Everything I’m Considering About My Travel Bag for a Month in Europe

Our Editor, Amy, isn’t known for her lightweight packing. But with a month of travel around the corner, she’s attempting to learn from past overpacking mistakes. And it all starts with the bag.

 

Like many Aussies when winter hits, I’m heading to Europe in June. I’ve got a week of hiking in Norway followed by a week of beach bumming in Greece, with city breaks sprinkled throughout. And I’m trying to get through the whole thing with just carry-on luggage. Crazy? Maybe.

But I’ve done the overpacking thing and that drove me crazy enough to give this a try instead. The last time I spent a month overseas, I was in New Zealand, hiking, paddling, and road tripping across both islands. It was gorgeous!

But I was truly burdened by my multiple burly bags. As I had the Routeburn Track booked I needed to pack for a multi-day hike. So naturally, my Osprey Aura AG 65L hiking pack got to visit New Zealand too.

Then there was the 35L Cotopaxi travel pack to hold all my additional clothes, a cross-body handbag for the important stuff, and a tote just in case. Not only was I slow, uncomfortable, and at higher risk of losing something in the chaos, I looked pretty damn silly. This time around, I’m making a conscious effort to pack strategically with the aim of reducing the ways things could go wrong while I’m in a foreign country. And I wouldn’t mind looking a little more slick while I do it.

That’s why, when I heard about Osprey’s new Farpoint | Fairview range – a line of dedicated adventure travel bags – I knew it was my first step to a more seamless and comfortable holiday.

But first I needed to figure out exactly what I’d be doing and what type of bag I needed to get the job done.

What to Consider When Choosing a Travel Bag

How is it transported?

For those holidaying in one main location and moving directly from the airport to a hotel and back again, hardshell, wheeled luggage makes perfect sense.

For the rest of us, we need something more portable. If you’re moving around a lot on your travels, particularly by foot or public transport, a backpack that comfortably straps to your body works best.

The bags feature adjustable harness and hipbelt | Photo supplied by Osprey

Look out for padded, adjustable straps, and hip belts to help you carry the load of the bag across your whole body – even better if these can be stowed away to make airport transits more seamless and less strappy.

One factor often overlooked – how important is it to be able to use your hands while you have your luggage with you? Wheeled bags mean one hand is always occupied, whereas backpacks allow you to move around handsfree.

What are you using it for?

Similarly, if you’re expecting your luggage to move to a single hotel room and stay there, go the wheeled luggage route.

If you’re moving between places, taking some longer day trips, or even including an overnight or multi-day hike, you’ll need a bag that’s versatile in different situations (trust me, one bag that can do it all is better than four bags that do one thing each).

For active travellers who are on the go but not necessarily hiking, consider a bag that packs down to a day pack size backpack (or comes with one included) and can be easily compressed when less full for more adaptability when squishing it into tight compartments.

Osprey’s 15L Fairview daypack will slide under a plane seat easily

If you plan to spend some time on the trail during your travels, a larger hiking pack style bag may be the ticket. They often feature a permanent hipbelt and harness system (i.e. not stowable) but with more padding, ventilation, and adjustability for a comfier fit. However these extra features often increase the bag’s weight, so if these aren’t necessary for your trip, they could weigh you down and eat up precious grams at airport check-in.

Do you need check-in luggage or can you get away with carry-on?

If you’re travelling for extended periods of time or carrying heavy items or gear, the need for check-in luggage is without question.

But if the bulk of your luggage is filled with clothes – particularly if you’re travelling for a shorter amount of time or to somewhere warm – squeezing everything into carry-on luggage brings a lot of benefits:

• You can save time and avoid check-in queues at airports by checking in online and heading straight for customs
• You don’t run the risk of your luggage not making it onto your flight with you and being stranded without your stuff
• There’s no need to wait around at the baggage carousel at the end of your flight
• And obviously, you can save a hell of a lot of money by not paying for checked luggage

When deciding which bag to take, don’t just reach for the one that’s there and pack until it’s full. Consider how much you really need and what you can save by selecting a bag that fits carry-on luggage dimensions.

