Most airlines allow you bring one carry-on and one personal item (or what I call “my other bag”) on board. For my carry-on, I love my Away Travel Bigger Carry-on (You can read about it here). Since my transition to carry-on only travel, I have been searching for the best “personal item.” So far, I have purchased and used four different bags. I like each of these bags, but I can’t say I love any one of them. Each have great features, but each also has something I don’t like about it. Here are my bags:
Longchamp Le Pliage Weekender
For many years, the Longchamp Le Pliage Weekender ($135.00) was my go to bag to use as my personal item. With its lack of interior pockets, this bag has plenty of room for most of the things I want while in flight and then some. You can get a lot into this bag. The two things it doesn’t have are a padded place for my laptop and a suitcase handle sleeve to secure my bag to the handle of my carry-on. My Longchamp bag routinely slid off the top of my carry-on as I rushed through the airport. Given the simplicity of this nylon bag, it weighs next to nothing. It is a great bag to fold up and pack in your roller bag if you anticipate bringing home more than you left with. While I don’t love this bag for air travel, it is a perfect bag for weekend car trips. If Longchamp ever adds a handle sleeve, this would then be a great flight-ready bag. Nordstrom and Bloomingdales both carry Longchamp in a variety of beautiful colors.
If you are interested in the Le Pliage Weekender or any other products by Longchamp, click here.
Lo & Sons O.G. Overnight Bag
I purchased the Lo & Sons O.G. bag ($295.00), and it served me well for many weeks of European travel. The suitcase handle sleeve easily slides on and off my roller bag. I was able to pack all my small travel bags with toiletries, make-up, etc. and still had plenty of room for a change of clothes, iPad, chargers, and everything else I needed on the plane. I really like the front pocket for easy access to my passport and travel documents. The bag features a side zippered pocket for storing shoes or an umbrella. However, if you have a lot of items you want to put in the bag, shoes stored in the side pocket takes up a lot of real estate. I like that the bag has a messenger strap for when I’m traveling with just this bag. The O.G Bag is designed to hold a 13” laptop. I have found that if I want to pack my laptop I can’t pack as much other stuff. For travel, I wish this bag was a little bigger, but the size allows for you to store it under the seat in front of you and still have some leg-room. If I was still commuting to an office, I could see me using this bag to carry my work essentials as well as gym clothes and gym shoes. (Inspired by the movie, Working Girl, I, like every woman in the ‘80s, wore my Reeboks during the commute and slipped on my heals in the office elevator. I would have loved this bag in the ‘80s.) All and all, this is a really well-designed bag.
If you are interested in the O.G. Overnight Bag or any other products by Lo & Sons, click here.
Tumi Voyager Mansion Carry-All
I had very high expectations when I purchased the Tumi Voyager Mansion Carry-All ($395.00). It had the additional interior space that I desired and an outside pocket for my laptop. I thought it was perfect until I took it to the airport and my bags fell over multiple times. While the bag secures well to my roller bag with a sturdy handle sleeve, the weight of my 13” laptop in the designated front pocket cause the tote to pull my roller bag forward and fall over…crashing my laptop to the floor. The problem is that the additional size makes the tote’s base wider than my roller bag. Add the weight of the laptop, and it all easily topples over. Additionally, the way the handle sleeve lining is sewn makes it difficult to quickly and smoothly slide the tote off and on the handle. This frustrated me while attempting to breeze through security. Perhaps my Tumi salesperson was just trying to make the sale by telling me that the front pocket was designed to hold my laptop. I have worked around the problem by storing my 13” laptop in a separate laptop sleeve and placing it inside the bag towards the back of the bag. Of course, this takes up valuable interior space, but it works. I do love that the bag has two pockets for water bottles, a feature none of my other bags had. I was really happy that Tumi offered free personalization—like the gold monogram. While I have had some issues with this Tumi bag, it is the perfect over-night bag when I am not taking my roller bag. If Tumi ever makes this bag with an interior padded laptop pocket, I would consider purchasing it as it is otherwise a great bag.
The Tumi Voyager Mansion Carry-All is no longer carried in Tumi stores and has since been replaced with the Tumi Voyager Madrid Duffel ($445.00), which features an interior tablet (not laptop) pocket. If you are interested in the Tumi Voyager Madrid Duffel or any other Tumi products, click here.
However, if you are interested in the Voyager Mansion Carry-All, which is available at eBags, click here.
Away Travel The Everywhere Bag
In my pursuit of the perfect “other bag,” I recently purchased The Everywhere Bag by Away Luggage ($195.00). Everyone knows how much I love my Away Travel Bigger Carry-on (see my review here) so it seemed like a no-brainer that the new Everywhere Bag would be the everything I ever dreamed of to complete my carry-on luggage wardrobe. (Yes, folks. I dream about carry-on luggage). Away Travel describes this bag as “the perfect plus one.” I have to say it is pretty great! It has the interior padded laptop pocket that I need. While it is not as large as my other bags, the size works. I like that it has a zippered pocket on the handle sleeve. It’s perfect for holding my passport and travel documents securely. Since the pocket is on the back-side of the bag, it offers additional theft protection. It also has just the right number of interior pockets. This bag slides under the seat in front of you, leaving plenty of leg-room. Away Travel offers two sizes of roller bags (The Carry-On and The Bigger Carry-On). I won’t be surprised if Away Travel comes out with the Bigger Everywhere Bag in the future. And yes, I would purchase it immediately. I am a big fan of Away Travel products. They are beautifully and thoughtfully designed and don’t break the bank.
If you are interested in The Everywhere Bag or other products by Away Travel, click here.
So, that is my “other bag” carry-on wardrobe. I can’t say that any of these bags are perfect for me, but each has its own great features. I also can’t say that any of these bags were mistakes that I shouldn’t have purchased. I use each of these interchangeably depending on my specific travel needs.
Disclosure Policy
I love to share products and services that I have found that enhance my life at home and on the road. Any products used or reviewed in a post are those I have purchased myself unless I have stated otherwise. If I ever actually figure out how to use affiliate links that generate commissions and include them in a post, I will disclose that within the post. Unless otherwise disclosed, all content on emptynestandcarryon.com is solely my opinion and my own original material.