Best Cabin Luggage Bag, reprise

One bag maybe cannot do it all

In an earlier post on packing, I mentioned I had bought the Red Oxx bag for my travels. Here we are 18 months later and let me share a few opinions I have garnered.

Firstly, I can use this bag for any length trip. I did 3 weeks in autumnal St Petersburg with it, including both smart and casual. I did a 3 week trip around Turkey and Bulgaria, no problems. So in terms of size and content it is all you need. But I need to qualify this statement. When I stayed in St. Petersburg I was staying in one place so I packed a lot and it was heavy, not really comfortable to carry around. I also had a problem checking it in as hand luggage due to the weight, which I passed by having a second smaller laptop bag inside I separated out. With some airlines now being more careful over weight, one to check out.

A second issue is it is not a formal bag. Often when I fly I wear my best coat or jacket to save me carrying it and squashing it. But when in rucksack mode it does not look too good it must be said, disfiguring my style !

In terms of storage it is fine, plenty of pockets etc. One downside is the zips get caught sometimes. They are very strong and will not break but are hard sometimes to undo.

Would I buy it again ? No I wouldn’t. It is great for a casual getaway where the weight is not too much, and of course great wherever the pavements are not good enough for a wheelie case, but it is annoying when you are heaving it around the airport and see others effortlessly wheeling theirs around. In short, next time a wheeled version would be better.

Tags : airports

Written : 2013-12-15