When traveling abroad with only one bag to fit an entire wardrobe, toiletries and basics, you need something versatile enough that can carry it all – AND – be able to physically lug the thing around the airport. I own and can speak to two of the top rated bags in the one bag enthusiast camp.
Red Oxx’s Airboss
The One Bag Test: Travel 2 weeks in the winter in Europe
The challenge: In the past, I have had luggage lost in Eastern Europe, and I wasn’t about to let it happen on this trip. This bag, combined with some practice in packing, allowed me to take a 2 week trip to Eastern Europe in the dead of winter. I was on a trip that required me to wear business attire for 5 days, and at the end of the trip I went to an Opera and had to wear a floor length ball gown!! The second week I went skiing in Serbia. I got everything into this bag. Believe me – It is possible!!By bundling my clothes, I was able to get all of the things I needed into this bag. I also bought and stuffed an additional 2 dresses, a bottle of perfume, and some small gifts into the bag on my way back.
Bag Pros: I like the bag’s sturdiness. You can tell it is made of quality material. There is one big pocket on one side of the bag that non-important accessories like food and magazines can be stuffed. On the other side is a zipped large pocket that larger documents (ie: tickets, travel documents) can be stored but not secured. There is one small zip pocket on the exterior that can be used for smaller items. I love the shoulder strap – which is wide and hugs the shoulder. This is one of Red Oxx’s big pluses. Unfortunately on one business trip I was forced to check a bag at the gate. During this process I forgot to remove the shoulder strap – which was then lost in the process. Luckily the airline covered the loss and it was quickly replaced. There are three compartments, which is nice when rotating clothing from dirty to clean. The middle compartment allows for bulkier items like shoes, or a laptop to be stored.
Bag Cons: I do not like 100% of the weight on my shoulder when traveling long distances. I had a long layover in Heathrow airport and was forced to lug around 2 weeks of clothing in my carryon all around the airport terminal. This also can be quite a hassle if you need to physically RUN across an airport with such a heavy bag. For a woman this is a HUGE downside!! If you have back problems, I do not recommend this bag at all.
Overall the Airboss is excellent for business travel. I recommend it for this use, and not so much for the international vacation travel.
The MEI Voyageur Backpack
The one bag test: Traveling to Asia for 2.5 weeks out of one bag. Travel includes 3 days on a raft, 3 days on a beach, 3 days in the jungle. 2 nights on a train and the rest in Bangkok.
The challenge: Fitting all of the gifts for my family into this bag along with my clothes!!! I ended up packing too little in clothing
Bag Pros: This bag is quite literally the bomb. I love the shoulder straps!! They can be tucked away so you can’t even see them, in a hidden pocket on the back. And the shoulder straps are not just straps. They are padded a million times better than a high school backpack. There is a lumbar support strap, as well as a waistline strap for additional support. This bag was a lifesaver when darting through an airport for a late arriving flight. I had but minutes to make it across the airport. Running with the bag by my side in my arms was not helping, but strapping it to my body made the physical feat less painful.
There’s one large pocket on the outside which is nice for a book or documents.
Bag Cons: There is only one pocket inside. It’s small. It’s big enough to fit your keys and passport in. All of your clothes fit in the one large compartment inside. This is fine if you don’t mind if your clothes are mingling with your workout sneakers. That was fine for a trip to Thailand but for business travel I need to wrap the sneakers in a separate bag. Plastic baggies are a must with this bag.
The last con is that this bag is custom made. This means that there is a long wait for the bag to arrive on your doorstep. The first MEI bag that I bought took 3 months to arrive. We weren’t even sure if it would come. The result is a beautiful quality bag with excellent quality materials.
Overall this bag is excellent for vacation travel. Business travel is fine for use, but you may appear like a backpacker with the straps out. You should hear the comments I have gotten from my coworkers when I show up with this pack on my back.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I just ordered the MEI executive overnighter. It seems like a good bag and has gotten decent reviews. I think it is a bit more like the airboss than the voyageur. Do you have any experience with it?
Hey Chris, No, I have no used the MEI executive overnighter yet, but I’m VERY interested to hear your own review of it! Let me know how it works out for you on your next trip and I would love to post your review up here.
Linda
It should be arriving tomorrow. I’ll send you an update after my first trip with it next week!
