Monday 27 December 2010

Selecting a bag

I am a great fan of OneBag.com. My work requires extensive travel around the world and I can only recommend others to pay the site a visit.

However, I don't tend to agree with everything on the site, so here we go!

Overall purpose: Travel as light as you can, but still be able to have "everything" with you.
Personally I set a maximum weight of 10 kg.

Bag
The bag is the most important thing when travelling. I visited several shops and finally found the bag.

Criteria:
1. Top quality and good design. It should not break after the first couple of trips, nor the next 5 years.
2. Light weight, max 2 kg
3. Non-wheeled. I absolute hate wheeled luggage. You get more room and frankly, who can't carry 10 kg?
4. At least 2 main compartments.
5. Separate room for laptop.
6. Side pockets.

Budget
Unlimited. Yes, unlimited as long as the above criteria was met. It will be a bag I will have as my friend for many years to come.

..And the winner is...
Tumi Tyndall

Price in UK: £395, US: $395
Rather expensive, so I went on Ebay and found the bag to $220. With shipping and custom duty in the UK, the final price ended at £220.

It has the max dimensions for carry-on luggage and weighs 1.9 kg.


Details (from Tumi website)


  • Monogramming Available: Yes
  • External Dimensions in Inches: 13" x 20" x 8.5"
  • Construction Material: Fabric
  • External Features:
    • Front zip pocket(s)
    • Back zip pocket
    • Water bottle pocket
    • Top carry handles
    • Removable/adjustable shoulder strap
    • Air vent hole
  • Internal Features:
    • Zip pocket(s)
    • Open pocket(s)
    • Card pocket(s)
    • Phone pocket
    • Tie-down straps
    • Key leash
    • Interior packing volume of 30 cubic liters