best backpack for carry-on

[steve martin]

I hate checking bags cuz i have the worst luck when it comes to lost luggage so , i'm flying on delta an it's affiliates . whats the biggest pack I can fit into the carry-on restriction ? how many litres?

 

[Mark Lee]

This past June I "carried-on" my 48L REI Crestrail, but it was only about 3/4 full. It seemed the maximum size that would work based on how much space it filled in the overhead bin. I would thing a 40L pack would be perfect as a carry-on. Not overly packed of course.

 

[Bajaracer]

I hate checking bags cuz i have the worst luck when it comes to lost luggage so , i'm flying on delta an it's affiliates . whats the biggest pack I can fit into the carry-on restriction ? how many litres?

I say under 32L.
http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/baggage/during-your-trip/carry-on.html
Baggage must fit easily in the Carry-on Baggage Check (approximately 22" x 14" x 9" or 56 x 35 x 23 cm), which is located near the check-in counters

 

[Mark Lee]

I say under 32L.
http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/baggage/during-your-trip/carry-on.html
Baggage must fit easily in the Carry-on Baggage Check (approximately 22" x 14" x 9" or 56 x 35 x 23 cm), which is located near the check-in counters

My 48L fit in that thing.......like I said, it was not packed full

 

[NicoZ]

I don't think you can look at this by litres. In theory you could get a long thin tube shaped bag that wasn't very many litres and it would be too big.

Take your tape measure and go to the shop.

Mark rightly points out how much you fill the thing. I can over fill anything so I only measure after it's full.

Gregory sells a line of packs aimed at carry on use. The problem is they include things aimed at carry on use. IIRC laptop sleeve etc. But at least you can email Gregory customer service and get the exact measurements.

The final point is the thing still needs to fit you

 

[Al the optimist]

Watch out for the European cheapo airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet cabin rules if you are going to use them for connections. Best to check their web sites for full details if you are.

 

[bystander]

Al is spot on - Lyanair and Sleasyjet can be complete (insert orifice of choice) when it comes to weight and dimensions of carry-on bags and use it as an excuse to extract large amounts of cash from unwary passengers.
On one occasion a friend (on the same flight as me to an important meeting in Europe) was relieved of over UK£100 for being a few pounds overweight.
Cheat's method here is to wear/carry in pockets as much as possible!

 

[Al the optimist]

"Lyanair and Sleasyjet" LOL

 

[GreatDane]

My pack is the Mammut Crea Light. About 30L to the drift collar and 40L filled. It fit in the over head bins fine in 767's, tight fit in an A319. I fly Delta because it's the only sizable airline that flies into my burg. The A319 route up till recently wa serviced by little CRJs, the 51 passenger kind and I would have had to ramp,check it. Oh and the pack was only filled to about the 32L level.

How come no one has mentioned the camino fairies that add 10 lbs to your pack every night and increase the volume of stuff to go with it. I have not bought anything and it is still happening!!!

 

[Mark Lee]

Also if you can get a small, lightweight school/day pack that rolls up easily for when you are not using it, you can use that as a carry-on and check-in your full-size pack. Just put your important stuff in the small one. Also comes in handy when walking the Camino for roaming about town. You can put your camera or tablet in it if you have one, and can also carry a fleece etc in it as well as food and stuff you buy for the next day. I bought the cheapest, thinnest, lightest one I could find and it worked great.
On the way to Spain I made sure I carried-on my big pack and had no problems. On the way home it wasn't such a big deal it seems and I didn't want to haul it around so I just secured and tied down all the straps, etc and checked it in. It was just basically full of dirty clothes anyway. Had no problems.
Funny how the perspective changed when flying to the Camino as opposed to going home, ha ha.

 

[Leaningforward]

No one size fits all when it comes to carry on luggage -- depends on airline, seat class, and whether a flight is full -- among other considerations that may or may not have any objective basis.

I carried my 50L Osprey on IcelandAir. I had booked an Comfort Economy seat, which permitted two carry ons and one personal item. Prior to boarding, I transferred about a third of my pack to a small bag, which allowed my pack to compress near the dimensions of standard carry on bags.

On my flight home, I had my pack wrapped in plastic at the airport and checked it -- came through fine.

