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Eagle Creek Int'l Carry On

OK you guys, so far I'm impressed with this little bag! I mentioned that sister had chosen this bag when asking about the RS Rolling backpack. I hope it performs well for her on our trip this fall. And I'm sorta wishing I had one of these for myself!

Sister had the bag shipped to my house. Oh goody, time for a practice pack! I used my clothes as we are similar size and rolled everything.

The main body of the bag doesn't zip all of the way open, but probably 3/4 of the way, leaving plenty of room to fold back the flap and maneuver inside the bag, unlike my Appenzell. There is a zipper down the middle of the interior lining, not sure why, but it is installed inside out with the zipper pull in between lining and body of bag. Not sure if that is intentional or not or why it is even there. Maybe someone here knows? Anyway...

In the main body I packed the following:
in a lg RS cube : 7 shirts (some 3/4 sleeve, some long) and 1 set of thermaskins - top and bottoms
1 pr walking shoes (bottom of bag)
2 pr. pant and 1 pj's along the side of bag

In the front zippered area:
in a sm RS cube: 5 underwear, 4 socks, 2 bras, 1 pr light slippers

I think I could get the bag flatter by not using the small cube in front as there is a good amount of unused room above the cube. She is going to completely unpack this bag at each stay so no big problem with that except her dirty underwear might be strewn all over at Schiphol when we depart. Guess I will try using 2 ziploc bags instead of the small cube.

I might be able to still squeeze her rain jacket OR a sweater into the bag but don't think it will hold both without overloading the bag and putting stress on the zipper. The other will just have to go into her personal bag with meds and tablet. The bag has two compression straps inside, 2 on the outside, and the zippers seem heavy duty and very sturdy. This bag converts to backpack if she wants and the straps fit down into a zippered area on the back like the RS convertible bag. Something fairly flat might be pushed down into that area - maybe the rain jacket. There is a top handle, extension handle, and also a side handle to carry it like a suitcase.

Total bag weight is 16.3 lbs with everything above in it. Clearly I need to work on the weight of my own bag!

Posted by
1028 posts

Yes, Eagle Creek has my eternal luggage loyalty. I have the Lync System international carry-on and I bought my daughter a Load Warrior international carry-on for graduation this year. We both love them. I'm traveling extensively for work this year and mine has fit in every tiny overhead bin on regional jets so far. And it did 7 weeks In Italy last summer without showing any wear. (I confess I bought the matching orange daypack, couldn't resist.) And I'm totally over carrying a backpack now that I see how well the wheels have taken every terrain.

Which model did your sister get? 2 wheels or 4? They have several others in the same size, but the two we bought are the lightest they have. Resistance is futile. Get your own and stop the bag envy!

Posted by
985 posts

Nelly - she got this two wheeled bag: Eagle Creek

I was surprised I got so much into it. When I first pulled it out of the box I was thinking, "Uh oh", but this is going to be a perfect size for any season imo. I just carried my Appenzell for a five day trip and fit almost the same amount into it except for shoes. I'm thinking seriously about this bag though....

Posted by
101 posts

Thanks for the review of the Eagle Creek Expanse International, which I've been eyeing. That is the first bag of theirs for which I like the aesthetics as well as the functionality. Right now I have something similar: this 18" Osprey Ozone, which is insanely light and perfect for a lot of my travel -- but I'd also like something with a more normal double handle that I can loop a secondary bag over, and without a curved back, which makes it difficult to pack. I'm shooting for a more streamlined look without colors; I wonder if it's possible to replace the zipper pulls with black ones, and if by packing lightly and cinching it down, the depth could be kept to a minimum.

Finally, if you don't mind measuring, what are the real-life dimensions of this bag, with wheels and handles?

Posted by
985 posts

Beth - I'm getting 21"X14"X9.5" on the packed bag. It is sort of fat on front where I haven't transferred the small cube into 2 baggies. The extension handle tucks down into an area surrounded by hard plastic to protect it. The fabric handle on top sticks up above where the extension handle is lowered into place. The fabric mashes down easily. Hope this helps.

Eagle Creek gives slightly different dimensions:

Capacity: 2045 cu in | 33.5 L
Expanded Capacity: 2225 cu in | 36.5 L
Dimensions: 13.75 x 21.5 x 8 in | 35 x 55 x 20 cm
Expanded Dimensions: 13.75 x 21.5 x 9.75 in | 35 x 55 x 25 cm
Weight: 5 lbs 11 oz | 2.59 kg
Material: 420D Two-Tone Poly, 300D Diamond Ripstop Poly, 500D Oxford Poly

Posted by
490 posts

Thanks for the review...looking forward to reading about it after you tour with it...or your sister does. Have a great trip!

I never thought that wheels on a backpack were going to be comfortable against my back for me, so after years of traveling with a 22" roller ( spinner recently) and one small day bag, I tired of lifting the 22" roller onto planes, trains and up stairs...

I opted for the combination below on a trip to Rome, Naples, Ischia and Capri last fall, train (car travel in Ischia). It worked so well, I am using this system again in the fall when I return.

I liked taking 2 bags: one 15" X 13" X 9" 2 wheeled bag that worked great on cobble stones, and was easy to pick up and carry onto trains or up steps etc. 2nd bag was a meduim backpack, which I was going to use anyway, this distributed the weight of my items for a 2 week trip in changeable weather.

https://www.amazon.com/Travelon-Wheeled-Underseat-Inch-Black I packed all this and it weighed 16lbs.
1 pair shoes
1 pair flip flops
1 hat
1 rain poncho
1 thin windbreaker
4 pair underwear
3 socks
1 bra
1 long sleeved therma silk shirt
1 p. jeans
1 p. cotton capris
1 p. zip off pants
1p. shorts
6 t-shirts
1 long sleeved T shirt
1 button down travel shirt w/zippered pocket
1 beach cover up/bathrobe not great beach weather but we stayed at a spa on Ischia with indoor/outdoor facilities for 4 days
1 bathing suit
1 sarong/beach blanket
1 mini fold down nylon back pack/day bag
1 folding nylon shoulder bag
1 small camera
Small zip compartment has a built in plastic pocket I put my quart sized liquids in there, pens, cards, paper, mesh pocket fit my ipad and charger instead of outer pocket it was more protected in there. There was a bit of room left in the top of the bag, so it wasn't over stuffed.

https://www.ebags.com/product/osprey/porter-30-travel-backpack/ This was not even 1/2 full on the way going.

I wore: 1 pair cotton pants, 1 t-shirt, 1 long sleeved t-shirt and a thin cotton sweater, sneakers, scarf ( socks, underwear, bra)

Posted by
985 posts

Thanks for the list, JJ. I have a Civita daypack if she wants to take that as well as a zipping Laurel Burch tote.

Posted by
19052 posts

Total bag weight is 16.3 lbs with everything above in it.

And the bag weighs, according to Eagle Creek, 6.1 lbs. That's only 10.2 lbs of "stuff". Put it in a 1¾ lb ($30) Essential Carryon and you have less than 12 lbs to carry. No need for wheels or to spend all that money.

Posted by
985 posts

I know, Lee, but she has chronic asthma which acts up if she overdoes/is under stress. She can walk a long way, just not at my speedy clip. She can climb a lot of stairs, just has to break. Once she gets out of breath it is downhill from there. She recently helped somebody move into a 2 story house so she could probably carry a bag the short distances we will have, but this bag is what she wanted. Hubby and I will continue to carry our RS Convertibles or Appenzells until we can't.

I am also realizing I can edit her bag a little as she will have the clothing she is traveling in. That means at minimum that a shirt, at least 1 if not 2 underwear can come out, maybe a pair of socks as well.