Carry-on Luggage - Backpack style

Hey folks!

Just looking into new carry-ons and was wondering if anyone has the following product and what their thoughts are on it:

http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/tls-mother-lode-weekender-convertible-junior/241465

They don't ship to Canada, but I can buy it on ebay through their partner website. Only thing is shipping and duty are pricey. I don't mind spending it, however, only if the product is awesome.

This would be for my DH as I can't imagine carrying 22lbs on my back through the airport! Wheelies are for me :)

As long as it fits thru the scanner.

I don't care for backpacks. I worry about 2 things:

I'll turn around and bump into someone or something because it sticks out so far behind me.

I'm vulnerable to pickpockets because I can't see behind me.

I'd rather have it on the floor, on wheels...I don't do "fanny packs" or back packs! Doesn't really matter, as long as it fit the the scanner....it could be a trash bag! No one really cares.

All true. And I personally would be afraid that the bag would expand while packing therefore exceeding allowable dimensions. With no frame, that would be very easy to do.

Side bar question - anyone use the small & medium packing cubes for organizing your clothing?

I have this one and it's slightly larger Motherlode TLS Weekender "brother." I love 'em! I've had the 22" one for a few years now and just bought the Jr. this Spring. They have multiple ways of carrying - a handle, a shoulder strap and the backpack straps. I use them for trips where I don't need my Osprey Porter 65 bag. The only difference between the Jr. and the "brother" is the 19" vs 22" of vertical. The other dimensions are the same and both have the same features. The quality of the bags is excellent, not an issue with either of them yet.

The Jr. I took on a 3 day girls' getaway. I had running shoes, sandals, my running tights and 2 shirts, pair of denim shorts, a few short sleeve shirts, dressy long pants, dressy shirt, sweatshirt, my hair dryer with diffuser (not staying at a hotel and there were 6 of us in the house!!!) and my toiletries. It didn't feel stuffed. Easy to use with the shoulder strap - never even brought out the backpack straps.

If your hubby doesn't mind color and he wants the larger one, the bronze color is on sale for $84US rather than $89US for the Jr. right now...

All true. And I personally would be afraid that the bag would expand while packing therefore exceeding allowable dimensions. With no frame, that would be very easy to do.

 

Side bar question - anyone use the small & medium packing cubes for organizing your clothing?

Our next cruise is this month and we are going to do a 1 week cruise and 1 week in Florida with just carry-ons. Using packing cubes for the first time. I already see a difference! Much more organized. Plus, on the ship, I'm going to leave some cubes packed and just place them on the shelves in the closet. Speedy unpacking and re-packing for this trip! Underwear, t-shirts, etc are just staying in the cubes.

I would recommend you go to the eBags site and read the reviews for the Jr. Some of them mention the packing cubes and which ones to use with which compartment.

Just for kicks - I just got out my Jr and loaded it with one of my King bed blankets and 2 of my bulkiest sweatshirts and used the expanded zipper. It didn't overpack. There are 2 compression straps on the outside that you can cinch down once you have loaded the bag. The problem with some would be to pack it too heavy, rather than outdo the sizer. You also don't have to use both backpack straps - one works, too. It's not like you're wearing the bag for hours like you do when you are out hiking the Dolomites ;) I'm a 60-year old woman and I have never had an issue hauling the Jr. or it's bigger brother around.

Way to big for me! ... and I have had people slam their backpack into me. :mad: I am short enough to get it right in my face. I would also not put anything of value in the outside pocket.

My husband and I use rolling carry-ons, sometimes light day packs. If I were more adventurous, I would buy a proper hiking backpack for an expedition tour.

Way to big for me! ... and I have had people slam their backpack into me. :mad: I am short enough to get it right in my face. I would also not put anything of value in the outside pocket.

 

My husband and I use rolling carry-ons, sometimes light day packs. If I were more adventurous, I would buy a proper hiking backpack for an expedition tour.