 

[jmcarp]

I hate checking bags cuz i have the worst luck when it comes to lost luggage so , i'm flying on delta an it's affiliates . whats the biggest pack I can fit into the carry-on restriction ? how many litres?

While you should select a backpack for fit rather than its suitability for carry-on, most backpacks in the 30 to 50 litre size that are commonly used on the Camino can be compressed down to normal carry-on size, especially if you transfer some of your stuff to a small daypack that will fit under the seat. My main pack was an Osprey Kestrel 38, which theoretically exceeded the maximum carry-on length, so I put a bunch of stuff in this little roll-up daypack http://www.walmart.com/ip/Outdoor-Products-Packable-Day-Pack/26700608 and the larger Kestrel was not questioned. The little daypack comes in other colors than the purple shown in the link if that's an issue, and rolls up into a ball about the size of a large orange. It comes in handy on the Camino to carry raingear or groceries if you're playing tourist or grocery shopping in the towns along the way.

 

[peregrina2000]

I hate checking bags cuz i have the worst luck when it comes to lost luggage so , i'm flying on delta an it's affiliates . whats the biggest pack I can fit into the carry-on restriction ? how many litres?

Hi, Steve, I am as obsessive as you are about carrying on my stuff, I would never check anything on the way over to Spain. But as others have said, the question is not just how big is the pack, but how full is the pack. A half filled 50L pack is probably easier to stuff in the overhead than an overstuffed 40L pack.

I think the best starting point is to find the pack that fits you the best and then see if when you fill it as much as you plan to fill it, it will be an acceptable carry on size. In other words, worry about the pack fit before you worry about the pack size. I always walk with a very old pack whose carrying capacity is 50 liters. I never fill it anywhere near that capacity, and I could probably find many smaller packs in the 35-40 range that are big enough for what I carry. But my entire body loves this pack and I can carry 20-25 pounds for hundreds and hundreds of kms without problem, so I have never sought to replace it for a smaller one.

I don't mean to belabor this, but I think the fit of your pack is crucial, whereas the size of your pack (at least within the 35-50L range) is less so. IMO anyway. buen camino, Laurie

 

[Pilgrim-S-414]

I had no problem with both EasyJet and Ryainair, when carrying my Osprey Talon 44l
in the overhead compartment.
I sent the poles by post.

 

[Al the optimist]

I too took the Talon 44 on both. But I must say I was a little concerned that it actually slightly exceeded their allowance.

 

[Jo Jo]

We carried Osprey 24 and 26 liter packs. That was all we needed for a summer camino, and they fit within all airlines specification (yes, even Ryan air did not blink). The trekking poles, however, were too long for Ryan air and were mailed back from Santiago (the post office had a special box that looks like it was designed for poles). Took a month, which is to say they returned before my feet had healed enough to contemplate any serious walking.

 

[Pilgrim-S-414]

I too took the Talon 44 on both. But I must say I was a little concerned that it actually slightly exceeded their allowance.

had the same concern...but had no problem..no one even asked me to check the volume

 

[Alyssa]

I hate checking bags cuz i have the worst luck when it comes to lost luggage so , i'm flying on delta an it's affiliates . whats the biggest pack I can fit into the carry-on restriction ? how many litres?

I carried on my full 36liter but took some of the items out and put them in a shoulder bag. (American Airlines and Iberia Airlines).

 

[hotelmedicis]

I hate checking bags cuz i have the worst luck when it comes to lost luggage so , i'm flying on delta an it's affiliates . whats the biggest pack I can fit into the carry-on restriction ? how many litres?

You'll need to contact each airline (Delta and each of its affiliates) to find out what is the maximum size they allow for a carry-on bag. None of the airlines go by liters but rather by dimensions so you'll need to check that carefully. A GENERAL rule of thumb is 9x14x22 inches but you will need to confirm this with EACH airline that you fly.

Having said that, I travel extensively and after a lot of research I have bought and LOVE my Lowe Alpine TT Carry on 40. It is made of high quality materials and has the best zippers, YKK. It's perfect, and I love it. I have carried it on a number of airlines without a problem. Rick Steves has several videos on YouTube about packing light and has GREAT suggestions for packing lightly.

