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Reviews of RS products I bought 15 years ago

I've been using the RS Classic Travel Backpack and the Civita Day Pack since 2003 when I bought them for a trip to Italy. I have taken them on dozens of trips, foreign and domestic, and they are both holding up very well 15 years later.

The backpack is a soft-sided thing which easily crams into overhead bins. Sometimes those bins look full - and they would be for a piece of hard-sided luggage - but the soft-sided backpack form-fits into those tight spots. The backpack has several interior and exterior compartments for stashing stuff in a semi-organized way. It also has a clip fastened to the interior base if you want to clip your keys or moneybelt to it. At one point the backpack frayed along a seam where a zipper is, but a tailor fixed it good as new.

The Civita Day Pack - which I took to Civita di Bagnoregio on its first trip - is this really lightweight mini backpack with three zip pockets. It also has a clip on the interior base. I once packed sandwich meat and a candybar at the bottom of one of the pockets on a hot summer day and forgot about it. When I returned home days later my nose altered me to a truly vile union of substances in my day pack. I threw the pack in the wash and it came out perfectly clean. I've also run my bigger backpack through the wash without any ill effects. Neither the day pack nor the regular backpack are water-proof but, hey, what do you want?

I also bought the RS Toiletries Kit in 2003 and it has worked great. It has several compartments and a hook so you can hang it on a sconce or some such. Very handy in shoebox-sized bathrooms. Throw it in the wash with your jeans. Please, I insist. It also has a small plastic-like glass mirror which the airport goons never hassle me about for some reason.

Oh, what else? I've also used a couple different RS moneybelts with success but they are much newer than the luggage. The more recent ones are a tad larger and with an extra slot. Thank the old gods and the new that they can also be tossed into the wash with no ill effects.

What stuff have I bought from the RS store which hasn't worked out? I bought the Travel Alarm Clock in 2003 (before the age of smart phones). It worked fine for a few years unti it didn't. It's obsolete today, of course. In 2005 I bought a Swiss rail pass but it doesn't work at all any more. Gee, thanks, Rick.

Posted by
2816 posts

Well, I am less impressed. I bought Civita day pack in the fall and first time I used it was in May on a two week trip to Greece. One of the straps ripped almost off within a week. I was afraid I was going to not have any back pack at all.

Beth

Posted by
9022 posts

I've had the Classic for about 6 years. The best part is that it weighs less than 2 lbs. I keep looking at snazzier new replacements, but can't beat that low weight.

Posted by
4657 posts

Glad you like your RS items. The problem with reviewing things 15 years old is that it is no longer relevant for future shoppers. Even with the same name; design, fabrics and quality changes...it is no longer the same product and new buyers are looking for the same reliable product you have reviewed. Case in point, entry #2.
So my advice is to keep what you have and don't expect the same satisfaction when you replace or upgrade any product.
Any item designed to withstand travel and baggage handlers should withstand a washing machine. I machine wash mine.

Posted by
1531 posts

I have a back door bag even older than Eddie's (no interior loop to attach things to) carried it on last trip, kept it under 20 pounds outgoing, but the tests of wearing it for an hour in the house while doing laundry was killing my lumbar. Bought the cheapest "weight lifting belt" I could on Amazon .... and that was the magic ticket. Zipped it all up to check coming home, wish I had realised that the zipped area covering the back pack straps would have been a better place for that last dirty t shirt than was my personal item
Just upgraded to an osprey far point 40

Posted by
2738 posts

As beat up as my 12 year old Civita day pack looks it has not failed and I will keep it as long as it lasts. I use it every day for the gym, at the farmers market on weekends and, of course, for traveling. The newer models, as above, have garnered less than stellar reviews so those deciding on purchases based on the OP post-caveat emptor!

Posted by
1453 posts

The problem with reviewing things 15 years old is that it is no longer
relevant for future shoppers

True, but it's a double-edge sword. Folks reviewing newly purchased items cannot speak to their durability.