You'll need to read about this bag a little more closely. It isn't a backpack; it is a soft-sided carryon-size bag that has 3 methods of carrying: with one of the handles, with the shoulder strap (like a briefcase) and shoulder straps. Most people I've seen with these in the airports are using methods 1 & 2, rarely 3. If you didn't know the bag came with shoulder straps, you would not believe it to be anything more an rolling Eagle Creek bag, minus the wheels ;)

Do you or your husband wear your light daypack on both shoulders??? Same thing with the Motherlode Jr...

I have convertible bags though not that ebags motherlode option. Not all trips I take allow rolling bags. Some people actually fly in tiny planes or boats where you can only carry a small amount of weight and the bags must be softsided! :eek: In those cases, having backpack straps as one of the carrying options is great. I have an older Lands End model that hasn't been made in a few years - has a handle, stowaway backpack straps, as well as a longer strap that can go on the shoulder or crossbody. Comes in handy for quick trips and, as mentioned above, in the situations where type of luggage is heavily regulated eg a small plane or sailboat....

If I were shopping again, I'd check Red Oxx and Tom Bihn options.

slidergirl, I saw it, still not my choice. ;)

Hoyaheel, Our last trip was with canoes in the Amazon. We took one soft sided suitcase with two wheels, but they would have accepted hard cases as well. I know that not all lodges and outfitters do. Our 'luggage canoes' had no passengers.

It really depends on the kind of travel a person does. Lots of airports, cruise ports, and train stations like us: wheels and a small daypack!

I keep a wide range of luggage in the storage room because I prefer to be prepared for whatever demands are made for me for luggage - I can think of 3 trips off the top of my head where they had to be soft without wheels- safari in Tanzania, small plane trip within Costa Rica, and the sailing trip in the BVIs last summer.

Would I prefer to have wheels as an option? Sure, but I also want to take the kind of trip I want when I want, and I'll comply as I need to. Nice thing is - for sailing trips etc - the clothing demands are limited so it's very easy to pack light:p

We like to rent apartments in cities - and sometimes (like in Paris....) we're in a 4th floor walkup - no elevator because the building is 300 years old. So, nice to have lightweight luggage in that case too! Though we did actually have small (20") wheeled bags for that trip.

slidergirl, I saw it, still not my choice. ;)

 

Hoyaheel, Our last trip was with canoes in the Amazon. We took one soft sided suitcase with two wheels, but they would have accepted hard cases as well. I know that not all lodges and outfitters do. Our 'luggage canoes' had no passengers.

 

It really depends on the kind of travel a person does. Lots of airports, cruise ports, and train stations like us: wheels and a small daypack!

Do you wear the daypacks or carry them with the top handle (if there is one)? I've been whacked by more people with their daypacks when they walk by me in the plane aisles than anywhere else.

Like Hoyaheel, I have a variety of luggage to match all my trips. I've been known to call myself a luggage slut :eek: Only two of my bags have wheels: my Sojourn and my huge DaKine Split Roller (that one hasn't been out of the house since 2008). I used to have an Eagle Creek Tarmac 22" from my 15 years of commuting from my home to my company's HQ (I was an early telecommuter), but it finally gave up the ghost. My Kenya safari had a "no wheels" AND a weight limit. When I did Cinque Terre - it was important to not have wheels to negotiate all the outside stairs (there were stairs instead of streets to walk between blocks) and 4th floor apartments/hotels with no elevators. Venice - all those cobbles and bridges :eek: Travel to a snowy destination - wheels don't roll well through snow-covered parking lots and sidewalks…

If I were just driving to a ship or taking a flight to a ship and not staying anywhere else in transit, I could see using the wheelies all the time. It's just not my only method of vacation (it's actually the minor part).

slidergirl,

In plane aisles, I carry the daypack like a regular bag in my hand. I don't want to slam into another passenger's solar plexus.:rolleyes: In some cities, I only use a crossbody bag, nothing unsupervised on my back ever.

My husband and I both have one of these bags and we love them. We use all sizes of packing cubes, also from ebags. A combo of small, medium and slims fit best in these bags. In one layer you can fit 1 Large OR 1 Medium and 1 long slim OR 2 smalls and one long slim (but its a bit squishy). I can fit 2 such layers in the main compartment without expanding the zipper.

I plan to get one for each of my kids before their next cruise. Much more compact and maneuverable way to carry our stuff.