Packing cubes help keep travel bags well-organised | Photo supplied by Osprey

Osprey’s Dedicated Adventure Travel Bags

The team at Osprey has put everything they’ve learnt about making durable and cleverly-designed hiking, biking, trail running, climbing, and snow sport packs and put it into creating adventure travel bags and backpacks.

The new Farpoint | Fairview range is a collection of travel bags designed specifically for both men (Farpoint) and women (Fairview) fits. There are three main types of bags in the range: travel packs, trek packs, and wheeled bags.

Travel Packs

The travel packs are designed for fast-moving travellers who need flexibility and features when packing and trotting the globe. The travel packs come in four sizes: 70L, 55L, 40L, and a 15L day pack. The 15L day pack has been designed to strategically strap onto the front of many packs in the range, including the trek packs.

The Fairview 55L Travel Pack | Photo supplied by Osprey

Trek Packs

The trek packs are a cross between the travel packs and a standard hiking pack. They come in 70L or 55L but feature front panel access rather than top-down access, for a much more travel-friendly packing approach. The trek packs are perfect for a few weeks of travel that includes time on the trail.

The Fairview 55L Trek Pack | Photo supplied by Osprey

Wheeled Bags

The wheeled bags are unisex and come in a 65L or 36L option, featuring an extendable single-tube handle, internal frame, and durable 90mm wheels for smooth rolling. But these bags are made for adventure travel, so you’re bound to reach a point where wheels simply won’t do. That’s when you can deploy the stowaway harness and hipbelt to shoulder the pack when you hit rough (read: fun) terrain.

The Fairview | Farpoint wheeled bags | Photo supplied by Osprey

The fabrics used across the whole Farpoint | Fairview range are all bluesign-approved, 100% recycled nylon or polyester with DWR treatment (and no PFAS!). That means they’re environmentally friendly and water-resistant – good for you and Mumma Natch.

The Bag I’ve Chosen to Get Me Across Europe

From the Farpoint | Fairview range, I selected the Fairview 55L Travel Pack. It’s essentially two bags in one – a 40L main bag and a smaller 15L detachable day pack that slides into the front of the larger bag, clipping in neatly.

Osprey says that when the two bags are separated, they meet the carry-on requirements for most domestic flights, with the larger bag stowing away in the overhead locker and the day pack sliding under the seat. This is the kind of design ingenuity I need if I’m going to make it through Europe with just one bag (and maybe a little delusion – domestic and international carry-on rules are the same, right? Right?!).

Some of my favourite Osprey features are in there too, including the padded hip belt, adjustable torso length, and breathable spacer mesh harness, complete with sternum strap so I can fit the bag snuggly to my body. And thanks to the AirSpace backpanel, it’s comfy to wear but still ventilated (for when I’m inevitably running through the airport before my gate closes).

The AirSpace back panel helps ventilate while the adjustable harness and hip belt synch the bag to your body

Crucially though, the bag’s harness and hipbelt can be zipped away behind a back panel to reduce the faff of straps, making the bag more streamlined, essentially turning it into a duffel that can be picked up by the top or side padded handles.

I’ve already completed a practice pack and the main compartment is impressively roomy. Two internal compression straps help cinch my clothes together tightly and stop them from falling down and around too much.

Internal straps help keep luggage in place | Photo supplied by Osprey

But it’s the dual-strap ‘WingJacket’ compression that I reckon is going to make all the difference. These external fabric sidewalls and straps extend out to hold the day pack in place when it’s attached but do wonders to compress the outside of the larger bag when the two are separated. I’ll be counting on this feature to squeeze my bag down to its smallest possible size when boarding all those flights.

Wish Me Luck

I’m confident that my Osprey Fairview 55L Travel Pack is the right choice for my trip. Now all that’s left to do is compile a perfect capsule wardrobe to get me from the alpine trails of Norway to the pebbly beaches of Greece. Wish me luck!

Just me and my Osprey bag against the world