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Comment by siberianbear | Hacker News Reader

I don't even get why everyone has these roller carry-ons. I have a soft-sided backpack designed specifically for air travel. It always fits in the bin and it's way faster to carry than something that rolls on the ground with wheels. And ditching all the hard sides and wheels makes everything weigh less.

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do you also bring a "personal item"? for me the backpack is my personal item, so my carry on needs to be something convenient to carry while already wearing a backpack.

I have a laptop bag, but I usually don't bring it and just put my laptop in my backpack.

I've taken to traveling with this[1] bag from Osprey. I typically put my cameras and tablet in a separate small backpack, though for shorter trips all my stuff will fit in the Osprey (just in case I get really unlucky with overhead - I will not gate-check my electronics). For longer walks, I strap the small backpack to the Osprey. For short walks, I wear the Osprey normally and sling the other bag over a single shoulder.

1 - https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product/farpoint-40-FARPNT40_52...

Small/medium, or medium/large?

My wife has the SM and I have the ML. Mine is slightly taller overall, but unless you set them side-by-side and have them packed full, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference. In theory, if mine is fully packed, it might not fit in a smaller overhead, but I've never actually had that happen - even full, they have enough "give" to jam into the bin.

Also, as mentioned elsewhere, the backpack is much more likely to be allowed onto a flight that is doing the "mandatory" gate check thing that is common on smaller regional jets/turbo-props.

Edit - FWIW, my last trip to Scotland, I had 2x shoes (running, hiking), clothing for 4 full days, 1x running clothes, a Patagonia Nanapuff jacket, baseball cap, belt, rain coat and rain pants, and toiletries. All fit with ease. In the second pack (an REI UL pack), I had 2x camera bodies, 3x lenses, iPad Mini, chargers/cables and spare batteries for all, binoculars, sunglasses, headphones, and passports/travel documents. Not sure I could have crammed it all into the Osprey - probably if I cut back to a single camera/lens and went to 3 days clothes (doing laundry either way, so 4 was overkill).

Can you stash/remove the hip belt while still comfortably using the shoulder straps? The omnipresence of hip belts is one of the reasons I don't care for carry-on backpacks (that and the fact that I'm normally wearing a small backpack with laptop, headphones, snacks, anyway). I find the hip belt very useful if I'm actually backpacking and otherwise really annoying.

no, but they lie close enough to flush against my back

Ok, thanks. I might take a look at some of Osprey's other bags. They seem to have similar options without the hip belt in their "duffel" section.

Their duffels are nice, but be sure to check the dimensions. They tend to be longer and narrower - while they'll probably squish into an overhead, they aren't optimized for that usage.

Thanks for the heads up. I’ll be careful about that.

Check out Timbuk2's Never Check Duffel and Never Check Overnight Briefcase. The duffel has backpack straps and looks like a good overhead bag. The briefcase looks like it will fit in most under-seat areas. If I did more business travel, I'd probably look closely at these, but right now, I'm only flying 2x/year for work and 2-3x for pleasure.

Appreciate the suggestions. Will definitely take a look. I don’t fly a ton but have been considering a proper backpack or duffel carry-on for a while.

Not on this particular bag, but I don't find it to be a problem. When I'm traveling in Europe, I'm often walking enough to want it (train station to hotel, etc). My wife always uses the hip strap - when the bag is full, it's not light.

This bag is really intended to be a true do-it-all pack. I've seen other brands with removable straps, but I've found those tend to be very minimal straps and not all the useful. I have other lightweight packs without waist belts.

Because roller carry ons don’t make your shoulder tired, especially when waiting in the lines. And my roller is probably smaller than most people’s backpack.

This Tumi Voyageur 4 wheeled carry-on bag fits even in the regional jump jet bins, and under the seat of full size planes:

16” x 14” x 7.5” = https://www.tumi.com/p/osona-compact-carry-on-01100001077/

I often business travel 6 full business days with this bag, including a sport coat, dress shirts, etc., in fact I’m heading to CNCF with it right now. (Have leisure traveled 3 weeks with it.)

It is the smallest sensible 4-wheel roller I’ve found, but I’m always on the lookout for others. This bag though, I’ve never once been asked to check.

Tumi also has slightly larger options, but they won’t fit under the seat or in the regional jet bins:

16” x 16” x 8.5” = https://www.amazon.com/TUMI-Carry-Wheeled-Briefcase-Computer...

15” x 17” x 8” = https://www.tumi.com/p/compact-4-wheeled-brief-01171781041/

Your airmiles may vary...

>I don't even get why everyone has these roller carry-ons.

They over-pack, can’t carry that weight, and don’t have a checked luggage strategy.

Sometimes you just can’t check or slim down, but a lot of people don’t really try.

    > why everyone has these roller carry-ons[?]

Because backpacks duffel-bags easily get heavy and uncomfortable.

They're especially miserable in hot weather. Also all the straps, do-daads, pockets and zippers get annoying.

The optimal thing is a hardshell roll-on with 4 wheels that stands up by itself. A smallish one is very good for overhead, but if you have to check it, no problem.

Bags designed specifically for carry-on use[1] don't have most of those problems. Comfortable shoulder and hip straps. Straps that zip away when needed. Removable cross-body (duffle style) strap. No bulky external pockets to snag on things. And unlike some of the larger "carry-on" rollers, it fits in the overhead on all airplanes, even the smaller turbo-props.

1 - https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product/farpoint-40-FARPNT40_52...

Also, hard shell bags are less likely to pick up bed bugs than soft cloth bags.

One big reason is that they are clearly labeled as being legal carry on size. No one wants to pack a duffel then pull out a tape measure.

Do you have any links to check those out? Thanks!

I have the "Sky Train" bag from Red Oxx and I love it. It's a bit expensive, but it's very well made. I've abused mine a lot over a ten-year period and nothing has broken. The shape and size makes it perfect for overhead bins.

https://www.redoxx.com/sky-train/91019/product

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