My wife and I just got back from a long weekend at Wrightsville Beach. It was rainy much of the time, so we drove into nearby Wilmington (NC) and, among other things, we stopped in at The Traveler Store, which happened to have several RS models in the store.
I was impressed by the Convertible Carry-On. It fell safely within the size restrictions, although it will be important not to over-stuff it, since it has no rigidity. The trade-off is that it is very light, just 3 pounds.
I bought it on the spot, and my wife, a die-hard roller user, was tempted. The store did not have an Autobahn (but offered to order one), but after measuring the inch-longer 21-Inch Roll-Aboard, which came in about a half inch too long, I suspect the Autobahn may work.
That said, I had been sorely tempted by the Tri-Star. That definitely looks like a sweet bag, and I may still get one, but I'm thinking that it makes more sense for shorter business trips. Most of my business travel is one- to three-day hauls that are easily handled by my Eddie Bauer EB Guide (which sadly has been discontinued) although three days are a stretch. The Tri-Star would make a worthy, though pricier successor and probably would support a few extra days.
Jim, it sounds as if Heathrow and BA have relaxed a bit, which I guess is good news. We have a perfectly good Eagle Creek convertible and REI rolling backpack that we carried on through Gatwick in 2004 (American Airlines), but in 2007 we had to check them (AA and BA) because they were about an inch over the limit. That may have been the worst it got, as that was during the one-carry-on era.
The beauty of the RS Convertible is that it has more capacity than my old Eagle Creek that was too long.
