It’s been non-stop with traveling and very little time for writing, but I’ve finally been able to put some new baggage to the ultimate test. Check out PART 1 of my quest to find the perfect travel bag, then keep reading below.

Carry-on luggage needs to be light, well-shaped and to be able to keep up with high speeds through Newark Airport. I’ve never been happy with my store-bought selections; Samsonite, Tumi, and other name brands are all very well-made but their design has fallen short for me.

Again I visit CALPAK, a brand catering to women’s travel bags and accessories with matching sets that span the gamut of their entire catalog. You could put together an epic matching set of long-term travel luggage and have a hard time choosing from their finish assortment.

Aside from looks, the quality is extremely good. I was skeptical because this new carry-on was very, very light. Too light, I thought, to be rigid enough to take my battering. I was wrong.

I decided to take the Murphie under-seat carry-on + my new Kaya laptop bag on a 5 day trip to Hong Kong. That would require me to really plan what I was bringing in advance but I was surprised that I was able to get a ton of clothing, beauty products and shoes in this little bag. I knew I was successful when I rolled into my HK office and everyone did a double-take at my little bag. General consensus was, “Thats ALL you brought??” Oh yes, and it’s got EVERYTHING I would have packed in a standard design.

This is where the argument of “roll vs. fold” comes in handy. Ladies, the answer is most certainly always ROLL. (Unless you own packing cubes… i before e, except after c.)

The hardware on this bag is metal and very sturdy; I packed a lot into this little under-seat carry-on. A lot. I was worried the hardware would bust but it worked wonders, particularly as I wasn’t a “stay-put” visitor. I was somewhat living out of the thing as I toured around the region.

I loved the side accessory pockets as I shoved often-accessed items in there like chapstick, hand sanitizer, a bottle of water…

My only gripe is that I wish they had put spinner wheels on this piece, but it’s not a deal breaker.

All in all I’m extremely happy with this purchase and this set. I decided to try out their Neck Pillow / Eye Mask set as well for this overnight flight. The plastic tote it comes in is sturdy and great for dropping in hand sanitizer and flying essentials, and the eye mask is amazingly comfortable.

I’ll be taking this on a road trip through California in a month and I can’t wait to throw it in the back of my top-down rental and hit the road. Check out CALPAK for great gift ideas for the traveler you love, or treat yourself to one of their great travel wallets or hat boxes.