High Sierra Ultimate Access Rolling Carry-On Backpack

I bought 2 of these for my wife and I about 15 years ago - my wife had a problem with the extended handle so we returned the pack and they sent us a new one. We both travel and my wife often traveled to Norway (as much as 4 times a year) carrying her computer and gifts and the like to Norway and back. Her pack was often as heavy as a suitcase! Her pack is still in great shape. On a trip to Hawaii last month my pack, however, had a problem with the handle - it would not extend unless the pack was opened and some manual manipulations were made. Due to the age of the pack we figured it was cheaper to buy a new one then try and send it to High Sierra for repair. The new pack is almost exactly like the old one with a few updated features - we will see how useful these updated features are over the years. Our favorite feature is the zip off back pack - we are able to keep items which can be stowed in the overhead compartment in the main section of the pack and keep items we want during our flight in the back pack zip off portion - (medications, Kindles, snacks when appropriate, gum/hard candies for take offs and landings and the like)

This is an amazing bag!! My husband and I each have one. I had an older version I also bought on STP for a steal, and after years of use, it started to get a little ragged, and I bought a replacement at STP again for a steal. It's perfect for air travel. It is sized for international carry on (which is slightly smaller than US carry on). The day pack zips off, which is handy. The day pack fits under the seat in front of you on a plane, and the bigger part fits in the overhead. The telescoping handle zips in. The daypack is a backpack on it's own or, it zips fully too the larger part, which can then be carried as a big backpack or rolled. The daypack also has a strap on the back that lowers over the telescoping handle too (if you separated them for the security scanner but want to roll both through the airport. It is balanced well you so can stand it up on it's own. It has handles on top or the side for carrying. We packed them full for a trip to San Francisco and ended up hiking through the Redwood forest with them on our backs (since it was our last activity before flying out), and it was fine. They wouldn't be comfortable for hiking every day, all day, but it was fine for a few hours. The bags are lightweight. The daypack has well planned pockets for smaller items, a padded back, which doubles as padding for a laptop, water bottle pockets, and a perfect front pocket for a liquids bag for air travel. The bigger bag has a hidden zipper pocket (hidden by daypack when attached), which is perfect for hiding whatever if you are traveling. It also has cinching straps inside and outside so everything stays compressed and secure. We are thrilled with these bags and hope STP continues to carry them. We may even buy some extra to have as backups or gifts.

I've been travelling with this rolling set for a couple of years now, and find it very convenient. I can either push or pull it easily and the handle is long (I'm short and it's almost too long). You definitely must zip off the smaller front pack to get on a plane with it, just to carry it down the aisle, but when separated, the front part holds my laptop, book, coat, water bottle, and all of the numerous smaller things like earbuds, a snack, keys, and cellphone in the smaller front pocket. The small pack easily goes under the seat in front of me with plenty of room to spare. I once also placed the larger bag under the seat as well, but not with the two connected. Usually, I place the larger part in the overhead bin, though on the little regional jets, I usually gate check it, as it's pretty tight in the bins on the Embraer and CR jets that United/American use in the mountains. I can fit many pieces of clothing and shoes in the larger part, probably two pairs shoes, all my toiletries, and 4-5 pants, same # of shirts, under/night things. Again, I'm a smaller woman, but this set really holds plenty for 5 days. So far, absolutely no rips, tears, wheel problems, etc. This past week, I simply slipped the strap on the back of the small daypack down over the handle when I exited the plane, and I found that this gave me more of a tall, upright set, instead of the low to the ground, but very "fat and deep" zipped together bags. It takes a few minutes to re-zip the two together especially fully loaded, and one has to lay the larger bag on its' back to do that. Lots of options here for carry on travel! I have never used the larger part as a backpack, as it is just too heavy for me fully loaded.