1. Debbie’s comments on the utility of a small wheelie were prescient.

After 3 intervening trips to Thailand, I am getting a wee bit tired of carrying all my carry-on weight on my shoulders, and also of trying to carry everything into the cabin in the first place.

If I were just traveling for tourism it wouldn’t be so bad, but I have to pack athletic gear (jiu jitsu uniform and protective gear) and on the way back my wife wants cosmetics and clothes and often a fair amount of each.

So I’m kind of forced into checking one bag, and that got me to rethinking the cabin bags.

2. Trick is to keep the small wheelie light enough to leave room for clothing, since the EVA Air limit is 15 pounds for my carryon (they weigh it, too, although they don’t way the flight bag that is artfully loaded with my heavy carryon items).

3. So I found two 5 pound wheelie solutions – an 18” wheelie from Walmart which is light because it is made from thinner materials (and is smaller to start with); and a 20.5” high tech Landor Sub 0 (it’s bigger in all three dimensions, so its actual volume is considerably larger than the Walmart wheelie). Both are under 5 pounds, according to my bathroom scale.

4. That leaves me with up to 10 pounds of contents, and I can live with that. If I am going to bust the weight limit, I’ll stow the heavier items in my flight bag, temporarily, then move them to the wheelie.

5. Yes I still need a flight bag, even though my luxury items and non-essentials are going into my checked bag. Besides offloading some weight (temporarily) from the wheelie, I like to keep some items near the seat instead of in the overhead bin, plus I need a destination bag anyway.

So 3 bags it is, and one a wheelie at that. What a heresy! Where will it all lead to!

First, I have found where dress shoes are not a mandatory requirement I can get away with New Balance Cross-Trainer shoes in a dark color. I originally ordered a pair of New Balance 621 Cross Trainers from LL Bean in Brown /Green trim for an Alaska cruise. Great for daily workouts, and with jeans (or khaki trousers) I looked less like a tourist on land. The site now has the 622 model – see

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/w.....at4=503384

– so I suppose the 621 is no longer. The 622 appears to be identical, however. If I need a dressier pair of shoes, I will stuff my Bostonian slip-ons with socks and underwear, place them in shoe socks and use them as (part of) my bundle wrap core.

Second, re: “The only problem was the pack was a top loader and the bundle was hard to get in.” – I had a similar challenge, but Michael W.’s follow-up comment to his review of the Rick Steves Appenzell pack led me to -

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/w.....&np=Y

- where I ordered one. I found he was spot on: they are great for a bundle wrap, and allow it to be placed in a top-load back pack without messing up the bundle if it has to be squeezed in. It can replace stuff sacks, too, and provide more options than they normally will allow.

BTW, Michael’s review article at

http://www.practicalhacks.com/.....-day-pack/

has some great tips as well, in addition to the comment above. I know it was written after this post, but what-the-hey…

Thanks again for great one-bag travel ideas!

On the “shorter trip” front (backpack for overnighter, this article), I was curious what size backpack you use – it’s hard to measure volume on backpacks due to the irregular shapes, but some makers post the volume. I am curious whether your backpack is smaller, or larger, in terms of capacity, than the Timbuk2 small gym duffel I originally started packing for Thailand – that duffel is only 1,500 cubic inches.

I don’t know how often you scope out “lighter” backpacks (and other carryon options like totes), but if you like to window shop at “high end” stores, there are some very interesting, but absurdly priced, ultra-light bags you might want to check out at Patagonia – their Lightweight Travel Pack, Lightweight Tote, and Lightweight Courier, found here, respectively:

http://www.patagonia.com/web/u.....84&ws=

http://www.patagonia.com/web/u.....8;ws=false

http://www.patagonia.com/web/u.....8;ws=false

The Pack and Tote are a whopping $100 bucks each. The Courier, which is their most innovative design, is $75. These bags are all made of silnylon, the ultra-thin, ultra-strong, ultra-slick material that’s all the rage in ultra-light backpacking. I got interested in this set of bags since they are so light and thin they pack as extra bags really well, yet they are tough enough to use as a carryon. With 1,400 cubic inches, the Courier could easily substitute for a duffle, and it weighs less than 10 ounces. Unfortuntately, it’s one of the funniest looking bags I have yet to see. I don’t think it will survive in the marketplace, and once it’s gone it will be missed by those who can appreciate its virtues, so it is worth checking out while it is still around. The Totes, on the other hand, were flying off the shelf when Patagonia had their recent sale, a lot of people were shopping (according to the sales clerk) for carryon gear.

For those of us with champagne tastes but beer budgets, I found two really neat bags at REI the other day that you might want to check out, $29 for a 1,200 cubic inch, very light, very minimalist (but not flimsy!) daypack and $24 for a 2,150 (wow!) cubic inch tote that only weighs 8.5 ounces:

http://www.rei.com/product/754682

http://www.rei.com/product/754685

These are much more robust and usable than the disappointing “self stowing” duffel and day pack I picked up recently from the Rick Steves website. The REI tote actually looks tough enough to check through in a pinch, if you went crazy shopping at your destination, provided you “wrap” the handles together to the luggage handlers don’t try to man-handle the bag using only one handle.

I know you keep your eye out for useful gear that isn’t just another Eagle Creek re-tread, so if you ever find your way out to Patagonia or REI, see what they have and if you like these items. Quite frankly, I was surprised by the good design and high quality at REI at a budget price. They are finally getting their act together with their “house brands.”