Big dilemma

Daniel... Try TJMaxx. I just bought a new one for a recent trip and it was about $40. I did not want to take my RS bag as even that is getting a bit too big for me. It was a designer small duffle type bag with small wheels and very lightweight. Two trips later and I really like it, and so cheap that if it falls apart I will replace it.

For your daily stuff, you'll need...a man bag. No one will question your manhood. You'll be in Europe and every man will have one. You may not be brave enough to use it back in ND, so just tuck it away until your next trip.

If your budget is tight, go to a thrift shop and buy a used duffel bag type deal for five bucks. How much stuff do you need for eight days? For wandering around during the day, if you've got more than will fit in your pockets, you're toting too much. Whatever you carry at home plus a map that will wad up is all you really need. The idea of lugging any kind of computer around gives me an acute case of the barfs. What use would it be?

Hello Daniel. I think an example of a "man bag" that Karen mentioned, is a small shoulder bag, for carrying small items while sightseeing. It would be an extra bag, in addition to the carry-on size bag that will be your primary bag. A good one is the Civita shoulder bag, available from "Travel store" at this website. It is made of microfiber. It might have a discounted price now. That is not the Civita day bag (back pack). The back pack is bigger, some people choose to carry it, because it can contain a jacket or sweater, and IPad, and a bottle of water, travel guide book, your trip diary book, a small amount of food, etc. I like the "Sunwashed Canvas" shoulder bag, from L.L. Bean. (Their catalog is on the internet). 4 or 5 colors to choose from. (Not the Messenger bag). Some people think that shoulder bag may look like a woman's hand bag, but people in Europe do not care about that. I carry that bag, its strap around my neck, with the flap toward my body. Thus the side of the bag that is seen is plain, it does not look like a bag for women. That bag is shorter than the Civita shoulder bag. I do not need the extra height in the Civita shoulder bag. But the Sunwashed Canvas shoulder bag from L.L. Bean is now at a higher price than the price for it when that bag was introduced, in the year 2006. If you buy a "carry-on" size bag that has wheels and a telescoping handle, be certain that its size (including the wheels and handle) complies with the airline's requirements for size of a bag carried into the airplane's passenger compartment.

A messenger bag would be perfect for carrying stuff around during the day. And, you can use it here too! They're very popular here for college students.

Daniel,, 8 days is a weekend bag to me,,,. lol,, its a short trip, get a cheapo backpack,, smaller rather then larger,, and yes, check out second hand stores . If it is small enough to be carry on then you don't have to fret about it being super tough( but of course should be in decent shape) as it will never be ruined by airline luggage handlers. I don't carry electronics except a small nanopod and an kobe reader,, both fit in my purse. Getting a messenger style bag is a GREAT idea,, your ipad should fit in it fine. Forget about carrying too many "knick knacks" ,, you don't need alot of stuff. Camera, map , money or credit care, lip balm and comb,, how much does one really need? When sightseeing why not leave stuff where you are staying, why carry it all around each day. If in transit then many train stations have lockers, if at a hostel they have lockers,, so a bit confused about wanting to carry around all your stuff all day?

Get a small messenger bag for the iPad. Down load the guidebooks you'll want and maps so you can use them when you're not connected. Put some pictures from home on your iPad so you can share with people you meet. Most people will have no idea where North Dakota is or what the countryside is like. Pam

Daniel, The "dilemmas" you mentioned are fairly easily solved. What type of luggage would you most prefer - a Backpack or wheeled luggage? You might have a look in the Travel Store (click the link above) as all items are currently discounted 20%. You may also be able to find some "Christmas sales" at outdoor or luggage stores in your area. One method you might consider would be to travel with both small carry-on luggage as well as a Daypack or Messenger Bag (aka "Man Purse"). Rick's Civita Daypack is a good model, as it's very light and packs flat. While you're sightseeing, leave the main luggage in your room and use the Daypack or Messenger bag to carry things like a Guidebook, Water or whatever. I don't see any reason to pack around your iPad unless it's something you'll need to refer to while sightseeing. Leave it locked in your luggage back at the Hotel. Especially for such a short trip, I don't see any need to pack along a Laptop as well as an iPad. When will this trip be taking place? Happy travels!

Thanks for the replies everyone. @Ken, this trip will be taking place the first week of March.
I am going to use the IPad to keep in touch with people back home, even though I will be gone for only 8 days. Also, I would like a convertible luggage. One that has both wheels and straps.

Seriously, what Ed says, go to a thrift store and get your carry-on and then wear a messenger bag for your daily sightseeing. Why do you need an i-pad though during the day while sightseeing? Contact your family and friends in the evening or at breakfast. That is just added weight to schlepp around all day unless you go ahead and scan the guide book pages and then leave the guide book at home. Utilize some aps for the various cities you are visiting, rather than the guide book if you want the i-pad with you.

The reasoning behind carrying the IPad with me was security. I felt it would be safer to have on my person. I may be wrong and might change my plans regarding whether I take it at all.

Here's a bag that fits your needs. It is slightly smaller than maximum carry-on but it has wheels, backpack straps and its $40. http://www.ebags.com/product/jansport/wheeled-superbreak/88470?productid=1157840 Sorry, I can't get the link to work. You'll have to copy and paste.

