OK, brand new situation for the Bihn Hive Mind:
For those not familiar with me, I'm a New Yorker who travels back home to Pittsburgh frequently for 2 weeks at a time. I don't fly - I travel Amtrak (I was renting a car for quite a while when my kitties accompanied me before they crossed over the Rainbow Bridge).
Because my trips home involve a wide variety of activities (leisure, business meetings, cocktail parties, gym, etc.) I tend to pack a lot of clothes, as well as my laptop, paperwork, and whatever reading material I'm working on at the moment.
I've been pairing the Aeronaut 45 with a small 1967 Samsonite Silhouette that is exactly 33 litres of raw, unstructured space in a hardshell case:
Here's the challenge:
-- I cannot wear anything as a backpack. I appreciate the backpack functionality of the Bihn bags in the cavernous wide-open spaces of airports (and frankly the rest of the world). But large items on one's back are impossible here in New York City -- ESPECIALLY on the subway. For me it's either shoulder straps or handles.
-- After two years of use, I've discovered the Aeronaut 45 is absurdly impractical for quick and nimble navigation through NYC while slung over the shoulder. Even on my large 5'10" frame, I feel like I'm lugging around a coffin.
-- The Samsonite is surprisingly light (on its own) but with ONLY a handle, it always keeps one hand occupied.
I'm now considering getting an Aeronaut 30 to replace the 45, and a Western Flyer to replace the Samsonite.
My questions:
-- How much of a space compromise is the Aeronaut 30 over the 45?
-- Am I just kidding myself because it would still be overkill trying to lug around an A30 + Western Flyer?
Thanks!