Carry On Luggage - Laptop friendly/Clothing/Long Layover supplies

I am in the market for an international flight friendly carry on bag that is also capable of carrying my MBP 13". Given the limitations are one bag and 7kgs I am having a hard time finding anything decent so far.

I was wondering of anyone out there has either a suggestion for a setup for international travel with a laptop and some essentials like clothing, shoes and a few other basics as I have a couple of long layovers to contend with and would prefer to have the option of changing clothing and freshening up (not to mention the fear of having lost luggage given I have multiple stops in foreign locations and would not be happy arriving with nothing to change into!!)

My budget is capable of going that extra bit to get something decent, no leather (too heavy) and MUST have laptop portability. Prefer a trolley style bag with backpack (in case I have to run anywhere) but NOT the Targus one (looks to cheap IMO)

I am flexible in these requirements as well.

But, if anyone has any suggestions with regards to international travel with a laptop and suitable supplies for a couple of days I am also all ears!

 

i personally use samsonites for my carry on luggage, it's small and it offers decent protection for my stuffs.

i travel quite a bit and basically, i ship my bags and try to minimize my carry on luggage.

please note, as fuel prices start to spike, carriers are more inclined to "make" you check in your luggage and pay for it.
those huge backpacks are not so easily tolerated any more...

when you're looking for a bag, well, there are few nice brands out there...

tumi: very overpriced, unless you really take advantage of what it offers in terms of warranty. lots of storage spaces, strong frame, strong handle, good wheel

samsonite: very nice in that it is light, (tho zippers can be beefier... tumi uses #8/10 zippers whereas samsonite uses #5/6 zippers) but its lightweight, wheel rolls well, and it's slim (according to mdoel)

american tourister: good price point option...

anyways, regardless of brands, check the handle structure... "stress test it" and see how rigid it is.
check the wheel, narrow wheels get stuck in escalator, street metal rids...
bigger diameter wheels are easier to roll, but also can take away from storage.

inside construction:
rigid frame is good, but always, semi-soft case is best. meaning textile luggage with semi-rigid plastic inner structure.

they will most likely come with elastic or nylon webbing buckles to hold it in place... the elastic usually gives way after a bit of use... choose webbing.

check the zippers, make sure it's nice and strong... believe in YKK branded zippers... also... #8/10 sized zipper is better and stronger... the zipper chain/teeth, when closed, should come near 10mm wide...

do not get bags that are overly compartmentalized to hell... they are jsut waste of space.

carry laptop in a well padded sleeve and use your clothing to pad it...

that's just about it... you don't need all that ballistic nylon on a carry on... it does not get abused as much as checked luggage...

 

Kinghong1970 - thanks some good things I hadn't thought of there.

Travelling QANTAS - 7kg limit and one carry on bag still allowed for cattle class.

 

Have you taken a loook on TARGUS.

http://www.targus.com/us/

 

I have (and BTW our range here in Australia differs from what you get in the US )..which is why I stated in my original post 'Not the Targus one' .

I am after something a little more 'classier' and less 'laptop bag here lookie!' that Targus seem to offer - actually I have never liked any of the Targus range of bags I am however looking at the Mandarina Duck range as they have some nice looking carry on bags IMO. I am not a fan of the Knomo Quilted range of carry on bags either

lol

I am a fussy person when it comes to which bags I use (I am a woman, I love my bags lol) - I am currently using an Oxio Style Freedomer messenger (which is looking old and sad now) and a Knomo Vichy Leather bag for laptop portage

Thanks anyway

 

i use a Samsonite Xylem backpack. silver. that can be a trolly
it's been with me for 5years now....it has traveled most Asian countries with a laptop, digicam, raincoat and cellphones...


or

get kipling ;-)

 

Hmmm...thats a nice looking backpack....not sure about the silver though

Actually I have found this to be of interest (speaking of Samsonite)

http://www.luggagedirect.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2615

and then I saw the colour of this!

http://luggagestore.com.au/titan/travel-luggage/1068-2-wheeled-53cm-upright?&scat=16

oh not really a fan of the Simian style bags either...

 

well, you'll find those hard cases being a pain in the but...

first of all, the zipper opens the case into 2 halves, not a lid and compartment.

2 halves mean half of your stuff will be stuck to the top, the other half to the bottom, then you close it and match the seams and close the zipper or fasten the locks.

go for a semi-rigid frame, meaning a plastic inner frame, but textile...
you will find that it offers MUCh more storage space... also, hard frames does not really mean it offers more protection...


just some thoughts.

 

you could check with the airline, as most allow a carry on bag and a laptop computer.
if i do carry my laptop in a case i use a black rubbery case like Memory Foam Case

 

What about a Wenger Messenger bag? I've been using one of those.

In my experience they don't weight and measure hand luggage - but that may be due to flying within Europe for me...

 

honestly, with the recent incident, i'm concerned as to how much i'm allowed to carry on.

i think i'm just going to carry my camera and laptop in my bag and lighten my load... i rather opt to ship everything...

 

Incident? What incident?

 

http://www.zerohalliburton.com/travel/carbon_fiber/ZR21T-CF.jsp

?

(they do plastic ones too)

 

@Kinghong1970: tell, tell, what incident?
@Vogelbung: wow, that carbon fiber halliburton bag is the coolest thing ever. and its a snip at only $2500
i want, i want......

 

the dude who got on a plane from Europe, packing explosives in his crotch... supposedly paid cash for his ticket...

geesh, you guys don't watch the news?

he tried to blow up a delta flight?

 

Nothing wrong with paying in Cash for flights
I think my grandfather does that when he gets my tickets from a good old fashioned travel agents in Germany

 

I don't watch TV.

Saw the news online though, but didn't take much note of it.

OT: Did you see the pictures of the remnants of his underpants?

 

hahaha... i hear ya... i'm beginning to see how pointless network TV news has become... more glorification of news reporters... making them into celebs..

anywhoo, no, it did not go off in his crotch...

but traveling these days is a pain in the rear... my colleague and i are about to go to europe for the next fashion week... and i've been telling him... 1 LIGHT carryon... only his laptop... but i know he's not going to listen...

if you're going to check in 1 bag, why would you also want to bring in a backpack AND a carryon? just don't make sense...

 

Most airlines allow one carryon and 1 laptop style bag. Some might even allow 1 carry on, 1 laptop style and 1 messenger style.

 

is that what i said 10 posts ago? useful tips and facts would be good

 

Clearly it's given a whole new meaning to "I'm packing heat down there".

 

Maybe you should read again.

Or just learn to read.

it
See the difference? Less asinine behavior would be good. Twit.

@:Kinghong1970 - I prefer a relatively large backpack as a carryon in general. It keeps my hands free for my luggage. On occasion, I have used a laptop backpack + a carryon as well. On other occasions, a laptop backpack, carryon and a messenger style laptop bag. Some airlines will let that fly, pun intended, others, not so much. And why that many things? It's useful when I have multiple laptops/books I can bring with me to work on. Plus, I keep at least a set of spare clothing in case my luggage decides to disappear. And space for airport lounge purchases, especially when I'm stopping over in Japan/Korea. I'm a packrat and I like to make sure I have prepared for as many contingencies as I can.