Love that Campmor bag so much that I bought one for every member of the family. Found the info here on the RS site several years ago and got them before the logo was plastered across it. But for what you get, it's worth carrying the logo around. It holds as much as our rolling carry-on bags but without a frame or wheels to weigh it down. In fact for our extended summers away, everything goes into a combo of this bag and our wheeled carry-on bag. Meanwhile, one of the offspring uses his bag for commuting by meto. So it's versatile.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. After some research, I elected to go with the following.... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NJSIJQ
The benefit from this is that the front can be detached and used as a day bag. High Sierra is a good name and look forward to trying it out next week when I go home for Christmas.

Daniel, There are two problems with your criteria for luggage with both wheels and straps: 1.) These tend to be more expensive than other types of luggage. For someone whose "BUDGET IS TIGHT", that may not be the best choice. 2.) That style of luggage is no longer as popular and therefore not as easy to find. The wheels and associated hardware add weight, so they're not as comfortable when used as a Backpack. However, there are some items of convertible luggage on the REI website, but they're not exactly "inexpensive". If you're intending to strictly use carry-on, you'll probably have to choose something no larger than 22". Cheers!

A messenger bag is one of the nicer styles of "man bag" that people are referring to. I don't get this "only what you can carry in your pockets" stuff, maybe because I'm a girl. Don't you at least want to take the RS book with you? That doesn't fit in a pocket. I won't judge on you taking a computer because I also like to be able to have an internet connection at least when I travel. I now have a smarthpone that works in Europe so I use that, but I used to take my netbook. It was great to watch movies on train rides and I could upload my photos to free up memory space on my camera and blog as I went. Do ipads use data networks or only wireless? I don't know that much about them because i avoid apple products, lol. I had trouble finding wifi in Paris so you might want to do some research into finding out whether you will be able to easily access wifi in the places you're going before you bring it.

and turn off the data function or your roaming bill will be several times the cost of the rest of the trip. We bought a convertible bag several years ago and thought it would be particularly helpful on the tall narrow staircases in the Netherlands. We went through extracting the straps and going up the stairs once. The rest of the trip and ever since the straps have remained stowed and we carried the bag and used the wheels. The straps, and strap stowage area, now are just dead weight and lost space, and having the convertible feature cost lots of extra money - wasted in my opinion.

The reasoning behind carrying the IPad with me was security so you mean if it was locked up in a locker you would worry about it while you were out and about? There would be less worrying if you had it with you in a backpack? Well until the bag was stolen or you were bumped into by a pickpocketing gang... Where are you keeping your passport and travel money and credit/debit cards? Not in that same highly vulnerable backpack, I hope. Scout around this website for wisdom on money belts and other more secure places.

Sarah makes the point about lugging a guidebook around. The RS guidebook for France in the Paris section devotes two and a half pages (sixteen inches) to the d'Orsay. Three point five inches are devoted to an overview of the museum, four to a puerile discussion of impressionism, five to a museum diagram, and the remainder to location, costs, hours, cafes, etc. If that's a stop for the day, you already know the hours, etc, before you leave the hotel. You can snag a diagram as you go in the door. If you're going there and don't know what impressionism is, you're a dolt. That leaves the overview which you should have read the night before - - if you can't remember the gist of its eight sentences for a few hours, you need to have your mom tape the entrance fee in your mittens. You do need some kind of map to figure out how to get there. How many stops can you make in a day? Ten? Probably not, but even then, hopefully, the average person could remember why they wanted to see those ten things without having to carry a one-pound reminder that won't fit in your pocket. EDIT: Ack!! The above was not meant to imply that Sarah is either a dolt or needs money mittens.

No problem Ed. I tend to take a guidebook with me because a lot of my trips have not allowed for as much advance planning as I'd like, so I like to look in the books for restaurant recs/etc as I travel. But I'm a lady and thus have a purse so this isn't an issue for me. Of course with smartphones/kindles/ipads you can put that info in one device which does other things, which is I think some of the best reasons for carrying one electronic item. (Not 3 like the guy in front of me at the airport the other day...iPhone...iPad...then giant laptop! he may have been traveling for work but i couldn't stop laughing at the redundancy of going anywhere with all those devices).

For eight days in March, I would second the thought of getting a messenger bag. You could easily fit eight days of stuff in there, it is easy to carry as it will be lightweight (a bag with wheels and a strap will not be), and you can carry your iPad in there plus any other incidentals for sightseeing (I think taking your iPad is a fine idea). LLBean has good ones, as well as most bike stores. My husband bought one for back and forth to work (he takes public transport) and he couldn't be happier. If you still want wheels, try the Rick Steves' store for that item.

Daniel: There have been similar questions on this board previously. If I were you I would skip the wheels and go with a convertible backpack. As discussed before, the Campmor Essential Carry-on at $28.98 is about as cheap as you are going to get. Here is the link:http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___60795. Also, for a daypack while touring try the Outdoor Products Packable Day Pack from REI at $16.50. Here is the link: http://www.rei.com/product/813922/outdoor-products-packable-daypack. Pack it in the Essential Carry-on if you are not using it. Follow the RS packing guides available on his web site and you should have no problem getting all your stuff in a carryon and avoid checking any luggage. Also, it appears that you may flying between France and Ireland. Remember they only allow one carry-on bag period. I trust this helps and have a good trip.