LUG-Lugging It All Along

When my old wheeled computer bag died, I promised you a review of new wheeled computer cases/attaches.  Newest addition to my luggage collection comes from LUG, a quirky-but-trendy collection of colorful luggage, totes and bags.

It doesn’t take long to assess bag basics, although durability tests might take years (as with my DayMakers handbag).

So here’s the Good, Bad and Ugly – what I like or not about using this particular wheeled computer bag I got.  (Note that it was a gift, so I don’t have model name or number.  No, this was not sent to me by the company for product review purposes.)

Like: that it holds a lot!  Laptop, accessories, files and legal pads, more.  An ingenious side-entrance pocket is perfect for CD/DVDs in their jewel boxes.  Since I have an expensive set of brain entrainment CDs which cannot be downloaded (or play on my ’puter), the whole set and portable CD player fit into that pocket.  There’s a water bottle holder on the other side.

Dislike: vertical design means digging deeply, and stuff gets lost in the bottom.  The office supplies pocket has pen loops and pockets, but is a bit too tight for a real collection of doodads: paper clips and clamps, earbuds, phone recharger, Post-It Note pads, and that wild assortment of itty-bitty stuff in need of organization and accessibility.  The old wheelies did better on that score.  Zipper pulls have no holes to accommodate luggage locks, and there always comes a time when you need to zip up more securely.

Open for Debate: the extendable handle seems a bit flexible, which could be a worry.  Too early to say.

On the whole, it’s working for me at the moment.  For daily commuter use, it’s a cute, stylish, functional office on wheels.  For the really long haul, I just don’t know.

May your road rise to meet you – and your wheelies rise to the occasion!

Ann

More Bumpf About Bags

This seems as good a time as any to chat a bit more about bags.  Who can survive without them?  Nobody nowhere.  But for the Road Warrioress, toting your life and livelihood around the planet, your luggage is just about your - and your "stuff's" - most crucial survival tool.

Your luggage has to fit your needs.  And a primary need for a Road Warrioress is durability.  Well, my Western Pack brand wheeled computer bag did not pass my most modest test.

Another bag passes with flying colors!  I have a Hartmann bag that I love and have been using extensively for months.  Ironically, it's my only bag without wheels.  Still, it has proven amazingly useful.

I have no idea how old this Hartmann bag is - decades, probably.  I'm sure I've had it at least a decade now myself.  A friend, cleaning out the attic when they moved, gave it to me as they had new sets of luggage and no longer wanted their old Hartmann bag.  You'd never know by looking at it that it must have lasted at least a couple of decades by now!

It's plain-old Hartmann classic tan ballistic nylon with tan belting leather handles and trim.  No clue to its age there.  This stuff seemingly lasts longer than the Ice Age.

What I love about it is its organization.  There are three zippered compartments, and you can open each compartment flat, one at a time, to pack and unpack.  One compartment I reserve for things I need, but do not use daily.  Here goes a dress with matching jacket, a pantsuit with a more formally styled blazer, slips, hose, dress shoes.  The "good" clothes, business clothes, dinner dress sort of attire all fit in here.  I only open this section when needed.

The middle section holds my daily wear, which for me is casual slacks and shirts.  Most of the time, I hardly need anything very "fancy," just plain and durable cotton knits.  My travel wardrobe happens to be exceptionally casual, for the most part.  Still, this compartmentalization would work well for anyone.

Nightie, light cotton robe or duster, and undies go in the third compartment.  As I use up clothing during the week, these go into the main compartment, and this section becomes my laundry bag.

On one side of the bag is a gusseted flap pocket with latch.  Here go a shawl and sarong, clear plastic TSA-required toiletries bag with its little bottles of everything. 

On the other side is a large open slash-pocket which can hold a magazine or paperback book (my "airplane reading), a legal pad or two, and a pair of flip-flops or ballerina slippers wrapped in a plastic shopping bag.  Accumulated "mish-mash" seems to get stuffed in there while traveling, too.  Then there's a small zippered pocket which holds a travel sewing kit, travel first aid kit, manicure set, and such like.

It easily holds a week's worth of clothing and whatsits.  It's easy to keep things neat and organized.  It's easy to pull together an outfit to dress quickly and pack up in a rush.

Despite the lack of wheels, it's easy to carry - and I have a miserable wreck of a back.  I do admit to not carrying it any great distance, however!  But it certainly has been hauled up and down numerous staircases - where wheeled bags dare not go.

With this, a handbag and "office on wheels" - the wheeled computer bag, now deceased - I can keep going for months at a time.  And I have been doing exactly that!

Hartmann has a long-standing reputation for durability.  I can attest to that!  My Hartmann bag is about the best luggage I've ever had in my life.  Even though it was a used bag when it came to me.  Even though it lacks wheels, which I consider among the most essential features of any travel bag.  It's extraordinarily useful and far more convenient than I ever imagined it could be.

May your road rise to meet you - and may your luggage live long!
Ann

My Wheelies Died!

Phooey-ptui!  I need my little "office on wheels" - and the wheels died.  Just gave up the ghost, shredded to bits. 

It has not - to my mind, at least - seen excessively heavy or hazardous duty.  Neither TSA nor baggage handlers have gotten their mischievous mitts on it.  Yes, it gets used daily, but hardly any excessive duty or rough handling.  It goes from car to library, car to home, and has run over nothing rougher than carpet, flooring, concrete sidewalks and asphalt parking lots.  Not all that far for any trip, either.

So I'm very disappointed with this wheeled computer bag.  Granted, it was used when the previous owner gave it to me.  The zipper enclosing the retractable handle had broken, but that was no problem as far as I was concerned.  The bag itself showed little to no wear at all.  The wheels looked fine - and sturdy. 

I love all its little fitted pockets.  The front compartment holds all my "diddlies" - both phone rechargers, pens, recharger for AA batteries and a pack of 4 AA batteries, a small notebook for photo captions when I'm on a photo shoot, a deck of 3" x 5" index cards.  The center section is padded for my 'puter, and I keep a portable CD player, power supply for the laptop, and the computer security cable on the other side of the computer cushioning.  The back compartment holds a couple of slim file folders, a pair of legal pads, and odd papers. 

It just holds the essentials - your basic business equipment on the road or to the office.  It's not some big legal briefcase laden with massive legal briefs and petitions for a court.

But after only six months of daily use, the wheels have absolutely shredded.  I'm dragging it on the metal bearings inside the rubber (or whatever substance they use for wheels).

This is not a durable bag.  This is really unacceptable for any Road Warrioress who needs a traveling office.  It does not compute!  So I'm very unhappy with the makers, Western Pack, and sorely disinclined to choose any sort of bag from this maker.

The Road Warrioress needs bags which are durable and stand up to their heavy travel usage.  A bag which cannot make it to the office or library every day for a few months is not worthy of the long-haul traveler.

May your road rise to meet you - and long may your bags endure!
Ann