This one of the few types of carry-on I would chose. The Workbag 15″ Laptop Pilot Cabin Trolley by Mandarina Duck is the ultimate mobile office. With its deceiving 37 litre capacity, it is perfect for those style conscious business people that need to take their work with them, wherever it may take them!
A lightweight durable carry-on. Looks great.
Alternative Canvas Weekender Bag. Tonal stitching details a utilitarian-inspired bag trimmed in leather.
Harvey Nichols Canvas weekend bag by Calabrese featuring zip fastening along the top, double leather handle, adjustable shoulder strap.
Jack Wills Waverton Bag. The Waverton bag is a made from a heavy canvas fabric with contrast colour stripe webbing straps. Bit small.
The Peppe is my new favourite carry-on for trips that require you to look good from transit lounge to meeting room. Featuring a dedicated laptop compartment, plenty of pockets and a beautiful stream lined style, the Peppe is large enough to keep you equipped for a three day stay.
This weekender from Seventy Eight Percent is part of a line of high-end urban bags for creative professionals and urban nomads by Hong Kong based designer Shai Levy. The bags are made from Italian leather and canvas made in Japan of Egyptian cotton. Shai contacted me back in April and unfortunately it has taken me this long to give these excellent bags a mention (I even missed a visit to one of his stockists in Hong Kong – shame).
Seventy Eight Percent – Peppe
Here are a trio of bags I have been looking at recently as great carry-on choices. While my first choice in bags are those made from canvas or leather, and made by either individual artisans or small companies, these bags offer unique features, durability and price which make them a great option.
Patagonia’s Maximum Legal Carry-On is a soft-sided bag made from recycled fabric (1,200-denier polyester) with a durable water repellent finish which will hold about 3-5 days’ worth of clothing. It features a backpack carrying option, a main compartment with convenient ‘book like’ access, dirty clothes or laptop sleeve, and importantly easy access pockets to carry your passport and the essential gadgets. Zippers and seems look ok. This is an attractive bag with an unfortunate boxy look.
Tacktrunk Bag and Overnight Bag II
Oughton Limited make a range of waxed canvas bags with leather trim and bronze fittings. These are exquisite bags inspired by a “life lived with horses” and the need for a lighter alternative to the tack trunks used by equestrians.
The line began with the Tacktrunk Bag. Daphne Markcrow, founder of the line, describes the beginning, “I designed it for my own use and had it made by a saddle maker out of waxed canvas and leather. I also loved the look and functionality of the materials. Waxed canvas turned out to be the ideal fabric for luggage: lightweight yet very strong, breathable yet waterproof. I loved that the fabric had history too.
Porter’s Overnight bag from their “Smoky” series is perfect for short stays with laptop in tow. It features an adjustable shoulder strap, two large main zip-closure pockets, two exterior snap-closure pockets and two smaller ones on the sides. Inside the pockets there are a multitude of organizational options in form of even more zippered pockets, pen holders, and space for all the other modern nicknacks the modern traveller may need.
Porter’s “Smoky” series uses a unique fabric combination which should allow it to resist abrasions and age beautifully.
Great form and interior finish in this ‘mass-market’ bag from Marc by Marc Jacobs. The Slim Weekender is made of nylon with canvas trim, features dual handles with an attachable cross body strap, a useful flat bottom, zip around enclosure, and more than enough room for a change of clothes (or two). Should make a great carry-on bag.
Marc by Marc Jacobs Slim Weekender
While designed with skateboarders in mind, the Paul Rodriguez Signature Overnite Bag looks to be a near perfect fit for all urban travelers. It features protection for your laptop, back-pack shoulder straps, side-carrying and top-loading handles, and heavy-duty YKK zippers. The faux-fur lining and rubberized buckles are a nice touch. I appreciate the internal zippered storage compartments which keep all your clothes and gear organised and remove the necessity of carrying extra packing cubes. Made with weather resistant 1680D Ballistic Polyester.
If non-black wheelie luggage is your thing than the Jetway from Gravis has you covered. The Gravis Jetway bag features durable Nylon with PU2 backing, a book-like opening for easy packing and unpacking, skateboard wheels, a telescoping handle with a comfort grip, 2 top handles for easy loading and unloading, and an easy access exterior pocket. It also comes it comes with a toiletry bag and a separate large laundry bag. This is a nice departure from the bland without being too loud and garish.
Gravis Jetway Carry On Luggage
Simplicity seems to be the key word in bags lately. While I am unsure about the color, the modern space age styling and innovative fabrics make for a unique and attractive line of bags. Featuring water, dirt, and smell resistant NanoSphere fabric by Schoeller Textiles of Switzerland, the new Incase EO Collection includes messenger, duffel, and overnight bags. Add a laptop sleeve and their neat modular accessory pouches and you have all the bags you might need for casual travel.
While I might get annoyed with the handles but I do love the classic style of this overnight travel bag by Billykirk. Made from weather-repellent waxed cotton with 100% leather straps, two interior pockets, and 6 dull silver bottom feet. Should work well for short trips and it fits in an overhead compartment.
It has been over a year since I shared a bag find from the catalogue of Clark & Mayfield. At that time they were introducing a new men’s line and I still think their Mapleton Laptop bag is one of the nicer business briefs out there.
Their Quimby Rolling Laptop Tote has a beautiful quilted exterior complimented with leather trim and gold hardware. The nylon body and rubber coating on the bottom should keep the bag looking great for years. It should also help with clean ups the next time you drag your bag through a mud puddle as you race to grab a taxi. The interior has plenty of organizing pockets and folders, and it will fit most laptops in the 17″ range.
While I generally don’t like wheeled luggage of any kind, I feel it inhibits my mobility, my wife recently reminded me that not everyone can walk for hours with a heavy laptop on their back (or shoulder). She also complained that I don’t write enough about products that might interest women. I’m going to change that with the help of some new friends of the next month.
Lauri Delaczay started Clark & Mayfield with her husband Barry to simplify life by providing truly functional, yet fashionable bags to use everyday from home to work and school. Their belief is that functional products need not be unattractive, something I think we can all agree with.
Here are a few other notable bags from their catalogue:
Rosemont Leather Laptop Tote
Stafford Leather Rolling
Quimby Quited Laptop Brief
17″ Quimby Rolling Laptop Tote
The Wave Trolley by Hideo Wakamatsu is billed as a truly touch and light bag. It’s made from Polycarbonate and ABS with a copper frame so maybe they are right. Though you can’t tell from the above photo much of Hideo Wakamatsu’s luggage is bright shiny and fun with the intent of putting a smile on your face, something we could all use after a stressful bout through security.
These stand in contrast to the usual practice of dumping a ton of storage on the exterior of a bag. These bags from Kuvert look far more sleek an they fold flat too.
The world in a bag. Sporty, casual and simple, the new KUVERT travel bags are the perfect companion for shopping, sports, weekends, parenting and travel. The unique look is the result of a ground-breaking use of custom-coated polyester fabric: each bag is cut out of a single piece, folded and welded along the edges. This allows the bags to fold flat for storage, yet the engineered expansion is inrivalled in spaciousness. The zippers run in both directions all the way to the base for easy packing and unpacking, and the carrying strap is removable. Kuvert bags are sturdy, water-proof and lightweight – sure to stand by you during your most exciting adventures.