Travel Gear Reviews Archives

June 22, 2015 by Eeva Routio 2 Comments

Osprey Sojourn Review – Our Trusty Luggage!

His packing list. Photo: Eeva Routio — Steve’s ‘family of bags’. The Osprey in the background. Photo: Eeva Routio.

Osprey Sojourn 80L/28″ Wheeled Convertible Luggage

Choosing the right type of luggage for a long trip is quite an art form. You need to think about the size, type, weight and features of the bag. And the cost too – good luggage is not cheap. But investing in a good travel bag is SO important. You don’t want to be that traveler dragging your luggage – complete with sparks and accompanying sound effects – with a missing wheel through the airport. Or the one trying to carry a backpack with a broken strap. What you do want is a bag that’s durable, easy to maneuver around and light – qualities generally not found in cheap bags. Your luggage also needs to fit the type of trip you’re planning to undertake.

We were initially thinking about getting backpacks for our 15-month trip. But since we knew we had to pack quite a decent amount of stuff (see my Tips for Packing: How and What to Pack for Long-term Travel post for all the stuff I have in my bag!) we started leaning towards wheeled luggage as the idea of carrying around heavy backpacks wasn’t that appealing. We did a fair bit of research online, and Osprey seemed to be one of the brands that kept popping up in many travel blogs. We then discovered their wheeled convertible luggage and were intrigued – a wheeled luggage that could be converted into a backpack, as needed? It seemed perfect for us and after seeing the bag ‘in person’ we went ahead and got two identical Osprey Sojourn 80L/28″ bags (in hindsight we probably could have gone for different colors…).

Osprey Sojourn Review

This trip has so far taken us to cities, beaches, jungles, mountains and pretty much everything in between, on all sorts of terrain. There’s been lots of unpacking and repacking throughout the trip, as well as plenty of wheeling around the luggage. But the one thing we actually have not used is the backpack conversion… There have been a couple of times when we were thinking about whipping out the backpack straps, however messing around with your bag in the middle of a street in Paris just [Read more…]

April 11, 2015 by Steve Owen Leave a Comment

Pacsafe Metrosafe 300 GII Anti-theft Laptop Bag – Review

Choosing a laptop bag has always been a challenge to me. Previous bags I have owned have either been too big, too small, or didn’t protect the contents well. For an extended trip like ours, my laptop bag of choice is the Pacsafe Metrosafe 300 GII anti-theft laptop bag. It’s a spacious laptop bag that comes with clever anti-theft and other handy features. I chose this bag as I needed something that could fit all my tech gadgets, keep them safe and was easily accessible for going through security or just generally throughout the day.

I chose the Pacsafe laptop bag for our trip because I wanted the security features of the locking zippered compartments, the mesh lining, as well something comfortable to carry. I also didn’t want to worry about someone doing a slash and grab on the bag or pulling it from my arm. The locking shoulder strap and the slashguard wire mesh built into the bag help prevent any of those types of theft. The bag comes with RFID blocking material in [Read more…]

March 10, 2015 by Eeva Routio 1 Comment

Eagle Creek Afar Review

Testing out the Afar backpack on the road

I thought I’d share with you how the Eagle Creek Afar backpack has been working for me on our trip. In the below video I review the backpack which I use as my carry-on bag, occasional day pack and ‘weekender’. I go through some of the backpack’s features, and also show you how much it fits and how it looks.

The Afar has a spacious main compartment which has a laptop/ipad section, a secondary compartment which also includes pocket organisers for your phone or camera, pens, and other smaller items, and a zippered mesh pocket. The bag also has two mesh side pockets for a drink bottle and other items, and a front mesh pocket which is handy for for example stowing away your jacket. There are dual lockable zippers on the two main compartments so you can lock the bag for added security. There is also a separate compartment for your laptop (in addition to the laptop pocket inside the main compartment), which is really easy to access and also very secure as the entry sits underneath the backpack straps. I find the laptop compartment particularly useful when going through airport security.

My favorite feature is the weight of the backpack – it is super light at 0.76kg (1 lb 11 oz). Yet it is pretty spacious as its capacity is 33.5 Litres (2050 cu in) so it’s big enough for any ‘side trips’ that we may take. I also like the amount of pockets, compartments and general level of organisation the bag provides. Overall I find the Afar a really great backpack that is ultra light, yet spacious.

I hope the video will provide some tips on what kind of carry-on bag to select if you’re going on a trip, or generally looking for a good backpack that’s lightweight and spacious. Thanks for watching!

If you’d like to see more gear reviews and travel videos, please check out our Coconut Compass Youtube channel!

March 10, 2015 by Eeva Routio 1 Comment

Pacsafe Citysafe 100 GII Anti-theft Travel Handbag Review

My travel handbag of choice is the very compact Pacsafe Citysafe 100 Gii Anti-theft Petite Travel Handbag, and I thought I would share with you how the bag has been working for me. In this short video (below) I review the Pacsafe Citysafe’s features, and also show you how much the size actually fits, and how it looks.

As the name suggests, Pacsafe Citysafe is an anti-theft handbag, and whilst it is certainly not the most glamorous looking bag, it’s quite streamlined and I really like its safety features. I purchased the bag because of its features which include slash-guard shoulder strap and sides of the bag (i.e. would-be bag snatchers can’t cut through your strap or the side of the bag); RFID blocking material to keep anything with a microchip safe from identity thieves; and a secure zipper that clips in place.

I find that the bag provides some added peace of mind because of these anti-theft features that can stop, or at least greatly slow down, pickpockets or identity thieves. I believe Pacsafe have recently come out with some new handbag designs so there are now more sizes and designs to choose from.

I hope this video will provide some tips on what kind of handbag to select if you’re going on a long trip (or anywhere really, and you’re just looking for added security for every-day commuting). Thanks for watching!