Strongbags Vortex 2 interior

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bobm

New Member
I am a new pilot with a regional airlines, and I will need new luggage for when I start IOE in a couple of weeks. I was about to buy a Strongbag Vortex 2 when I read a comment that the interior has no storage system or compression straps. I looked at photos on their website and that appears to be true.

I know some of you guys have this bag, and I was hoping you could confirm what organization features it has inside. If it truly doesn't have compression straps or anything, have you had problems with that? I have a large clamshell TT2 bag that doesn't have any compression features, and my stuff is always a jumbled mess when I get to my destination. I am not sure if I want to deal with that every day. I really like this bag overall, but this might be a deal breaker for me.
 
I don't have that bag but in this day and age of no chart case a metal framed suitcase is unnecessarily heavy unless you'll be commuting on an RJ every week.
 
I will be commuting and deadheading by CR-J as that is what my airline flies. I am tempted by the LW Executive, but I like the more streamlined design of the SB. My only concerns are its potentially lower capacity (22 vs 21) and the reported lack of internal storage or compression.
 
Get the vortex 2.

I ditched LW this year and have been happy with this bag. There's no internal organization, but I never used the straps on the LW bags. Use packing cubes and you'll have more than enough space to organize everything in the bag.

As a reference point, I normally do six day reserve blocks, so I'm hauling around six days of clothes, overnight clothes for Maine in winter or the carribean, a fleece and everything else is haul around as a matter of course.

All fits fine. Grab their duffel to use as a flight kit and you're on your way.

I'll tell you the thing that sent me over the edge with the LW bag was not being able to yet it fixed when the bag broke. With strong bags you can order parts and fix it yourself, but I never had that kind of luck with LW. When I lived in a place where there was a stopover store it didn't matter, but now I don't have one in town and don't work at an airline where I'll transit one pretty much ever.
 
Thank you, JTrain609. It sounds like the lack of compression inside hasn’t bothered you at all. As for capacity, do you have the 21in Vortex or the older 22?

As for the duffel, I was thinking about getting a cooler instead. If you only use the Vortex and the duffel, what do you use for food?
 
bobm said:
Thank you, JTrain609. It sounds like the lack of compression inside hasn’t bothered you at all. As for capacity, do you have the 21in Vortex or the older 22?

As for the duffel, I was thinking about getting a cooler instead. If you only use the Vortex and the duffel, what do you use for food?
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I've got the 21" Vortex. I can't imagine there's much of a reduction in storage space, and as long as you put the bag in handle first it fits in 737 and A320 overhead bins no problem.

I have both the duffel and a Summit bag that I'm using for a cooler. I was using the Summit for a cooler/flight kit, but now that I don't have to carry a headset at work, I've thrown my company iPad and my computer in the duffel, and then I have the cooler insert for the Summit. I can carry four days worth of food no problem in the Summit now. If I hadn't had the Summit lying around, I'd recommend just getting the duffel and the cooler. It can be a little frustrating at times trying to haul around three bags, but I've gotten so used to it that I don't know anything else, and I've commuted for all but a year of my career.
 
bobm said:
As for the duffel, I was thinking about getting a cooler instead. If you only use the Vortex and the duffel, what do you use for food?
Click to expand...

That’s what Per Diem is for. FWIW, I can pack for an 8 day international trip using a 22in bag. I don’t use compression straps either. It’s all in how you fold/roll your clothes and it helps to think of it as a version of Tetris when you pack.

And yes, I’ve been commuting for the last 15 years, on RJs.
 
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