Rick Steves Convertible Carry-on

I just took this on a week-long trip to Chicago and I couldn't have been more pleased with this bag. I was able to fit into it 6 days worth of clothes: - A daily fresh set (plus spare): undershirt,… socks, underwear - 2 sets of Under Armour cold-weather tops and bottoms - 2 pairs of jeans - slacks - 3 dress shirts - 2 light sweaters - hat - gloves - scarf - flip flops - toiletries and STILL have a lot of room to spare without expanding it. (Heh, all the winter gear and it turned out to be quite mild, getting into the upper 50s and 60s most days) Getting it all in: I would highly recommend the packing cubes for use with this bag (more on that in its own review). I was able to fit almost all of my clothes into them. They can then be stacked (situated as a backpack, the two smaller ones in front of the larger one) into the bottom of the main compartment, leaving the top for other items. There are 3 outer compartments. I didn't use the large outer compartment. However, the small upper compartment is perfect for your quart-sized ziplok bag of liquids that you'll have to take out to get through security and the lower medium compartment is good for items like ties, scarves, luggage strap, etc. There's also a large inside pocket and the usual internal suitcase straps to keep your clothes in place. And then you have external straps to compress the bag even more. I tried these out before we left and they all seem durable, but ultimately didn't need to use them for the trip. The internal detachable security pouch is good for emergency cash/cards/IDs if you'll be carrying it around to several destinations. It's also compatible with several other Rick Steves bags. The included mesh bags were handy for organizing a mix of laundry for the trip home. Fitting them on the plane: We took Boeing 717s and 727s to and from and had no problems getting them into the overhead bins. If you have a spacious flight, you can easily get the bag in sideways no problem. One of our flights was incredibly crammed, but we were still able to fit them into the overheads by sliding them in backwards (with the bottom of the bag towards the aisle, allowing the top of the bag to fit the curvature of the plane. There might be issues on smaller planes (no model numbers come to mind). Commuter jets with a 1-2 seat configuration might not allow bags this size. At the very least, you should be able to gate-check it and hopefully your airline won't charge you for it :/ Some potential cons: - I think this bag is ideal for most urban travel but it might have some setbacks. If you plan to do extensive walking with a bag this size, it can definitely weight you down. A rolling bag might be more suitable if you think it might be a problem. - I read the description of this bag on the Rick Steves site [...] and it shows the shoulder strap as an optional accessory. The bags we ordered came with it, so I don't know if we happened to get an older set or what. I will say, although it's quite comfortable to carry as a backpack, I don't see it practical carrying with a shoulder strap like that. This means that if you have a second bag, it should be something other than a backpack. - This bag is more than likely larger than any other backpack you have ever used. BE CAREFUL when you have this thing on your back. You can knock people or objects over with this thing when turning around. I've got 2 other reviews to go along with this--the Rick Steves Travel Gear Packing Cube Set and the Rick Steves Veloce Travel Pack.

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This is one of the best travel/conversion bags I have found. I have tried many different bags but this one is the best. Most "legal" carry on say they are 22x14x9 in size but when you add in the rolling… frame or a high tech back pack set up you usually only end up with about a width of 5 inches. This bag is truly 9 inches wide. Plus can expand another inch or two with the expander. The bag is comfortable to wear and packs well. My only negative is the design of the compression straps. The put the straps below the zipper on the side. So when you compress the bag down it puts stress on the zipper. when the bag is full this could put undo strain on the zipper and maybe blow it out. I understand why they did it this way so you can still open the bag with out having to unhook the straps. But if they put them over the zipper on the bag from and used quick release buckles it would cinch the load better with out fear of blowing a zipper. Otherwise... bag is awesome. And the price is great. That last bag I bought was a Patagonia. Which I love their gear but their MLC does not have half the capacity that this bag does. It is made with recycled ballistic nylon, which I wish this bag was. The nylon on this bag is sturdy though.

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