Travel Pack as Carry-on?

I don't know how much "a bit big" is, but airlines are pretty strict, and getting stricter, about their rules for carryon. If you decide to chance it, have a smaller bag of your flight essentials that you can pull out if they make you check at the last minute.

Assuming you take off the daypack, it is still 3 inches too long (25")) and 4 inches too thick (13"). That's for American airlines; it's even more too large for European airlines. It might not fit in the overhead bin at all. Or, you might have to put it in sideways, depriving others of their space. I think there is a good chance you will have to check it. It's too big as an airline carryon, but you can still bring it on a train.

A bit big is an understatement. At 4200 cu, in it is about 50 to 60% bigger than a standard carry on bag. And it looks big. If they are doing any checking it will not pass. You might sneak it on some US carriers but you will not be close with the European discount airlines like Ryan air. Personally think those are much larger than needed.

It's not going on anybody's airplane as a carryon and with the darn frame you can't squish/cinch it down.

Did you pile up all your junk and find that it actually came to seventy liters and work from there?

donna,

I really doubt if that would be allowed as carry-on during international flights (especially with the Daypack attached) and it definitely won't be allowed on European budget airlines. Travelling by train will be no problem, as it should easily fit on the racks above your seat (try to keep it with you if possible on trains, rather than placing it on the luggage rack at the end of the car).

I often travel with a similar sized Backpack / Daypack and I always check it, which really isn't a huge inconvenience. I use the Daypack for a carry-on which is much easier to manage.

Donna,

good luck getting by as carry on.

what i noticed is that some flights will be nagging passengers to check in their ANY carryons since it going to be a full flight. If thats the case and if you're one of the last to board, you maybe forced to check it in.

Also, if you can why not return it for something that will be allowed for carry on. If you got them from REI, they have a great return policy.

happy trails.

Donna,
We used REI Outlook 40 last year as carry-on and they just fit the allowable carry-on size. If you really want to do carry-on only, I would recommend returning them for something smaller. Ours are 21x13x11, and we fit enough for two weeks, including a warmer fleece jacket for Switzerland. Every flight, domestic and international, that I have been on in the last several years has been full, and carry-ons are carefully scrutinized.

Happy Travels!

Donna,

Your 70 litre packs are a lot bigger than the 40 litre pack that Julie of Sacramento used as a legal carry-on. I would guess that you would be hard pressed to stuff your 70 litre packs at full volume into the steerage overheads even if you could sneak them past the gate controllers.

And if the 70 litre packs were kept thin enough to fit by not filling to full capacity, you would need to get an early boarding to use up the length of an overhead compartment for each bag. That creates a problem for everyone else with their maximum legal carry-on sized bag. (A similar problem sharing overheads occurs when roller bags are too long to fit the overhead in a "wheels in" position.)

http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=8&id=346

I sort of like these. Not too sure about the company that sells them. The guy seems a little shifty. But I have owned a couple for years and like them. Have lent them out and the people always like them too.

I do love my RS Rolling Backpack. Obviously it's a different category, but it also has rollers, very handy. Not what I would consider a "true" backpack, it doesn't have the support at the hips, chest strap and all of that, but it works well for reasonable distances and they loved it at EasyJet. He is a little shifty though, eh?

Well, that was certainly a resounding and unanimous response. We don't have a problem checking our packs, I was just curious because when reading reviews for them a couple of folks said they had checked them. Our upcoming trip is for three weeks. It looks like a good challenge for me to pack everything in the Farpoint, so I don't think I'll downsize. We won't know until we live with them on our trip, but after a lot of research and trying on multiple bags I think these are the ones for us. We spent so much time at REI the salesman jokingly told us he was asked to escort us from the store because we were making other customers nervous with our thoroughness. Thank you for your responses.

@ donna,

" ......We don't have a problem checking our packs,...."

just wait until they loose your checked in baggage once.

happy trails.

*
.......a good challenge for me to pack everything in the Farpoint, so

I don't think I'll downsize......

*
Where are you going? What are you taking? And are you backpacking? If not, you really need to work on the concept of packing lite. There are dozens of people both male and female who get by for multi-week trips with actually carry on size luggage. Just need to rethink priorities.

Donna, I am sort of an exception here in that I am not on the “Pack Light” bandwagon if packing light means not dressing appropriately or not being able to dress in a way that make the trip more comfortable for you. I don’t like catch-phrases but “packing smart” seems to make more sense to me. I am sure you do this but to be redundant; consider each piece, think about if you really will need it or not; consider how you can mix and match to make things more flexible and remember that there is laundry service in Europe. Then pack what makes you most comfortable, no matter what that means and Enjoy your trip.

Have you packed it with all your stuff, carried it around town on your back, up and down stairs, etc?

On flights to Europe, we've made several very tight connections, including one where flight attendants were closing the door as we approached. Had we checked bags, I can't image they would have made it on the same plane. Perhaps not a problem if you are staying in or near the arriving airport, but that's not normally the case for us, thus a major headache to merge with checked luggage if they did not make the flight. Also, on our last trip to Europe, I noticed many folks struggling mightily with large amounts of luggage. My point, be able to manage your luggage.

1) To check or not to check = a personal choice.
2) Amount of "stuff" is needed for a X day trip = a personal choice
and on #2 especially, you have to learn this, on your own, from your own experiences. I did.

