For years, I’ve traveled for both business and pleasure living out of a TravelPro 22″ roll-aboard and both Susan and I can live indefinitely out of our carry-on luggage, 17 days in Europe, no problem unless there’s no place to do laundry.
After my month long experience wearing a pack on the Camino last year, I’ve decided to try out a pack this year on on our vacation. I found a 65 L (total including the day pack) that is designed for carrying like a pack but also has a zippered back entry for easy loading.
As you can see, it stows very nicely and includes cinch straps to help compress the load which keeps it from shifting but it may also help get it on board if it’s a little full and you catch a bored Gate Agent. The pack has handles on the top and side so you can carry it like a conventional bag. There are 2 side compartments for a water bottle or anything else you may need to get at quickly and, a padded glasses pocket at the very top. A very nice feature is the day pack that fits into the big pocket on the back but, you can quickly extract it if you wanted to check the larger pack but carry on your essentials.
Last year while flying to Spain, I had to check my pack (dangerous considering my friend Katja got seperated from hers just yesterday between Madrid and Santander, thanks Iberia) which meant I needed to find something to protect my pack and to manage all the straps and loose attachments.
This pack has a hidden flap that you can quickly deploy or stow to cover the straps it also makes the whole pack more streamlined. In this picture, the flap is partially unzipped to give a better idea of how it looks.
Finally, I did a test pack to see how things fit and there was plenty of room. Unlike a regular pack, being able to access it completely instead of only from the top was great. While you still need to be organized, no more unloading if yo need something on the bottom.
There are extra pockets inside for loose items or toiletries and there is a compartment for wet items as well. I did use the packing cubes as I did last year, I’m sold on those. It helped keep the entire pack organized.
I’m looking forward to giving this a try, I don’t think that I’d want to carry this particular pack 20-30 KM each day, the frame is rigid and generally it does not adjust like my Osprey does but, I think it will be perfect for this holiday. I’ll let you know when we return.