn't work for me as its too small/lightweight. May work for OP though.

[UK-Limey]

TriStar + Cadet will work. Cadet in the centre compartment of TriStar when on the plane. Leave the TriStar in the hotel and take the Cadet to the office

[Chewstay]

Hey guys,

Thanks so much for weighing in on everything... really appreciate the feedback from everyone.

I leave for Vegas (2 night work travel) tomorrow followed immediately by Detroit the day I get back (also 2 nights). I have no bags yet so I will cry myself to sleep all week.

Hopefully my last work trip like this