I fly with just carry on more often than not. But I am not a fanatic. I'm guessing that I have checked bags on maybe 20 international flights leaving the US. I have had two issues. One instance checked a bag full of knives and TSA pulled it to see what was in it and it missed the flight out. The bag was delivered by the airport about 2 hours after we checked into our hotel. The second instance was on a flight to Vienna. That trip was generally cursed and we got our bags about 5 hours after checking into the hotel. We have checked our bags on about 30 international flights traveling to the US and haven't had an issue yet. BUT!!! Someday it will happen and so I know that someday I will have to go clothes shopping in some exotic location.

@ James,

i learned the hard way too but it was on my first international flight and flight in general. It was for work and we were only in Southampton, UK for 3 days and then onto Calais, France for 3 days and then to the East coast for 2 weeks.

They didnt find our luggage until the day before we left Southampton. Also, the airlines told us we would have to go back to LHR to pick it up. I told them, "they lost it - they deliver it". I dont have to be kicked in the balls twice to know i dont like it, so i do carry-on as much as i can and that includes the little puddle jumpers.

Some people are lucky and some are not. Also everyone learns differently and it would be interesting to see how long the Poster keeps those packs and if they are used on the next trip.

Happy trails.

Real packs are too long for carry-on and are more than likely to be disallowed. I'm surprised they haven't come up with a little more pack-like carry-on. So far the convertibles that fit the size requirements all ride like a sack of potatoes.

I'll still go with the convertible carry-on, however, because I find I'm rarely walking more than 1/4 to 1/2 mile with my bag - so carry-on is much more important than carry comfort.

If you really want to take a backpack, I'd also bring a bag to put it in when it's checked. Loose straps make a backpack a really likely candidate to get stuck or mangled in the baggage conveyors.

What Karen said. Load those puppies up with all you plan to take and walk around town, up and down stairs, on escalators and through doors. Take them on your local metro. Go to the Amtrak station and ask if you can try getting on and off and into the train with them.

Do not seek or accept assistance. There will be none in Europe. You carry/drag/roll what you bring yourself.

We typically go for a month at a time. We pack for a week plus a day, the extra day is what we wear (heaviest, bulkiest stuff) on the plane or the day we do laundry or have it done for us. We coordinate everything so that all items are worn more than the oft-mentioned 3 times per trip.

I use a Lipault 22" spinner. My husband uses a RS convertible backpack. Neither weighs over 20 pounds fully loaded. His 2nd carry on is a messenger bag and mine is a tote.

We are old XXL size people with lots of pills. If we can do it, anyone can.

Donna,

Sounds like you have researched and tried on the Farpoint 70L travel pack and know what you need/want. Go for it and don't look back.

Your one question to this group had been answed many times over. The 70 litre pack is too big to meet carry-on dimendtional constraints, and would likely exceed carry-on weight limits for airlines that specify weigh limits (commonly 8 kg). The REI website discussed max out to out dimensions and linear dimension limits for carryons. That means you should expect to check the main pack. The Farpoint 70 seems to be within checked bag dimensional limits. Just stay under 50 pounds and tag it with your destination itinerary.

If you have spent hours at REI, I would be surprised if the REI folks have not loaded the pack with weights. If you can handle the load, don't be concerned what others say. Your load is a balance between the strain of being a pack animal and having the gear that contributes to your enjoying of your travel.

My own bias is to in favor of a backpack over rollers. Your feet will handle cobbles and stairs better than rollers and especially spinner wheels. Just have good shoes/boots.

The Farpoint's day pack feature will be handy for day trips and can serve as your carry-on for valuables and must have if baggage lost/delayed essentials.

March to the beat of your own drummer.

PS. Leave room for a souvenir or two. You might find a yodeling marmot that you can't resist.

"What Karen said. Load those puppies up with all you plan to take and walk around town, up and down stairs, on escalators and through doors. Take them on your local metro. Go to the Amtrak station and ask if you can try getting on and off and into the train with them. Do not seek or accept assistance. There will be none in Europe. You carry/drag/roll what you bring yourself."

We travel to some of the most basic of places in Eastern Europe; but Lo, we have never encountered the degree of hardship you describe. At least not as a rule. AND, all across the world we have gotten much more assistance than we would have imagined.

On another note, we once had a couple of legal size carry-ons but were stopped by Virgin Atlantic on a flight to South Africa. They demanded to weigh them before they would give us boarding passes. One was slightly over weight so we had to open the bags and the floor at the ticket counter and redistribute while an angry mob stood behind us.

The weight limit on most airlines is 12 pounds more or less. An empty bag can easily weigh 4 - 8 pounds depending one material, wheels, etc..... It's easy to exceed the weight limit if you aren't careful.

Edgar, thank you for sharing your perspective and encouragement. You are right in assuming that we loaded the packs at REI. The Farpoint comes in two sizes and happened to be the pack that both my husband and I found to be the best fit. We really like the detachable daypack and intend to use that as our carry-on as well as our bag for touring and bike riding while in Europe. I liked the REI brand travel pack a lot as well, but the Farpoint has, in my opinion, a better system for containing the straps which will be important since we will be checking these bags. It is our intention to keep our loads to 25 pounds or less. I look forward to the challenge!