RS Carry-On Bags?

I've had the Classic bag for years and have been very happy with it. And I think it's a good value, especially on sale as it is now. The only difference I see is the convertible has belt straps to help carry the weight on your back. But that also makes it almost a pound heavier in weight. I think it depends on whether you expect to carry it around a lot on a daily basis, or just to and from airport, hotels etc. I often carry my Classic bag by the handle, or quickly sling it on my back, without feeling the need of the extra support.

I have one of the old bags, but just looking at them, the Convertible Carry-On has a bit more construction, the outside pockets have zippers that open the pocket wider (across the top and down both sides) as opposed to just a zipper along the top. Also the Convertible Carry-On has a waist belt in addition to the shoulder straps, which to me is a handy feature if you will be backpacking it often.

One could infer that the convertible carry-on is built a little sturdier, but I honestly do not know.

Besides what's mentioned above, the Convertible Carry On is expandable.

There are lots of bags on the market that fit the needs.

One bag I'm looking at is the Osprey Daylite 44. It fits the size of most airlines carry on and it only weighs 2.33 pounds. $140 but occassionally goes on sale.

The waist belt on this bag is thinner than the one on the RS convertible but it has a sternum strap that the RS bag doesn't have. Both help to lessen the weight on the shoulders.

If you don't plan to do much traveling, there are many inexpensive bags on Amazon.

The Tomtoc Navigator is under $100 and is good. If you don't need the backpack straps to hideaway, you should look at this bag.

Matein bags are also very popular.

I used the classic for 10 years. It's hard to beat for basic gets the job done. Still have 2 of them. They have little to break or fail.

DW and I both have RS original bags. Have used them all over the world. Probably 20 years. 2-3 overseas trips a year and we use them for domestic trips also. We always check them. They have been on chicken busses in Nicaragua, thrown around, piled on, sat on our laps for overcrowded bus rides. Still going. And so are we. 70 and 74. We carry them with shoulder straps only from train and bus stations and up to 2+ miles doing so. Usually she packs to 20# and me to 18#. I have size 14 shoes and often take an extra pair. It all fits. Journeys have been up to 6 weeks.
So, I am an advocate for them. They are on sale RS for $63.

Here’s an article and some comments from our forum:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/ny-mag-article-on-best-carry-on-backpacks

Love my RS roller bag, 2 wheels. Been on many trips, last tour it came home with a problem and the RS store sent me a brand new bag as a replacement. Donated the sticky handle to the youth shelter as some kiddos show up with trash bags for their stuff. Win for me and for the community.

I try to watch the weight going and take the Euro bag as my underseat, and check the Roller expanded on the way home if heavy with goodies.

Used both RS bags in the past before back problems made us go to two wheel RS bags. No problems with any of them, so you can't go wrong with any of them.

I have the RS Convertible Backpack. As others said, it has a hip belt and expands about an inch (which makes it too big to be a carryon). I think those are the main differences from the Classic.

I have used this backpack for several trips over the past few years, and I’ve decided to move on to a different backpack. It’s a good size and very durable, etc, but I don’t think it’s very comfortable overall. The hip belt helps a lot (taking the pressure off the shoulders), but after our last trip I vowed to either find a more comfortable backpack (sorry Rick!) or switch to a wheeled bag.

So last month I purchased an Osprey Fairview. I have high hopes for it, although I haven’t used it on a trip yet. I did try it out at REI (with their backpack weights) and it seemed a lot more comfortable and ergonomic. It has a hip belt, sternum straps, and is adjustable to your torso size. It also has load lifter straps and the shoulder straps have a lot more padding than the RS Bag. The Fairview is sized more for women, and I think the mens/unisex version is called the Fairpoint. I got it on sale for around $130. It’s more ‘hiker’ looking that’s some of the other options out there, but I don’t mind!

I don’t regret having bought the RS backpack, because it was inexpensive (under $100 on sale at the time) and I learned that I like traveling with a backpack vs a wheeled bag. I probably wouldn’t have wanted to spend a lot more than that not knowing whether or not I’d like backpack style luggage. I just think it’s time for an upgrade.

My husband also upgraded his RS backpack and he went with the Cotopaxi Alpa. That was my second choice, in fact I had a hard time making the decision between it and the Osprey. The Cotopaxi has more organization and it opens like a suitcase. It’s also very cool looking and not so hiker-ish. I learned during our search that there are now TONS of luggage style backpacks available at many different price points.

I don't know if I've mentioned this surmise regarding the convertible carryon before so here it is:
part of why it is a little unbalanced is that the laptop compartment is too far from your back when you are wearing it, but that's because the design predates the existence of laptop computers -- I think that compartment was originally intended to hold a jacket. See some of the older TV episodes and it will show as such.

Depending on the plane, the bag can fit into the overhead sideways when the expansion zipper is expansed.

I still use it when I have a lot of stuff to carry; otherwise I use the MotherLode Weekender Jr that Samsonite has recently revived from eBags. It opens book-wise and has a sternum strap. Expanded capacity is pretty close to the RS CC unexpanded.

A lot depends on what you will be doing. If you are "GOING BACKPACKING" there are better choices than the RS bags. If you wear it for 5, maybe even 10, minutes every 3 days to get your clothing and personal items from the bus to the hotel room, then whichever lights your fire will work. Me, I carried mine like a suitcase most of the time. The lack of structure and the lack of weight allowed me to carry a lot in the classic bag, and still meet the size and weight requirement on the airline. Check the sizes with the requirements of the airline you are flying, but otherwise they are both pretty nice.