I want to thank the blogger very much not only for this post but also for his all previous efforts. I found http://www.onebaggirl.com to be extremely interesting. I will be coming back to http://www.onebaggirl.com for more information.
I own both the MEI EO and the Voyager..both are awesome. The EO is a great bag, very well made, every feature you could want including amazing back pack straps…love it!!
I just received my Voyageur and it’s amazing. For all you girls out there…if you email the manufacturer and ask nicely, they might make you a different color than those listed. I didn’t like any of the colors on the website so I emailed and asked if they could make me a purple or another “girl friendly” color…and after a few days they responded saying they could! They also asked what other colors I could recommend, because they were definitely interested in catering to more women. So…if you don’t see a color you like, just ask them!
I now have my very own purple MEI voyageur (and my husband has the brown). The bags are amazing quality. I can’t wait to use them on a trip!
I have been using my executive overnighter since March. It has been all over the US and Europe. It really is a great bag. I can pack my suit and shirts in one section. The middle section stores my running shoes, macbook in a tom bihn brain cell and small toiletry kit. The third section stores my casual clothes. The build in my opinion is not quite as good as anything put out by Red Oxx but it does the job. It’s by NO means cheaply built..it’s just not redoxx. I really don’t see why red oxx does not add real backpack/waist straps to the Airboss. A real harness system similar to the mei voyageur not like the skytrain. The airboss and the executive overnighter are essentially the same bags. The redoxx is bulletproof the mei executive overnighter well built but the selling factor are the awesome backpack straps..
Thanks for the great site – it is about time we had a one bagging “girl” out on the web. I’d love to see a post of some of your packing lists! Especially the one traveling in Eastern Europe in the winter for two weeks which included the opera. I one bag as well and strive to always look great at the same time. Much easier now than 10 years ago. One can actually find nicer looking wrinkle free quick drying ladies clothing. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the helpful site and posts. I am close to pulling the trigger on getting an MEI Voyageur, but I have a question about the harness system — really the big selling point for me. I am wondering if the bag fits less-than-tall females. I have the eBags Weekender and like it except that it fits 5’2″ me horribly (though my 5’10″ husband loves it) and no waist/sternum straps.
Anyone know if the Voyager would fit someone in the 5’0″ – 5’4″ range? I asked MEI customer service, and they said to search the forums. I’ve been looking around for a while and haven’t found anything specific to shorter females.
Hi Katlprod,
I recently got a voyageur for my girlfriend, who is about your size. We took the bag on a two week trip to maine and my girlfriend thought it was great. She at first turned her nose up at the whole “one bag traveling” concept, but that all changed on this trip. In my opinion the voyageur is a great bad for the ladies. Definately the most comfortable. Hope this helps….
Katlprod-
I’m 5’2″, and I think the backpack straps on the voyager are the best. I did buy a good strap to carry it accross the body, and that didn’t work very well for me…I’m just too short for it. Backpack-style its awesome, though, and I also carry t as a duffel. I
I took the MEI Voyager once to Mexico and found a couple problems with it.
I. When I am carrying weight I need a bag to fit my body really well or I don’t feel so good in my body. The bag’s waist strap is too large for me and I think it hung too low on my body.
2. I guess I’m to slim for the bag and the width and thickness is quite wider than me. So when walking through the train station, etc, I can’t just walk easily, but needed to move sideways to squeeze through people.
I’m thinking of having one made smaller….
Any other woman out there who might have made a custom MEI Voyager bag? What did you do to customize it?
I know what you mean. Since MEI does make each one to order, you probably can get them to modify it for you. I’m petite too and the weight can be a little bit off when you’re carrying it on your back. I tend to only use the backstraps when I’m walking a big distance to get to my transport. Then I tuck the straps in and zip up. Good observation though, I haven’t tried adjusting mine. One of my MEI bags ripped from a lot of use, so maybe when I fix it, I’ll try modifying it. I’ll let you know how that works out!
Dear Sirs/Madams:
I read your comments and they are great. We love to help MEI customers and would do every thing possible to get you a MEI Bag/ Pack you are looking for. We would welcome your comments, ideas, suggestions, even crticism, etc.
By the way few years ago our production lagged the increase in demand of MEI Bags/Packs. Now we ship within 2-3 weeks of the receipt of the order and in some cases, if urgent order, ship in few days.
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