bag advice for first trip to England

[emg823]

Hello,
I will be taking my first trip to England in September and am excited to try going carry-on only. After researching Tom Bihn I have been considering the Aeronaut 45 as my main bag and the Co-Pilot as my everyday bag for sightseeing. My list for the day bag is something like this: daily spending money and credit card, sunglasses/reading glasses, sunscreen, notebook, snacks, water bottle, headphones, packable rain jacket, iPhone, lip balm, hand lotion, hand sanitizer, eye drops, guidebook pages, room for souvenirs. I'm wondering if with that list there might be room for a light fleece jacket to be stuffed into the bag too? The things I like about the Co-Pilot-it's a crossbody bag and has a zippered main compartment. I've decided to go with the crossbody bag instead of a backpack, and I prefer to have a zippered main compartment so I won't be going with the Cafe Bag. Do you think the Co-Pilot is the appropriate size for what I've described? I don't want to have my day bag be too big-so if you think there is a better, smaller option that would be great. I've thought about using the Co-Pilot as my personal item on the plane, and using the packing cube shoulder bag as my everyday bag when sightseeing. I would love your thoughts and advice! I am so looking forward to hanging stuff on the o-rings!!

[G42]

Welcome to the Forums @emg823!

Depends a bit on the size of your specific items, but that list sounds like it should fit into a Co-pilot, the larger Pilot, and possibly the Daylight Briefcase.

If you have time and some flexibility before your trip, you could buy whichever ones sound like they would work and test pack them in your home
(check out the FAQ for test packing & returns https://www.tombihn.com/pages/contact-us/#faq38 )
this works better if you're in the USA, both for speed & cost...

I have the Pilot, CP, DLBC, and PCSB... for cross body walking around bag, I usually use the DLBC (if I need more space than a Side Kick) but I rarely have a coat with me. I have hung my fleece over the bag when it was in front of me though. If I put the fleece inside, it makes the bag into a football, not the most attractive carry.

The CP and Pilot are great for the dedicated water bottle pocket and the way the space is divided into compartments. Both could potentially fit your coats, it just depends on the actual sizes of your items.
The PCSB is pretty unstructured, but if you're concerned with space on the outbound trip, it's a great option to include, though it's the smallest of all of these and probably wouldn't hold a outerwear of any significance.

I'm sure some others will chime in...

[LordAnubis]

The co pilot sounds perfect for your needs. I would advise against putting that sort of stuff into the daylight back pack or packing cube backpack or shoulderbags. The reason being they have almost no organisation. The last thing you want is a bag full of just random small things floating around everywhere. The co pilot will be perfect for you.


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[turnleftbrighteyes]

I use either a PCSB, Small zippered Shop Bag, or a Pop Tote as someone who lives in New York, and then the same when I'm traveling. (Incidentally, I leave for a short trip to Belfast next week, and for walking around town I plan on using the PCSB.) I used a Side Kick for a recent trip to Tokyo and realized it was a skosh too small. I've otherwise used a PCSB happily while out and about in Shetland, Faroe, Reykjavik, London, Edinburgh, Miami, Chicago, etc. etc. etc....

The reason I like the PCSB is 1) it's a cross-body, so comfortable; 2) not too big, not too small; 3) fits reading material, my phone, even a smaller water bottle, various bits and bobs, and even a bulky-ish camera. Backpacks often need to be checked at museums, and don't provide easy access.

If I need more space, the shop bag or Pop Tote is great, and both work well as the personal item on the plane. The PCSB packs down flat-- I've never used it as a packing cube-- so will fit into my main bag, or provides organization in the shop bag or Pop Tote. I also have a Pilot, but only use that when I need to schlep my laptop.

[gqb]

Depending on your body size, the co pilot could work or may be a bit small. I wear men's xl and this load in a co pilot is too much stuff. If you are a small to medium sized person then I should think the co pilot will be fine

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[deuxcv]

my main combo is an a45, lg zip shop bag and medium fanny pack (not tb). fanny pack would handle everything except water bottle. i’m happy carrying a water bottle, gives me something to fidget with. if i want more space i take a synapse 19 (or prob luminary 15 if i had one). but last time i brought a backpack i never used it. i don’t feel secure in unfamiliar bustling cities with a shoulder bag. a little too easy to cut and run. at home i use a shoulder bag, so if i’d get one that could fit an ipad. i don’t really like the tb styling, so wouldn’t buy one, but a makers bag would probably be my targeted size. i’d feel more comfortable with a shoulder bag if it had a secondary attachment that made it harder to steal. maybe i should design something... maybe a loose waist strap or just as simple as a tb leash to clip to belt loop. thant said, i’ve never been mugged, pick pocketed right even felt unsafe in my travels, but maybe that’s because i have a modicum of street smarts and take sensible precautions.

