What is my perfect setup?

[Farney]

I am trying to make the switch away from rolling luggage into more thoughtful, compact luggage. My two most common types of travel are a domestic flight, 2-3 night business trip and a long weekend car trip. Since the flight is much more exacting from a packing standpoint, I'll focus on that.

My goals are to get one bag that I can check for clothes and a small personal item bag for electronics/other essentials. I'm not as concerned about getting down to a single bag for everything.

My most common packing list would include:
Suit
2-3 dress shirts
3 pr boxers
2-3 pr dress socks
Toiletries
Belt, Tie
Dress Shoes
(Ideally) Athletic shorts/shirt and running shoes
iPad, BT Keyboard, Kindle, Charging cables, Extra battery pack

If necessary, I can usually fly in casual clothes or fly in the suit and pack a change of casual clothes.

I'm thinking the most realistic combination is a Tri-Star and a Co-Pilot. I wear a size 11.5 shoe, so a little worried about the Western Flyer. Also - if a trip goes to more like 4-5 days, the Tri-Star is more flexible with the extra space. Also, since I don't have a laptop, I think I could pretty easily put my toiletries in the Co-Pilot and have a relatively easy time packing the Tri-Star for what's listed above.

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts.

[jannilee]

That looks like it should easily fit in a Tristar. Not sure about the size 11.5 shoes. Packing 2 pr of shoes can be problematic. Would you use packing cubes for the clothes?

[tebnewyork]

That can easily fit in the TriStar.. I've test packed mine (it's new) with much more clothing and stuff. Without a laptop and much in electronics your toiletries should also be just fine in the TriStar and they won't need to go in the Co-pilot.

I will let more people opine on shoe size and which direction they will need to sit.

Last tidbit....no way I would check it unless forced to.

[mrbrown]

Yup. It should fit the Tristar.

An Aeronaut 30 with a Co-Pilot or Pilot is also an option. I prefer this latter combo when I don't have to take a laptop.

Though recently I have deployed the A30 even though I am taking my 12-inch MacBook along, probably because it's so small.

[Miking]

+1 on everything previously mentioned. Also an assurance that size 12 dress shoes will fit in the Tristar, and an iPad will fit in the largest front pocket. If packing workout shoes as well something like the New Balance minimus or Merrel Glove would help keep the bulk down. And if you get something like the packing cube shoulder bag or daylight briefcase for the gear you will use on the plane you should be able to stash it in the Tristar for true one bag travel through the terminal.

[AlaskaGirl]

If the Co-pilot holds your electronics/other essentials and toiletries, would everything else fit in a Western Flyer? With clothing in one part and both pairs of shoes in the other part. Your packing list seems like it would fit to me. Do your shoes not fit in the Western Flyer? elisa

[Farney]

My biggest concern about the WF is that my suit and shoes (mostly concerned about the shoes) won't fit. Anyone with 11.5-12 size shoes care to chime in about packing dress shoes in a WF?

Thanks

[backpack]

My biggest concern about the WF is that my suit and shoes (mostly concerned about the shoes) won't fit. Anyone with 11.5-12 size shoes care to chime in about packing dress shoes in a WF?

Thanks

I believe that Tom designed the Tristar to enable people with larger frames to take advantage of the goodness of the WF.

[tpnl]

My biggest concern about the WF is that my suit and shoes (mostly concerned about the shoes) won't fit. Anyone with 11.5-12 size shoes care to chime in about packing dress shoes in a WF?

Thanks

Here is a picture of my Size 45 (Euro) / Size 11-11.5 Shoes. I put in a pair of Dress and Running shoes:



Of course, put sideways, the shoes should fit fine. What size of suit do you wear?
IMHO, I think your packing list should fit in the Western Flyer as you are not putting in a laptop.
For me, as I carry a big 15.6" laptop, I tend to use a Tri-Star more for travel and not the Western Flyer. The Tri-Star will also give you some wiggle room if you need to pack more given your packing list. Note though that my shoes do not fit as well in the Tri-Star due to the lesser depth of the compartment compared to the Western Flyer.

Hope this Helps

Cheers!

[Farney]

Great that's very helpful. Would you mind posting pictures of what the dress shoes look like laying down?

[tpnl]

Not a problem - not 100% sure what you mean by laying down - but I have guessed on it for the pictures below. They are how I orient my shoes in the WF/TS. Let me know if they are not what you are looking for.

This is how I orient my shoes:



Here is how it looks from the side to show some indication of how the WF 4" thickness accommodates the wide size shoes I have (I believe they are 2E width shoes but I am not 100% sure):



Here is the same view with the Flap flipped up to better view the shoes:




Here is the alternate orientation for the shoes if they do not fit in the Top-Bottom orientation:




Hope this helps

Cheers!

[AlaskaGirl]

TPNL,
Thank you! I'm still adapting to my Western Flyer, so this is very helpful. I'm amazed at how you got the bag and shoes to stand up like that for the photo. Good job! elisa

[Farney]

Thanks so much! The bottom pic was what I needed.

[imperator]

I would think a Western Flyer would be sufficient for that setup, especially with another bag for electronics. I wear a size 12 and have regularly used it as a one-bag for 5-day trips, though in that case I usually wear the oxfords and/or jeans to save space, and have much more compactable exercise shoes.

As long as you didn't plan on using it as a business briefcase as well, the Tri-Star would give you more flexibility when that longer personal trip came along, or when you hit an airline where a one-bag is optimal.

[jmoz]

You could comfortably do this (as a one bag or with a daylight briefcase if you need the bag when you get to your destination) in a Tri-Star. I don't have a WF, but the TS fits everywhere, so I haven't seen a need for one.