November 24, 2009 Go lite, very lite - updated
;)
Lightweight backpacking outfitter GoLite’s new 2-pound convertible is a welcome addition to the growing wheel-less luggage segment. At $125 the TraveLite Convertible Carry-On looks like a mid-priced winner. More info to come. (Thanks to Buzz for the heads-up on this one)
Frank@OBOW
Here’s the super-light Patagonia Travel Duffel that Kate referred to in her comment:
It’s LIGHT indeed: 14 ounces with 2196 cubic inches capacity! And the straps look pretty comfy. Its dimensions are 17 x 12 x 10.5in (43 x 30.5 x 27cm) so it’s a little too bulbous for my liking and you know the lightweight material will bulge badly. Still, 14 ounces — very tempting.
Frank@OBOW
FlyerTalk lightest thread.
Frank@OBOW
PracticalHacks Kevin has been there/done that with the Patagonia Lightweight duffel. His video below:
Frank@OBOW
Reader Comments (18)
The Rick Steves website also mentions this recently-introduced bag, and its dimensions:
"Its dimensions are 21 x 14 x 7 (I wrote the company and asked) and the zippers are not lockable."
That would make it somewhat smaller than other bags as far as depth, BUT, if one's most likely airline flies the CRJ regional jet series, the shallower depth could be an advantage. Not mentioned above is that there is a WHEELED variant, somewhat more costly, and weighing three times as much.
I use the Patagonia Travel Duffel as my carry on. It can also be used as a backpack. It is $100 and at 14oz. a good deal lighter than the featured GoLite. The Patagonia is 50 denier nylon ripstop but a little smaller at 2196 cu in. It has been perfect for me and my growing minimalist packing adventures.
Hey Brad,
I reviewed the Patagonia Lightweight Travel Duffel several months ago - it's a very capable bag and despite its light weight, fairly tough. If your travel is casual or business casual, and you're making 1-3 day trips, it's killer. A minimalist packer could use it for longer trips. It's also (my opinion) a good looking bag.
Kevin
I would definitely have to use my packing cube(s) for my clothes if I had the Patagonia LW.
I have used the Patagonia duffel for three week trips and it works fine. I am a minimalist packer. I have to use packing cubes, though, or the whole thing will get squishy from lack of structure. By the time I'm done packing the duffel it is very solid. I have managed to get the following in there on a recent trip to Oz: 1 pr. shoes; 2 prs. REI Mistral pants; pjs/underpants/bra/socks/jewelry; 2 t-shirts; 2 sleeveless tees; 1 dress shirt; 1 rain jacket; 3 Royal Robbins extreme expedition shirts; toiletries. I still had room left. I found that I didn't need the dress shirt because the white Royal Robbins shirt doubles as a dress shirt. I can't recommend the REI Mistral pants highly enough. They dress up or down, wash easily, and dry quickly. Plus, they are great for long plane trips since the knees are articulated. Unfortunately, REI just changed the style a little and now even the petites are too long for me.
Their website says "weighs one third less than leading competitor". I wonder who that would be. Probably Patagonia MLC which is similar in size, features and the fact that it uses recycled materials. Wonder how this stacks up to the OPEC (no pun for avoidance of petroleum products intended) bag.
I used the Patagonia Lighweight Duffle on a trip to Thailand almost a year ago. It was fine, but that trip I was averse to backpack straps and used the handles instead, and they don't have any padding and can be rough on your hands. Of course if you are willing to pull out the backpack straps, it should be fine. Holds a lot of stuff! Lighter colors can be translucent.
I'd really like to see a review on the Golite convertible pack. I have used their hiking packs in the past (Breeze, Dawn, Gust, Jam) and they are very well made, very light, and very well thought out. But having just used an Outdoor Products Essentials Carryon which only weighs 1.7 pounds and cost $35 vs. the stated 2.0 pounds and $120 for the Golite, I'd really want to see what I was getting for the additional $65 or so in cost...
Well I just got an email from Golite as part of their seasonal promotion I suppose - BCORP09 - gives you 40% off. I have one on the way in black for about $80 with shipping.
Michael,
Very intrigued, both by the bag and your helpfully supplied promotional code. At $80, it makes a worthy upgrade from the Essential Carryon, especially given my experience with the quality and thoughtful design of Golite products.
Would you be able to do a quick review here when you receive yours? I can only find the one pic of the thing on the nets and while I have faith in Golite, I have more faith in referrals (esp. if you are the Michael W. who frequently posts on PracticalHacks).
Also, when does the promo code expire? If soon, I may just have to pull the trigger sight, um, once-seen.
Thanks.
Jay
ordered one in black with that coupon code as well. the website failed last night, but when I tried again this morning, the order went through just fine, $81 with shipping. I thought it might be too good to be true, 40% off on a brand new item, but I got a confirmation and shipping notification. will report back once I have it in hand.
Yep, same Michael W.
The GoLite "TravelLite Convertible Carry On" just arrived, in black, my standard luggage color.
Most of the exterior exterior panels (front, back, 1/2 the perimeter) are lightweight 210d ripstop nylon with its normal sheen - slightly "shiny" and prone to showing dust easily if you set it down on a dusty road, but conversely also easy to wipe down compared to Cordura which doesn't usualy show as much dust - because it "soaks" into the fabric - but is also much harder to wipe down. If you are used to ultra-light day packs, this is the same fabric used on many of them.
210d is quite strong, more than strong enough for carryon luggage in terms of shear strength (tearing), but supposedly not as resistant to punctures (pencil point type pressure) as the Cordura nylon panels used in the RedOxx AirBoss or similar panels used in the much cheaper Outdoor Products Essentials Carryon ($33) ("OPEC" as we call it here). So the TravelLite is best suited for carryon, not checking.
About half of the width of the perimeter of the bag is made of sturdier nylon, presumably because handle panels and handles are mounted on this side of the perimeter panels. A good choice, imho, and the "stiffener" panels under the handles should both spread the stress more widely to the fabric and reduce some of the sagging seen at the handle areas in similar bags. Both handles are comfortable, comparable to the Steves Classic Convertible but not as comfortable as the sticky rubber, grip shaped handle on the OPEC.
The other half-width of the perimeter panel is made of the lighter ripstop, since there are no handles on this half and the 210d is plenty strong for this location.
It should go without saying that on a bag this quality all interior seams (which are visible, due to the conventional "unlined" construction of convertible packs) are seam taped.
All zippers have classy zipper pulls, a combination of a short section of ripcord welded into a plastic tab. The tab is nicely sculpted with GoLite's name on one side and some design swirls on the other, in the now-more common "soft touch" semi-flexible style instead of hard Fastex buckle style plastic.
All zipper have "rain flaps" although the near side pocket one faces up, as does the lower shoe slot one. However I view the main function of rain flaps as protecting the zipper and making them less prone to slipping (spilling).
Only the main compartment zipper is "two way" with two zipper pulls. I actually prefer single direction zippers for most slots/compartments on most bags - exept for the main compartment, where dual direction, twin zippers seem to make it easier to zip open the bag and open it like a book or clamshell (BTW the main compartment zippers not only open fully on 3 sides, they partially wrap around on the 4th side, making it very easy to open clamshell style for packing). Of course that means you can only "lock" the main compartment zipper, but remember this bag is really designed for carryon, not checkthrough, so if you want to check it through with some security (what security at airports?) you will need to use a suitable overbag - something we don't usually consider, but actually common for hikers checking through hiking packs.
Most of the zippers are ripcord pulls only - no metal tabs - but the main compartment dual zippers and both internal panel zippers have small metal tabs as well. I pried the ripcord back from one of the main compartment pulls and found the ever-reassuring "YKK" logo; some companies are trying to hide the use of knock-offs by putting their logos on the tabs, I am glad Golite left the provenance of these zippers clear.
The most important compartment of this or any other carryon soft-sided suitcase is the main compartment, and the GoLite does not disappoint. Instead of dividing their bag into a main-main compartment and secondary-main compartment, with separate access zippers (e.g., the Patagonia MLC), the GoLite has a single main compartment accessed through a single zipper. Once opened, however, you see the interior is divided into two equal halves (about 3-3.5" tall each) with two full-sized zippered panels right at the zipper line that splits the bag in two - so the zipper panels actually touch when the bag is re-zipped closed. One panel is solid and one is mesh (except for the mesh panel, all interior panels are an ultra light, but tough-feeling, coated fabric - in my black edition, they are dark gray with a lighter gray ripstop grid). You could theoretically leave the main compartment partially unzipped to let the mesh compartment "breathe" but unless you stow slightly damp (not wet) clothing here, I don't see the benefit.
The beauty of this simple design, vs. main-main and secondary-main compartments (MLC), single large compartments with tie-down straps with or without an internal mesh "zero thickness" panel (OPEC) is that these fully zippered, full-size panels essentially turn the GoLite into two large packing cubes, zipped together. Hence no need for accessory packing cubes or accessories, unless you need the extra wrinkle proofing of an Eagle Creek Pack It, or need to further subdivide one of the GoLite compartments. Plus there is a neat aspect to the fact that if you "stuff" each half of the main compartment full, you can then use the pressure of the two sides to hold a folded sweater or casual jacket - you can half unzip the main compartment zipper, then slide in your jacket, then toss this in the overhead. Or, that space between the twin chambers of the main compartment has now formed an EXTRA slot that is full height/width and perfect for slipping in your 3-1-1 Ziploc, magazines or books, or perhaps even netbook or laptop (in a suitable Neoprene cover).
