Greetings from DEN

Just a quick update on my trip with the eBags Mother Lode TLS Mini 21, composed in the United’s Red Carpet Club East @ DEN.  The trip has gone well and I’ve enjoyed traveling with the Mini 21. Below, the bag in the overhead of the 757 I flew in from DEN to LAS.

By the way, on the flight here I tried putting the bag beneath the seat in front of me (this on an A320):  it could be placed there, but no self respecting flight attendant would ever let you leave it there – it just sticks out too far.  It easily fit in the overheads on both aircraft.

You may recall I opted to use a Kiva keychain backpack for my onboard stuuff, and that’s worked very well. The straps on the Kiva are little more than nylon ribbons, but they work, and the bag must weigh all of a couple of ounces.

I’m still a bit mystified by how the bag ended up weighing 20 pounds, so I’ll double check when I get home.

A few random comments/observations:

• The bag is small – most everyone’s wheelies dwarf it- and I kind of like that
• In addition to the 3 advertised positions on the telescoping handle, there’s a fourth – when you first open the handle, if you pull it up without depressing its button, it stops when it’s  extended about 14″.  Push on it, and it retracts; lift on the handle, and you can lift the bag.  This preliminary position is handy for navigating onto/off of escalators and the like
• The rubberized section on that handle is nice – it provides a much nicer feel than plain molded plastic would
• The see thru/mesh ID card window is too small, and when I put a business card in it,  it was basically illegible; I’d simply write my name and cell number on the back of a business card and insert it with that info showing; you should put an extra copy of your itinerary in your bag anyway, along with your contact info
• The zippers all operate smoothly
• The “forehead” pocket is great for my minimal 3-1-1 bag and non essential electrical stuff:  sync cable for the camera, etc.  I only unzipped it about halfway to remove the liquids bag
• The crimson color is subtle, but helps the bag stand out
• I did gate check the bag when I took the Beech 1900 over to DEN, and it worked out just fine.  With a seat  assignment behind the bulkhead, I decided to leave the Asus in the bag’s top compartment.  I cinched up the  compression strap quite tightly, and held my breath.  I’d normally never do this, but this flight originated at a very small airport and I was confident the guys loading the luggage wouldn’t trash anything

Overall, I like the bag quite a bit.  If the hysteria over carry-ons on flights bound for the U.S. is still in effect this spring, I’d consider using this bag for our trip to Italy.  In a way this post is a practice run to test using the netbook, Canon S90, sync cord, etc. to post while on the road.  If I can do it in an airline club, I likely can do it from a hotel or hotspot in Italy.  Stay tuned…