Help me find the right overnight bag...

May 1, 2006 11:00 AM

I travel a lot for business, can you help me find the right bag?

I have started taking a lot of overnight trips, meaning that my usual carry-on luggage (good for 3-5 nights) has become a little 'oversized'.

I am looking for a bag, with compartments for a basic laptop (15 inch), some cables/PSU and enough room to take a spare shirt, underwear and a wash kit. Preferably on wheels so I can whizz through the airport!

Any mefi'ers have recommendations to make my packing easier?

posted by mattr to shopping (20 comments total)

No specific recommendations (I use a 8-year-old Courierware bag that's ugly as hell) but I suggest you rethink getting something on wheels. Mine is just a soft bike courier bag, which means I can throw it over my shoulder and, most importantly, it can squish into a mostly-full overhead compartment on a plane. Anything with wheels is going to have a structure to it that will prevent this.

Besides, anything on wheels makes you much less maneuverable when you're trying to squeeze past people on the moving walkways or escalators (I was doing that this morning).

Also, most of the SEs who come to visit me carry all the above in some sort of backpack made by a laptop bag manufacturer. FWIW.
posted by sohcahtoa at 11:16 AM on May 1, 2006

This page from onebag.com has lots of things to look for when picking a carry-on bag.
posted by driveler at 11:32 AM on May 1, 2006

i love my new skooba! I bought it for 99, but have since found it cheaper. Great size, comfortable, holds anything!
posted by killyb at 11:36 AM on May 1, 2006

Filson. I carry this every day.

It ain't cheap, but it'll last forever.
posted by cribcage at 12:03 PM on May 1, 2006

I use a rolling bag that is sized to fit in all overhead compartments and a separate small laptop bag. The laptop bag can fit inside the rolling bag when necessary, but I can also leave the rolling bag at my hotel and take just the laptop bag to meetings.

Using a small laptop makes all the difference. With a 12" (or 13" widescreen) notebook and power supply, you will have a LOT more room for stuff than you would with a 15" or 17" laptop. I could probably fit a day's clothes in my 17" laptop's bag, and still have plenty of room for the 13" one and a notepad.
posted by b1tr0t at 12:05 PM on May 1, 2006

They're silly expensive, but my Tumi bag has been one of best purchases I've ever made. I have the non-wheeled expandable business brief (though not the newest model as show in the link), but they appear to have a wheeled version.
posted by mullacc at 12:12 PM on May 1, 2006

I highly recommend this Briggs & Riley bag. I have a number of bags from B&R, and they last a long time and take a lot of abuse (for example, I have one that's been with me for two years and 170k miles and it still looks new). That one has a separate laptop bag that fits inside, like b1tr0t mentioned, and the compartment for it zips on the side so it's easy to access without taking it out of the overhead. They also have a lifetime warranty that even covers damage done by the airlines, so if you ever have to gate-check it, you don't have to worry.
posted by bedhead at 12:41 PM on May 1, 2006

I too love the Scooba.
posted by allen.spaulding at 12:47 PM on May 1, 2006

For those of you with expensive bags - how are they holding up? I recall paying around $200 for my skyway rolling bag. The first time I had to check it, Alaska Air managed to shear off one of the zipper toggles.
posted by b1tr0t at 1:09 PM on May 1, 2006

You could also travel with a standard 22" wheeled suitcase and pack work gear in it. The suitcase is big enough to handle your clothes, toiletries, etc.; the outside compartment will hold your laptop and paperwork. You can also throw a lightweight messenger bag into the main compartment of the suitcase to carry into any meetings and/or to turn into an extra carryon bag if you come home with more than you left. I've done this for one-night trips, complete with extra bag, and it's worked well.
posted by werty at 1:10 PM on May 1, 2006

This bag from Swiss Army looks like it would do the trick. Their stuff is extremely well-made and versatile. They use in-line skate wheels which make the bags extremely easy to roll. They also make their bags out of tough ballistic nylon. I have around 6 Swiss Army bags and they're just wonderful.
posted by Ostara at 1:25 PM on May 1, 2006

I just bought a Targus CityGear backpack. The amount of shit you can stuff in there is insane. I can get my 12" notebook, external CD ROM, stacks of files, software, PDA stuff, Juice Power supply, assorted AC adapters, 2 pairs of jeans, 2 shirts, 2 pairs of socks, a magazine, some bottled water, a paperback book and a pair of sandals/flipflops comfortably. Inexpensive.

It's not on wheels but it is comfy on your shoulders, and Targus makes several other options that are wheeled, on the same website.
posted by Thistledown at 1:51 PM on May 1, 2006

I have this bag from Swiss Army and it's really almost obscene how good it is. Fits in standard and small aircraft overhead bins, too, which aside from being handy also cuts down on wear and tear. (The larger "Mobilizer 22" only fits in regular aircraft bins, not some smaller ones.)

So if you want a wheeled semi-hard sided bag, I'm seconding that recommendation.
posted by ikkyu2 at 2:04 PM on May 1, 2006

Get Tom Bihn's Empire Builder.
posted by evariste at 2:07 PM on May 1, 2006

Or the Aeronaut.
posted by bshort at 2:11 PM on May 1, 2006

I like my Aeronaut, but it's new so can't comment on how long it'll last.

I've recently gone through the same process of choosing a bag, and concluded that the wheels were a waste of weight and space.
posted by quiet at 2:30 PM on May 1, 2006

I have done a lot of traveling for interviews over the last several months, and this Victorinox 22" Standard Traveler has served me extremely well. It is the same "carry-on spec" size as the other rollies, but features small touches such as a gently curved handle arm that holds the bag away from you as you wheel it, so that it doesn't keep bumping into your feet. It's extremely well made, looks stylish, and has handles to let you carry it in any orientation (including as a backpack!)

As for the laptop, put it in a protective Sleevecase, and you can keep it in whatever bag you like. I've had one of those for five years now, and it's still going strong.
posted by Dr. Sam at 3:26 PM on May 1, 2006

Huh. I have this Victorinox bag which has been good as well. It looks like a standard roll-aboard, but has a ton of pockets and compartments, making it easy to separate dirty & clean clothes, my laptop fits in the front and there's even a ticket pocket. Unlike the previous bag, this one doesn't look like a backpack, a look I'm tryingto get away from after year of business travel looking like a backpacker. I find that I can skip carrying a briefcase and just go with the suitcase with this. Which is kind of the opposite of what you're looking for I think.
posted by GuyZero at 7:16 PM on May 1, 2006

Oh, the picture I posted is misleading regarding the bag's backpack-ness... The backpack straps are actually not visibly exposed like that (they are in a flat hidden pocket), unless you bring them out to use.
posted by Dr. Sam at 7:48 AM on May 3, 2006

Thanks peeps - some really good ideas in here...I'm leaning towards the Briggs and Riley bag, looks perfect on the web, now trying to find a good stockist in the UK - or I'll wait till I'm in the US again.
posted by mattr at 6:21 AM on May 4, 2006