Good luck and happy packing!

 

[obinjatoo]

Al is spot on - Lyanair and Sleasyjet can be complete (insert orifice of choice) when it comes to weight and dimensions of carry-on bags and use it as an excuse to extract large amounts of cash from unwary passengers.
On one occasion a friend (on the same flight as me to an important meeting in Europe) was relieved of over UK£100 for being a few pounds overweight.
Cheat's method here is to wear/carry in pockets as much as possible!

Lyanair and Sleasyjet Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...... That's good...

 

[s. brown]

I had no problem with both EasyJet and Ryainair, when carrying my Osprey Talon 44l
in the overhead compartment.
I sent the poles by post.

Where do you send the poles?

 

[gville pelagreno]

While you should select a backpack for fit rather than its suitability for carry-on, most backpacks in the 30 to 50 litre size that are commonly used on the Camino can be compressed down to normal carry-on size, especially if you transfer some of your stuff to a small daypack that will fit under the seat. My main pack was an Osprey Kestrel 38, which theoretically exceeded the maximum carry-on length, so I put a bunch of stuff in this little roll-up daypack http://www.walmart.com/ip/Outdoor-Products-Packable-Day-Pack/26700608 and the larger Kestrel was not questioned. The little daypack comes in other colors than the purple shown in the link if that's an issue, and rolls up into a ball about the size of a large orange. It comes in handy on the Camino to carry raingear or groceries if you're playing tourist or grocery shopping in the towns along the way.

 

[Kerstinh47]

I used a 34L (Gregory) this past summer; no problem on American Airlines or Ryan Air as a carry-on. I was concerned about Ryan Air, but no problem. I was also pleased that I made myself use this size; it's lots & lots & lots of steps carrying it, and I was happy to have a reasonable weight in my pack

 

[nidarosa]

My packs have always been within the carry-on limit, but my other half is (even) taller, so after measuring we had to decide against the ventilated packs - his Atmos in a back size Large is well over Ryanair's 55 cms long. We could have cinched it up and tried to get it into the luggage cage at an angle, but why take the risk? Our three leg journey is hand luggage only and paying for hold luggage at the airport would cost more than our tickets! So we are going with a Talon 33 - the ML is less than 55 cms, my Tempest 30 even shorter, and it will be a great exercise in packing small and light. And now that Ryanair allows one small bag as well, we should be ok for food and stuff for the journey too.

 

[krazeekuban]

I had an Osprey 36 Sirrus and Husband a Osprey 50 L ,no problem , Southwest, American, Iberia and Iberia Express

 

[Pilgrim-S-414]

Where do you send the poles?

I bought the poles in Pamplona

 

[simply B]

i'm flying on delta an it's affiliates

Maybe they have gotten better but I always used to think that DELTA was an acronym.

Don't Expect Luggage To Arrive

But they were always very nice about it...

B

 

[RebaWeber]

I know someone above already mentioned it, but it probably bears repeating. You can always do your utmost to make sure your bag fits the carry-on requirements in both size and weight, but if it's a full flight, and if they're in a mood, they may make you check it anyway if it's something that won't fit under your seat. I got caught with that a couple of times travelling for work, even with carry-on baggage bought specifically from the airline as carry on approved!

Just make sure to have a packable bag as backup for your necessities to carry on, just in case. That way you'll at least have your toiletries and underwear in case your pack gets lost!

 

[nidarosa]

Just thought I'd post this little pic taken on my recent flight on Monarch airlines: my Osprey Tempest 30 litre pack in S/M. This is the largest size they do in a Tempest, if you need it slightly bigger you have to go try a Talon 33, which measures just shy of 55 cms and should go as carry-on as well. The Tempest 40 might not fit if it's full, but the 30 litre pack fits perfectly and without squishing under the seat in front of me. I'd say it was about as full as it will be when I go next time. I had a small, foldable shopping bag with me to hold my valuables and food for the flight in case they insisted I check it in; I use that bag to carry shopping, laundry and things on the camino anyway.

 

[Cassian]

The only thing I took was an Ospry Porter 46 and a small MountainSmith that I used as a daypack and/or chestpack. Never checked either. The ospry was plenty fine for hiking, too.