Posted by
6552 posts

We're still using our 9 year old Civitá bags. DH takes his on trips as his day bag; mine gets a real workout: when I'm in training for a RS tour, I fill the Civitá with books and wear it on my walks. One end of the little loop at the top is slightly frayed, so I'm always careful to pick the bag up by the straps. Otherwise, there's no sign of wear.

Some of you are sick of hearing me rave about my Appenzell, also 9 years old. It's my main travel bag, and has never failed me.

I was disappointed in the RS travel alarm; the first one I bought lasted only a year. I got another last year with our trip credit; so far, so good.

We have a little hanging toiletries kit that I bought for DH about 20 years ago, and it needs to be replaced. If we get the Travel Store credit again next year I may try the RS model.

Posted by
4657 posts

FastEddie, I don't mean to diss your reviews, but quality between old and new RS products comes up several times a month. It is quite apparent when they changed manufacturers and components....they did not last like the old stuff. Shopping sight unseen and relying on a brand name is no guarantee of fit, durability or practicality for the new user. The one thing going for RS products is that they tend to stand behind their product and replace faulty workmanship.

Posted by
3961 posts

Our 12 year old Civita Bags are like new. Our Toiletry bags are 10 years old and still going strong. Washes well in a lingerie bag, and hang to dry overnight. No problem with our 2 year old RS Travel Alarm.

Posted by
16408 posts

The bags from years ago are different from the ones today. Just because a bag from 15 years ago held up for that long doesn't mean the same bag sold today will. They may look the same but they are different.

The price of the bags stay the same over the years. I can't believe that costs haven't gone up in a decade or two. The only way to still make a profit is to cut costs.

I have the original ETBD Back Door Bag. It was replaced by the convertible carry on. When I compare the bags from then and now, and even bags in between, I see the difference in quality of materials and workmanship.

If you take one or two trips a year, and get one without any defects, they should last a few years. But today's bags are not the same as before.

Posted by
166 posts

Had my Civita back pack & RS toiletry bag for 10 years and their still going strong. I had the RS rolling backpack till my daughter decided she had to have it, now I use a Pacsafe Venturesafe 45L.

Posted by
1022 posts

I am getting ready to test the warranty on my Civita Day Pack which has a tear in a seam. It was purchased about a year and half ago. We will see if they fix or replace.

Posted by
740 posts

I really like the concept of the Civita daypack. Easily packable, lightweight and big enough to hold stuff while out and about. However, I will echo complaints about the quality of the stitching of the straps to the body of the backpack. I have had two Civita daypacks where the strap has separated from the body in the middle of a trip. The company has been great about replacing the daypack at no charge, but that doesn't help in the middle of the trip.

This year I used the Ravenna Daypack as my out and about bag. I like the pack but it definitely doesn't compress in my main travel bag like the Civita.

Posted by
19283 posts

Any item designed to withstand travel and baggage handlers should
withstand a washing machine. I machine wash mine.

How does that work with rolling bags? Particularly one with a handle?

The problem with reviewing things 15 years old is that it is no longer relevant for future shoppers.

But his comment in paragraph 2 about soft-sided bags is timeless.

I just completed my fourth trip (six weeks total) with the eTech Weekender Jr. I bought a couple of years ago, and it is standing up very well. Unfortunately, eBags doesn't carry it right now.

I think a lot of how well a bag stands up depends on whether or not it is checked. I only carry on, and I can make sure my bag is handled with care.

Posted by
6552 posts

It looks a lot like my Appenzell; it may be bigger, though.

Posted by
302 posts

I miss my ancient black Civita bag! It was indestructible, frequently washed after trips and still looked like new. I gave it to my adult daughter when she started travelling (I used to carry her day items in it when she was younger). I replaced it about 2 years ago and was disappointed. While the style is still the same the fabric was not, one of the mesh pockets ripped almost immediately, straps started coming loose, as others have mentioned. I ended up giving it away and now use a black Baggelini back back that zips into itself. I don't really like it, either- my advice is, if you have an "original" RS product hang onto to it!