Howdy all,

Would love to get some advice. I'm going to China next February for a month. It will be cold. I'll be doing a lot of train travel. I've traveled in China a fair amount and have learned that ease of movement and light bags are the way to go. I have an old Eagle Creek Solo Journey bag that I am looking to replace - it's got backpack straps and a hip belt and has been a great bag for me. I like having a larger daypack/backpack along for day trips and have recently gotten the Red Oxx Mini-Ruck, which I love. So I'm trying to figure out what the primary bag should be. I tend to want something with backpack straps, though that makes juggling the Mini-Ruck a little problematic - I'm going to try putting a shoulder strap on it to see how that works for when I'd have to carry both.

So, Aeronaut? Skytrain? MEI (though I'm worried about the backorder time)? I'm tempted because I like the Mini-Ruck so much to go for the bigger C-Ruck and see how that works, in spite of the inconvenience of top-load packing.

Or see if I can coax one more trip out of my loyal Solo Journey....

Thoughts?

Ah, another EC Solo owner. I'll bet you're retiring yours for the same reason mine was added to the closet (I have lots of luggage): the fabric dried out and you really don't think it will survive another trip.

You're right. When EC bags are ready to die you can tell! The fabric turns into this stiff, powdery mess (from the released waterproofing) and scratches unpleasantly into your hands, almost like a paper-thin Brillo pad. Don't even think about checking it once it does this - the fabric will split with the least provocation. To be very honest, I actually thought about getting new fabric from Seattle Fabrics and rebuilding the bag, but common sense reared its head and sent me to my Air Boss. I may lament my pack straps, but I've learned to live with it. I still toy with making a pack-strap oversling for my Boss, though.

Since you want pack straps, let me be blunt here: get the Aeronaut over the Sky Train. I've seen both bags, side by side, and if you want to double-pack with the mini C-Ruck, the Aeronaut's sternum strap will get your thanks every time. MEI bags are nice, but if time is not on your side I don't think Ahmed can deliver a bag to you soon enough.

You can move things about in different weight zones with the end pockets on the Aeronaut (something the Sky Train cannot do), and the Aeronaut does not look as large as it is. It fits into sizer boxes, but visually it just doesn't look larger than an Air Boss or a Sky Train (although the Aeronaut is full maximum carry-on dimensions). It's not an option, though - get the matching cubes from Tom Bihn. Since you can't bundle wrap, the cubes will save your sanity. Think about getting two of the clear quarter packing cubes - they're really useful and two of them will fit perfectly into one of the end pockets on the Aeronaut.

I use TB's cubes in my Air Boss; if you want a lightweight daypack and don't need outer water bottle pockets, I also recommend their convertible packing cube backpack, or the convertible packing cube shoulder bag.

And I can't recommend Tom Bihn's Absolute Shoulder Strap highly enough. If you want a cushy shoulder strap which makes your bag feel lighter, that's the one to buy. You can add it onto your Aeronaut order at checkout.

Oh, gah!!! It got to the point where I needed to pull the trigger and I went for the Skytrain - the reason? I thought for once it would be nice to have matching luggage (as I may be needing to do some business travel as well). I ordered an extra claw shoulder strap for the Mini Ruck too.

Great advice, Alana - would that I'd read it sooner! I really was tempted by the end compartments on the Aeronaut, which seem like a very smart design to me (mainly as a place to put shoes, and I'm going to need a pair of heavy ones in addition to what I wear on the plane).

Now I'm checking out toiletry kids on LL Bean to replace my old (dying) one, hoping I can get by with the small.

And yeah, my Solo Journey is at least 20 years old.

A follow-up to my own post/question - I got the Skytrain and was very happy to discover that the large and unwieldy pair of winter boots I will need for this trip fit in the second smaller compartment with some room to spare (and they are Sorels so they are big). I don't think they would have fit in the Aeronaut's end compartments. I can put my 12 " laptop in the outer zipped pocket for easy access for airport security lines and later in the inner pocket in the Mini-Ruck. Unlike some I find the backpack straps pretty comfortable so far, though I'm sure I will miss the hip belt that my old Solo Journey has. But the Skytrain is nice looking enough so that for the kind of business travel I do, it would work well.

The medium LL Bean toiletry kit is very nice, probably is bigger than I need but is flat enough and compressible enough so that it easily fits in the Mini Ruck for the long plane ride. Very nicely organized too, a cool bag, with plenty of room and compartments for Emergen-C and other vitamins. Still wish I could see the smaller version though.

Just a suggestion - I usually wear my heaviest stuff when traveling. So if I'm heading someplace in the winter that means wearing my jeans and hiking boots. You look geeky, but can take them off in the plane.

I would rather spend a few more minutes at security tieing my boots than lugging them around on my back.

Also, Sorels are wonderful. But I find that a regular pair of hiking boots with thick socks (for me, Merrill Radius) work well in snow or if it decides to melt.

Oh, I didn't mention... I like to use an Eagle Creek quarter cube as a toiletry kit (per Doug Dyment's suggestion). I thought this would be too small, but I actually have room to spare. It helped me get rid of more ounces in the poundage.