Since Her Sharkness (I seriously don't know how to type Sasha's name here) started a good luggage thread that had a little drift going, I decided to start this one.
I don't have kids and I do have a little disposable income so I've been spending way too much money on luggage/flight bag combos because I've been trying to find just the right situation for me. The mission has been easily defined and really difficult to meet - what is the ideal flight bag that can do double-duty as a cooler to hold all the meal prep I do? It has been a challenge to find the perfect solution, granted, I've got some pretty narrow parameters. I also acknowledge that I can easily solve the whole problem if I'm willing to carry three bags.
But I don't want to do that. I want to carry two and only two. Two bags is the Prime Directive here.
Why only two?
Because I commute to and from NYC, mostly on RJs, and then deal with buses and trains. A third bag is a hassle. Using private transport is more money than I am comfortable spending right now, but I do acknowledge that this whole situation could be solved with what I consider massive amounts of money. Yes, lots of guys I work with carry three bags. Some carry the same 3 I have. Good for them. I want only two.
My basic flight bag needs are simple: I sometimes carry a headset, my flashlight, two sunglass cases, iPad, charger and cable, a few pens, a little bottle of lens cleaner and a small bottle of sunscreen, some teabags (earl grey, breakfast and green jasmine) and my flight-document wallet which has my passport, flying certs and medical. Those are the basics.
There's
optional stuff that I would also like to have easy access to, even if I don't need it during cruise: my shaker bottle and ziploc bags of powdered drink mix (about 120g each), my laptop (Macbook air), my Kindle, some packets of instant oatmeal, small bag of additional chargers/cables, small bag of meds, a couple of Modl straps (yes, these are esoteric but so INCREDIBLY handy) and a few other odds and ends.
And my Brightline flight bag is kitted out to handle all of this perfectly. I know where everything is, I can find anything without looking - just reaching down into or onto the bag to find stuff. And
@ZapBrannigan - if you build the bag right, it'll work well for you. I've seen dozens of 73 drivers who use it. It's great.
But there is no cooler-bag option for it and that puts me into three-bag territory. Prime Directive violated. Here's what I've tried so far....
Aerocoast - decent bag, holds EFB and laptop, and top/side compartments are okay in terms of capacity. However, cooler doesn't insulate nearly as well as it should, and the dimensions don't quite work out for the amount of food I carry/containers I use for meal prep. Sold to another member here, hope it's working out.
Strongbags Summit - this one is probably going to be my go-to for a while as it checks the most boxes. Frozen stuff stays frozen - insulates better than anything I've ever seen. Pockets are large and useful. It's profoundly annoying in two areas, however. First - the handles are too long for any J-hooked bag, and thus it drags when pulled. Enough concrete will destroy it over time - ironically this is where the Briggs is a better main bag, because the strap can be shortened easily enough to compensate for the handle length. Strongbags did tell me they're aware of this issue and a future iteration is going to have shorter handles. That being said, the second annoying area is that organization in it is a free-for-all. To make it nearly as functional as a Brightline would require some extra design work. Yes, I've toyed with starting an accessory side hustle for this very reason.
Strongbags Canadian Ice - just picked this one up because I liked the way it was narrower, but had a larger top compartment separate from the cooler section in the same way the Aerocoast does. It's okay, I guess, but not having a pocket large enough for an EFB is just....dumb. The pockets aren't really useful for anything but the smallest items. The top section is roomy enough but lacks the overall room the Summit gives you. Probably ideal for a 2-day trip in terms of food/capacity. A 3 or 4 day, no.
I'm very disappointed in this bag for me. It might be fine for someone else. They certainly sell a lot of them.
Here's where my hope lies...
Paradox is working on a couple of cooler options for their flight cases. I may reconsider using them again if the cooler passes muster and I can just suck up the lack of maneuverability when the flight case is mated to the main bag. When those things are mated they're too big - can't get them into a restroom stall and close the door in a lot of places and that's just....irritating beyond all hell for me.
Brightline will come out with a cooler bag option. If this happens it will likely be awesome and I'll beg them to take my money.
Some as-yet-unidentified vendor will solve, once and for all, the cooler/flight bag/4 days of food option. I stand ready with credit card in hand.
