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(More customer reviews)I travel a lot, and 1-2 week multi-city international trips are always the hardest to pack for, since you might be covering a lot of different climates, need to keep the weight down, need a bag that can be unpacked/repacked every couple of nights, and probably want a bag that can be carried on or checked, depending on circumstances.
For twenty years, I used the original TravelPro Rollaboard 21" carry-on. It was very durable and simple -- basically a rugged 21" box with wheels. The TravelPro finally lost a wheel in Frankfurt late last year, so I went looking for a new bag. After a lot of research and comparisons, I decided to get two bags and put them through their paces. I bought the Rick Steves 21" wheeled carry-on (which was the closest thing I could find today to my old TravelPro) and the eBags eTech Mini 21". Having used them both, I have to say I've become a huge fan of the eBags Mini. I wasn't sure I'd like the "compartmentalized" approach to luggage, but it's been great.
Here's what I like about the Mini 21":
- The bag's compartments are very well thought out, and make it super easy to pack for a long trip. I use the bottom half of the bag as the main clothing area. It has an adjustable divider, and each half of the bottom is well sized for folded clothes. A set of four eBags medium-sized packing cubes perfectly fill the bottom half of the bag and make it very easy to pack/repack as you move from city to city. The top half can be used almost like a duffel bag area. I fill it with two Rick Steves small packing cubes, which fit perfectly. There's also a separate zippered area that's the perfect size for a shaving kit or a bunch of snacks for really long flights. The multi-compartment design of this bag is its biggest selling feature from my point of view.
- It feels very rugged. The material is heavy weight, the zippers feel sturdy, and the wheels are roller-blade wheels (much more durable than cheaper cylinder-style wheels). It rolls very nicely through long international terminals.
- The empty bag is light for a wheeled bag of this size and durability, saving pounds. It's not feather weight -- just light for a rugged, wheeled bag.
- Having handles on both the top and bottom of the bag is convenient when lifting the bag into awkward places (like an overhead bin on the aircraft).
Having said that, the bag's not perfect. Here's what I wish they'd improve:
- As another reviewer noted, the handle is very long. At first, I couldn't figure this out -- it seemed like the bag had been designed for and tested only by 6'6" folks. I'm not that tall, and the handle (in locked position) seemed excessively long. My opinion on this issue changed recently, however, when I bought a separate strap that allows me to hang my briefcase on the bag. With the briefcase attached, the bag balances perfectly over the wheels and is almost effortless to move. Maybe they knew what they were doing after all.
- The bag does not come with a strap to attach a second bag like a briefcase. It should be included and built into the bag. Add-on handles are not as convenient and they're expensive when bought separately. Also, because of the duffel-style design of the top half of the bag, a hanging briefcase won't lie perfectly flat when hanging and tends to slip to one side or the other if you don't get it centered. For me, this has proved to be a minor annoyance -- one of the things I miss relative to my old Rollaboard.
- The duffel-style handles on "top" of the bag aren't really that useful. The bag is clumsy to handle that way. It would be better to have a handle on the side of the bag for when you don't want to wheel it.
- Inside the bag, the channels for the handle and wheels take up more space than seems necessary.
This has become my new favorite bag for long international trips. The quality is good (rugged ... rolls smoothly), but the real selling point is the compartmentalized design, which I've found to be very convenient for long trips. If you get this bag, I'd highly recommend picking up at least one set of packing cubes (the eBags medium size fit nicely) and a strap for hanging a second bag (personally, I like the Brookstone strap).
P.S. I bought this bag directly from eBags, but bought the packing cubes through Amazon. Depending on promotions, it seems like it's sometimes cheaper to buy directly from eBags.com, and sometimes it's cheaper to buy through Amazon. Doing a comparison might save you a few bucks.
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eBags Mother Lode eTech Mini 21" Wheeled Duffel
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