Vermont Travel Notes

Starting a positive review with a criticism is probably the wrong way to go about it, but I'll do it anyway because I won't be able to continue writing unless I get it off my chest.

A recent Slate magazine headline, "The Only Luggage You'll Ever Need" is wrong. The article is about the Patagonia Maximum Legal Carry-on (MLC), which looks like a great travel product and has many positive user reviews on Patagonia's website. It's sized to fit in airline overhead bins or under the seat in front of you.

How that qualifies as the only luggage you will ever need, I don't know. There may be times when you need to travel with a suit or dress for instance. They won't fit in this bag and even if you managed to fold them up enough to get in, they wouldn't look too good at the other end of your journey.

I will admit this bag would probably be my go-to bag most of the time. I'm a big fan of Patagonia products and have owned a few including a great fly-fishing rain jacket I'm still using after more than a decade of use. I don't own this travel bag but if I still flew on business I most likely would. These days, I only fly once or twice a year (thankfully) and I'm in no rush. If I have to wait a few minutes at a baggage carousel, I don't mind.

I look back and chuckle about years of hustling through airports, choosing the best seat assignments, closest car rental lots, etc. But I was in the consulting bidness so we were always conscious of our hours. Either we were billing the time or we were losing revenue. There was no neutral time. If that's the way you fly, and you prefer carry-on luggage, this is probably what you want. It looks like it would be a good one for car trips as well.

I remember looking for a bag like this years ago. I tried several somewhat like it over the years but nothing ever really served well. This one looks like it would have been a home run. It also converts into a back pack and is made of water proof 1200 denier polyester - as tough as polyester gets.

I'm a big fan of Slate too so if they like it, I'm sure it's top notch.

Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus