Has anyone recently used an Osprey Porter 46 as carry-on luggage on Air France?
Also, can anyone confirm that the dimensions for the Porter (22 x 14 x 11 ) are for when it's completely full or not?
Struggling to decide on what kind of travel backpack to get for an upcoming trip to France and am nervous about being made to check my bag at the gate.
Thanks in advance for your input!
Ive flown AirFrance with the Osprey Porter 46. It was 2 years ago, so not that recent, but those measurements are applicable to many airlines and Ive flown many and been fine. Fwiw
Suggest you visit youtube and search. Must be 120 clips about that pack and the many similar Osprey products. The thing is not a rectangular cube, more of a squished ovoidal sphere, so it can bulge if you overpack. Personally, I’d recommend Tom Bihn’s Aeronaut 45 ($300) or the Patagonia MLC 45 ($200, on sale for $140) But neither of those has the quality of harness on the Osprey so if you’re planning to slog many miles with a full load, Osprey is your winner. Still, there are dozens of excellent travel packs on the market including the well regarded REI Ruckpack 40 ($140).
At 3:10, you can see the Porter 46 in the Spirit Air sizer.
We're carrying a 21" TravelPro ultra light bag. It's actually 22" with the swivel wheels. Most of the time, we're waved on through the gate. But you've always got one gate agent trying to make an example..
We flew from Boston to Madrid and from Granada to Barcelona 2 weeks ago without incident. My bag fit the overhead fine.
Flying from Paris back to Boston, the Norwegian Air Shuttle lines must have had 800 people in them--like a maze. The agent said my 21" bag wouldn't fit overhead, and it went to "the rack" which it fit except for the 1" too high. I was nice but firm that we'd flown over on Norwegian without any bag incident. He finally gave in and sent us on to the gate.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose in the game of travel. I don't know how Air France operates, but you can always try.
As far as a travel backpack, I just use a small generic backpack. I see no reason to shell out $150-$200 on any fancy backpack when there are so many decent backpacks at places like Walmart that are perfectly decent.
As far as a travel backpack, I just use a small generic backpack. I see no reason to shell out $150-$200 on any fancy backpack when there are so many decent backpacks at places like Walmart that are perfectly decent.
TravelPro’sd current spinners
TravelPro 21” spinners range $120 to $300. For many of us, our travel backpack directly replaces the suitcases so, yeah, many of us will (perhaps gladly) spend the same $120 to $300 for versatile and reliable equipment.
I have one but haven't used it for several years. It did work fine as a carry-on on a trip to Germany but I don't remember the airline. My feeling was that it was a bit too substantial to use as my bag. Since that time, I have been trying to cut weight and use something a bit more flexible so that the bag could be squished more.
The Osprey is a great bag, though, and I hate that I don't use it. I probably should pass it on to someone who could put it to good use. I have so many bags I've bought over the years that haven't been just right for what I'm looking for that I could start a small luggage store.
Hi,
I travel with an Osprey 46.
If you you pack it full, it is too big for small aircraft.
I love the bag, it is well organized and has a great waist strap. I like having the extra room while touring. I can put extra stuff in there and have plenty of room. If I want, I can buy some stuff and check a bag on the way home. But, i I want to carry on for the flight home I need to reorganize and put some things in my personal item, or wear my jacket on to the plane.
If you have trouble limiting your packing I would suggest a 40 L pack.
Have you considered the MEI Voyageur bag? 3.5 pounds 22x14x9. It has been around a long time. I prefer my luggage to be 'sleek' as in not having a bunch of external pockets that can't be locked. Has an internal aluminum frame and solid waist belt. https://meipacks.myshopify.com/products/mei-voyageur
I carry a Tom Bihn TriStar, which clocks in at 18.9x13x8.1 inches and holds 2000 cubic inches of underwear, guidebooks, and shaving cream. It's not cheap, but it's guaranteed for life and it is compatible with the European carryon guidelines.
The Osprey Porter 46 is demonstrably bigger and while it could be permitted, it might be deemed too large for some carriers. You do get 800 more cubic inches, however, so that is something. Packing it full will make it roly-polyish, and it may look larger.
I took the Osprey 46 on Lufthansa and they are notoriously picky. I am over 50 took it on a solo trip to Scotland for 3 weeks using only public transport. So I was carrying it everywhere. I love it for ease of use on the body. As far as dimensions go I think it really depends on how full you pack it. There is a lot of ability to cinch it up tight. Good luck to you.
Kathleen
