Thinking about new luggage

We've had our Heys rolling backpacks for four years now, and they've been on some fantastic trips with us. And they've served us well. But even though we think they're still ready for another trip or two, we find ourselves looking for something new and different.

The new bags are pretty high tech and of course some of the materials used to make them are much lighter than before. Our current bags weigh 7 lbs empty, and have 45 litres of carrying capacity.

The thing that you have to be careful with is the weight of them when they are full. The idea is to try and keep the loaded weight below the typical carry on size limit for most flights.

Of course it depends on the airline, but most have a carry on limit of 22 lbs (10 kgs).

Kevin, with his backpack in Colombia.

They are starting to show some wear and tear.

Side pocket wearing out.

So we're looking at a few different brands, but still not sure if we're going to buy something this year or not. 

The first one we're looking at is made by Osprey. It's a great looking pack and has lots of neat features including a removeable day pack. 

Only problem is that it still weighs 6.3 lbs which is not a great advantage over our current ones that weigh 7 lbs. But, it has a very handy removeable daypack. That's a great feature.

Osprey Ozone Convertible Wheeled Backpack

The next one we're looking at is made by Eagle Creek.

This one definitely makes the weight grade, coming in at a mere 4 lbs 9 oz.

This is the one we're leaning towards.

But, it's a toss up between the two. It sure would be handy to have the extra day pack from the Osprey. 

Eagle Creek EC Lync Rolling Backpack

Neither one of these bags are cheap though, so we'll probably squeeze one last winter out of our current packs. Of course, if Osprey or Eagle Creek wanted to sponsor us, we would probably accept their offer!