[haraya]

The Cafe Bags and Maker's Bags have integrated waist straps that you can attach/detach as needed.

my main combo is an a45, lg zip shop bag and medium fanny pack (not tb). fanny pack would handle everything except water bottle. i’m happy carrying a water bottle, gives me something to fidget with. if i want more space i take a synapse 19 (or prob luminary 15 if i had one). but last time i brought a backpack i never used it. i don’t feel secure in unfamiliar bustling cities with a shoulder bag. a little too easy to cut and run. at home i use a shoulder bag, so if i’d get one that could fit an ipad. i don’t really like the tb styling, so wouldn’t buy one, but a makers bag would probably be my targeted size. i’d feel more comfortable with a shoulder bag if it had a secondary attachment that made it harder to steal. maybe i should design something... maybe a loose waist strap or just as simple as a tb leash to clip to belt loop. thant said, i’ve never been mugged, pick pocketed right even felt unsafe in my travels, but maybe that’s because i have a modicum of street smarts and take sensible precautions.

[haraya]

If I was not checking a bag - I would likely do:

- one big backpack for carryon = an A30 (could be an A45 depending on how you personally pack)

- one cross-body bag: Co-Pilot in your setup (I would use an SCB or MCB as those are what I have) depending on how small your fleece jacket packs down. I would probably also want a light rain jacket or umbrella so I'd go with bags with a capacity of 8L - 12L, at least.

- Ideally a Halcyon bag for packability and because the fabric bends around me better in a cross-body format.

- Maybe a Parental Unit, though I don't have personal experience with that bag nor with the Co-Pilot. Or what about a Daylight Briefcase?

- Also I like the structure and vertical format of the Cafe Bags vs. the floppiness of the PCSB, but that is a personal preference.

- Optional: add a Daylight Backpack and/or a Shop Bag packed in the A30 for sightseeing options. (I actually like the DLBP for travel because the internal shingle pockets give me some minimal organization without having to bring a lot of pouches/stuff sacks.) Worth it to me for the slight extra weight.

- I like to be able to put my cross-body or purse-type bags into a DLBP or SB without unpacking - so that I could switch between a two-shoulder and a backpack-type carry. (E.g. I put the backpack into the cross-body or Shop Bag for museums; wear the backpack for riding public transit; use the Shop Bag for carrying groceries back to my hotel.) I like to switch it up this way a lot, so the packability of Halcyon is ideal for me.

Hello,
I will be taking my first trip to England in September and am excited to try going carry-on only. After researching Tom Bihn I have been considering the Aeronaut 45 as my main bag and the Co-Pilot as my everyday bag for sightseeing. My list for the day bag is something like this: daily spending money and credit card, sunglasses/reading glasses, sunscreen, notebook, snacks, water bottle, headphones, packable rain jacket, iPhone, lip balm, hand lotion, hand sanitizer, eye drops, guidebook pages, room for souvenirs. I'm wondering if with that list there might be room for a light fleece jacket to be stuffed into the bag too? The things I like about the Co-Pilot-it's a crossbody bag and has a zippered main compartment. I've decided to go with the crossbody bag instead of a backpack, and I prefer to have a zippered main compartment so I won't be going with the Cafe Bag. Do you think the Co-Pilot is the appropriate size for what I've described? I don't want to have my day bag be too big-so if you think there is a better, smaller option that would be great. I've thought about using the Co-Pilot as my personal item on the plane, and using the packing cube shoulder bag as my everyday bag when sightseeing. I would love your thoughts and advice! I am so looking forward to hanging stuff on the o-rings!!

[cancoi]

Jumping on here. Am going to England in mid-Oct with family & want a backpack/carry-on. Planning on my MCB for daily carry & thinking of an A30 for essentials in case of a checked bag fiasco. I’m bringing 3 merino dresses with 2-3 pairs of leggings, and planning on a light, packable jacket of sorts. Wearing my boots. Do you think this would be doable?

[aedifica]

Jumping on here. Am going to England in mid-Oct with family & want a backpack/carry-on. Planning on my MCB for daily carry & thinking of an A30 for essentials in case of a checked bag fiasco. I’m bringing 3 merino dresses with 2-3 pairs of leggings, and planning on a light, packable jacket of sorts. Wearing my boots. Do you think this would be doable?

Are you asking if those clothes would fit in the bag, or if the clothes would work for the trip? Either way I think the answer is yes, it would work, but I'm not familiar with England in October so I might be wrong about the clothing working for the trip.

[haraya]

I would think the clothes will definitely fit in the A30. While I'm not familiar with England in October, we were just in the UK this month and spent hours outside walking in the rain. Even with a good rain coat, a wool shirt, and wool scarf, I would get cold - and that was at the height of summer. If I were going in the fall/winter, I'd personally want more layers to pile on top of the the dresses+leggings+(waterproof) boots. (Thin sweater, big scarf/shawl, maybe a vest for extra insurance? And definitely a rain-proof coat!)

Jumping on here. Am going to England in mid-Oct with family & want a backpack/carry-on. Planning on my MCB for daily carry & thinking of an A30 for essentials in case of a checked bag fiasco. I’m bringing 3 merino dresses with 2-3 pairs of leggings, and planning on a light, packable jacket of sorts. Wearing my boots. Do you think this would be doable?