Perfect Bag for Travel

First for the record I am not proclaiming a position in the carry-on vs. checked bag wars. I am very much a form/function/different-tools-per-task person. Some travellers will be strict minimalist light weight packers, and that is cool if you are going for a lifestyle thing. In my case (pun intended), sometimes I travel to different places and at different times of the year, and that changes my travel bag needs.

Then there are things like some airlines, like Turkish and Lufthansa, whose carry-on policy below business class only allows a single carry-on item..period; not one carry-on and one personal item,. One item period. But, they will let you check two bags.

Then there are times I will fly United from Denver (a hub) and because of having a Chase United Club credit card I can check two bags free, and/or have a normal 22X14X9 bag and one personal item. But that can change when I reach a connection airport in Eastern Europe and am switched to a smaller regional jet (Even on a time or two a plane with propellers). In those times I have had to check a 22X14X9 carry-on because it is too big (those overhead bins on Polish Air are kind of small).

And then there is the seasonal factor. It is easy to pack light going to Odessa Ukraine in the summer, but come winter it gets a tad colder there and winter clothing is bulky.

Then there are long layovers or overnight connections, and I want a change of clothes and such things.

So the perfect bag? It is for me the perfect bag depending on the described condition and factors. To that end I have a selection of travel bags. That selection includes a Nomatic Travel bag, a small Tumi backpack, and a couple different size carry-on bags. If I am travelling on Turkish where I know I will have to check one of my bags, I will check the larger carry-on bag and bring the Nomatic bag. If it is summer and I am able to carry-on both a carry-on and a personal item, it will be the smaller carry-on bag and the Tumi backpack.

And if it is winter and I am going to Ukraine, I check a check bag size suitcase (and one problem was solved by shipping a winter parka to our flat in Nikolaev, and boots and such things).