Travel Bag Recommendations

You staying in hostels or hotels?

This will determine what answers you get from the folks on here

Anytime I need to travel with my laptop, I use my Swiss gear backpack. But since mine is a bit small, I use a Tumi Messenger bag if I need more room.

eBags.com, and their house brand. I've had multiple bags for well over a decade. I needed a wheel assembly kit on one 25-27", they have a lifetime guarantee. That's the only thing I've replaced across all of the bags from them my family has. I've been using ebags brands since 2006, and there is no name brand premium like Tumi.

Do not fall for name brand cachet.

Look for the pockets you need, the construction you need, etc.

If you think you need a walk around bag (the sort of equivalent of a man purse for Americans), look at PacSafe. They'll be a bit more expensive, but if you're going alone, it gives you the ability to lock your back to a cafe table with a luggage lock if you need to drain some beers while you're doing your thing. They have steel reinforcing wires in the straps, etc. (This will interest Charles De Gaulle's version of TSA), so thieves can't cut the bags off of your shoulders, etc.

I also suggest mesh organizing bags. You can get a set for $20 in different sizes in different colors. Stuff you might need in the crapper? Goes in the pink bag. A bunch of batteries, chargers, and cables? Goes in the black bag, with the most space, and you can just go ahead and pull that out ahead of time, etc.

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eBags.com, and their house brand. I've had multiple bags for well over a decade.

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I want to pull the trigger on an Ebags carryon but the reviews on their own website are not great.

I've used this bag traveling Europe many of times. Fits clothes and computers. If you are bringing a carry-on suit case this offers some extra room for about 3-4 outfits. Love it. Amazon Bag