I was able to road test my new eBags Mother Lode TLS Weekender Convertible (TLS) this week on a three day meeting in Denver. This was a business casual meeting so I didn’t take any suits. This bag is a game changer for me. Normally I when I travel for business, I carry a laptop bag as my personal item because it is easier to manage than having to dig the laptop and liquids bag out of my 22" carryon. The TLS is so thoughtfully designed that it was easy to eliminate the laptop case as the laptop and liquids bag were easily accessible. TSA screening was a breeze. It fit easily into the overhead of the SWA 737 with room to spare.
The TLS is configured as a duffle with an upper and lower section. I packed all of my normal clothing (three dress shirts, two pairs of pants, a sport coat and associated bits) into the lower section. There are retaining straps that are attached to the bottom of the section have an ingenious clip at the top of the section. This allows straps to draw the whole section down as they are tightened, minimizing the depth of the section while securing the clothing bundle. The clips can be disconnected if desired. This section can be expanded with a perimeter zipper. There is a fabric shelf that can bisect the section or be folded out of the way; this could be useful for fixing packing cubes in place.
Below this section is a space accessible from a zipper (at what would be the top of the bag in backpack mode) that contains an adjustable sling that can be used for a laptop. Remarkably this only takes space from the packing section when a laptop is in the sling. Be aware that while the backpack pad and the contents of the packing section will protect the laptop, there is absolutely no protection on the sides. I used a vertical sleeve from Spire to hold the laptop and did not use the sling.
The upper section of the case is functionally a shallow duffle. It has the typical curvilinear zipper that opens the center of the section. I packed my electronics support cube (power bricks, cables, etc), my running shoes and running clothes into this section. There is a zippered compartment at one end of the section (at the ‘top’ in backpack mode) that has a loose pocket that intrudes into the duffle section so its size can vary (like the shoe pocket on many gym bags). It is ideally located for a liquids bag. At the other end of the section is a handle on the top of the bag. In the inside of the top of the duffle section is an administrative section with five pockets and a key loop. On the outside of the top is a slash pocket suitable for tickets, boarding passes, etc.
The shoulder strap is soft and padded but doesn’t provide much friction on the shoulder to hold it in place. I used an Op/Tech shoulder strap connected to the centerline plastic rings. The bag was very comfortable in carriage. I tried the backpack mode for giggles and found the straps to be quite comfortable and well shaped. The clips are quite small for the rings and can be somewhat difficult to remove. The waist belt is very thin and it is difficult to see how it could be used to transfer any of the bags weight to the hips. The backpack straps cause a lump in the bag as they have a thick anchor below the top of the bag. It would be great if someone would come up with a way to dismount the straps from the bag for those times when they are superfluous (i.e. trips from airport to airport to rental car to hotel). A nice feature that most will never use are the lock anchors for all of the single tab zippers.
The TLS Convertible is the first bag that I’ve tried that bridges the space between a leisure use bag, like the Outdoor Products Essential Carryon and a piece of “business” luggage. I don’t know how well it will fare in getting aboard of a Regional Jet but it looks much smaller than it is and with the four compression straps, it may be able to be RJ cabin luggage. Based on my initial experience, the TLS Convertible may be a best in class design.
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