Civita Day Bag

My husband does the same as the first two guys. I also have used it at various times.

I take a Civita Day Bag. I like it because it's about the lightest daypack you can find. I bought the black one and used a sharpie to black out the Rick Steves label (I'm not into giving free advertising - sorry Rick). It's taken some wear and tear and still looks pretty much new.

For the trip over, I put my plane stuff in it and put it in my carry-on. When I board the plane, the Civita comes out and stays with me while the rest goes in an overhead bin.

Whenever I have my carry-on, the daypack goes inside so I only have one item to keep track of. I think keeping track of only one item is the best anti-theft advice going. Theives prey on tourists who are disoriented and careless with their belongings.

On non-travel days, I carry the Civita with the basics for the day. Picnic stuff (swiss army knife, plastic fork and a paper napkin), tiny flashlight and other misc. stuff go in the small pocket. The big pocket holds a rolled up rain shell, possibly a sweater, part of a travel guide and drinks or snacks.

I think its a great day bag! Very light & durable. I do the same thing an earlier poster mentioned -- put plane stuff in it for the flight, then change to travel stuff when I'm in Europe.

I'll add my second, third, fourth or whatever. It's a great bag and it's a lot tougher than it looks.

Larry is right about how sturdy it is. We have used ours countless times, both traveling and at home, for the last 4 years. It still looks like new. Ours is black.

It is a great little bag!! Have used it on five Europe trips and it really stands up to normal use.

Just be sure to take a garbage bag in case of rain since it is not waterproof.

I like it too. I use it as my only carryon. (I check a small rolling suitcase. My husband is not a light packer, so I have to stand around and wait for luggage anyway.) It's big enough to hold everything I really need, but not so big that I am tempted to bring a lot of unnecessary things. It's also not big enough to be heavy to lug around.

I love mine too. It has been on 4 trips to Europe. It easily fits my medium sized camera, rolled up raincoat, fruit bought from the market and more. I like the 2 outer pockets; one fits the RS book and a notepad, the smaller is good for small handwipes, kleenex package, that sort of thing. I keep my small umbrella in one outer mesh side waterbottle holder and a waterbottle in the other (I use a carabiner to attach my waterbottle that I bring from home to the bag; I find my waterbottle easily falls out when I put the bag down).

I have the merlot color which is a deep sort of brick red color.

Ditto on the Civita Day Bag/Pack. It is definitely sturdier than it appears, and it's packable. For my next trip, though, I think I will get a Civita Shoulder Bag because it can be worn as a messenger bag, which I find more secure in city situations. But since these bags are so light and thin, I would still probably pack the Day Pack.

Ditto from a fellow Oregonian. Mine has gone on numerous trips. My family each has his/her own Civita bag.I don't recommend the smaller version that goes across the body. It is much smaller and doesn't do the job the original one does but it is good to stuff into Civita bag as a smaller version (purse/camera bag)when the need arises. It is lighweight, stuffable, strong and a good buy.

I've used mine a ton and it still looks brand new. Because the fabric is light and thin, it is not at all waterproof though. I've found large ziploc bags that work great as a liner. The small space bags work great as liners also.

Another thumbs up from me...it's funny, like the first poster, I bought the black one and blacked out Rick's name with a marker because I don't like to advertise products either. That being said, the Civita day pack is a 10 out of 10 in my books. I even recommended it to my brother and his wife and they purchased them as well( plus the Convertible Carry Ons) and as we speak they are in Europe for two weeks and emailed to say that they are delighted with their purchases.