Rick Steves Velocé Bag

I bought a Veloce bag thinking that it would be good as a day bag while traveling. It turned out to be large (for me) and relatively heavy. It's much more of a messenger bag style and might be OK for transporting a laptop or something. But in my opinion it wouldn't work as a day bag. It's also not very packable, as it's made of heavy fabric.

I used the Veloce bag on my last trip and I found that the bag was just too heavy to use for a day's sightseeing. I tried using it using on one shoulder, then across my chest, and then as a backpack. Although I found the pockets on the outside very convenient, by day's end I was cursing it. I'm now using it as a book bag back home and am very satisfied with it. My cousin used the RS's microfiber backpack and loved it.

The Veloce bag is a good size for day trips. A folded umbrella, and a sweater (pullover), books, food, water, a wall calendar that you buy there, can be put in it. As a low-priced bag, used for one trip, I think it is satisfactory. At museums and art galleries in Europe, the bag can be parked somewhere there while you walk through the museum. Many museums and palaces and mansions have lockers for tourists to put their bag in. But your items in that bag may not be secure, when you are at crowded train stations, as I think the zipper can not be locked to anything. Some thieves in Europe have skill in unzippping bags, and taking an item out of the bag, and the bag's owner is not aware of that.