Please note that the GoLite is NOT designed as a hybrid clothing suitcase/briefcase. There are no key chains, pen slots, iPod nooks (unless you want to use the near-body slot). You either get a little accessory bag for such things (Bihn has them, or a stationery store sells a kid's style zipper pouch, or for iPods there are tons of accessory pouches) or take a personal bag (2-bag it) and stow such stuff there.
Also note that the GoLite does not have any compression straps or tie down straps, no sternum strap on the backpack straps or waistbelt. Hence for packing clothing, you'd be better off filling the body-side panel full first, before starting to fill the other compartment. My personal thinking is that I will use the body side compartment for big clothing - pants, shirts - and the far side compartment for toilet kit, rolled up underwear, shorts, pajamas, and other junk - in this way any irregularity caused by shoes from the shoe compartment jutting in, can be worked around.
On the outside of the bag, there is a near side slot for passport/ticket.
On the far side outside, there are three slots - twin shoe slots which are designed with "thickness" and easily swallow up size 9.5 mens loafers, one to each compartment, or Crocs, with resulting "open space" for socks and other small clothing items (fill the slot to give it some regularity of shape). Closer to the handle is another half-height slot, behind the shoe slot, which is "zero thickness" (must "rob" from the main compartment) which is useful for odds and ends - flashlight, other small, not too thick stuff.
Note that the "lumpiness" of shoes will not only intrude, at least partially despite the thickness of the shoe slots, into the main compartment, the far panel will end up slightly lumpy looking. The effect is greater with running shoes, middling with regular loafers, minimal with flatter Topside style loafers or sandals. YMMV. But my initial reaction is to do some trial packing and see how it works. I'm hopeful that GoLite gave this feature a workout and it's not a Big Ugly Mistake.
The included shoulder strap emphasizes comfort and not grippiness, so be prepared to use this cross-body if you have a slick windbreaker on, otherwise the bag will slip off. The webbing is very light weight, which is great, the plastic buckles secure, high quality, lightweight (but solid) plastic.
The backpack straps are pretty much "technology transfer" from GoLite's light packs. There is no sternum strap, no waist belt, but while I'd prefer a sternum strap, I can live without it. After all, just having backpack straps at all is 95% of the battle. The straps are easy and quick to attach and remove - the lower connection point is always out, not tucked away, but small enough to keep out of the way.
Although the OPEC is actually lighter than the GoLite by about 9 ounces despite its use of thicker fabric, it has no padding whatsoever. When I trial packed the OPEC (and used it for a car trip) I "gave back" the saved weight by using packing cubes, so the actual saving is somewhat illusory.
All in all the GoLite is very well made, with good materials and features, and looks sharp - worth the price even at full retail. The MLC continues to be the go-to bag if you have a 15-17" laptop, or need to check it through (without the laptop!), and the OPEC is the budget saving, "gets the job done bag." The Steves Classic retains its appeal for those on a Steves tour or unable to find the OPEC, but the OPEC is a massively better buy.
Michael,
Thanks for the thorough review! I am just about sold as a result (and no thanks to Golite's fastpacking, minimalist approach to web merchandising).
One and a half questions:
(1) How do the backpack straps "convert"? You mentioned that they are removable; I take this to mean that they are subsequently stuffed into one of the pockets already described, rather than being stowed into a dedicated pocket/panel (like the OPEC or MLC).
(1.5) You noted that the main compartment is lockable. I assume one would thread the lock through the metal part of the zipper pulls?
A shame about the lack of compression (I had half-hoped the interior dividers would work as compression panels), but I guess I could always overstuff one section to achieve a similar result.
Thanks again!
Jay,
The backpack straps unclip from rings at the bottom, then you just raise them an stuff them into the zippered panel behind which is their top anchor point. Much like the OPEC, MLC, Steves. The panel nearest the body, behind which the straps stow, is heavily padded. There is no need to thread small straps through tiny holes, thankfully.
1.5 - yes, as simple as that. I would recommend the "one use" twist off security zip locks that Steves sells on his website,they are light and non bulky, a traditional lock is going to look out of place.
The disposable twist off locks:
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=124&id=163
Once I can find a Patagonia Lightweight Duffel at a reasonable price, I plan to acquire one, mainly to use for shorter and casual trips, i.e., no dress slacks or sports coat, i.e., something I'd use for threee DAY to the Coast or Sierra, just like the one I wish I were doing this weekend along with my wife, but alas, I am on call for my specialty.
I would plan on using an Eagle Creek 15-inch folder with shirts and undershirts as the bottom "framework," a pair of jeans wrapped around that, everything else above that including pile jacket, wind jacket, with socks and underwear in an Eagle Creek Tube perhaps, toiletry items in the usual Eagle Creek zipped sack, etc. A small bag like that, maybe eleven pounds or so, would be handy for my WIFE to carry up a flight or two of stairs....as I carry her 30 pound roller!