Many Gadgets, One Carry-On Bag - Simple

The practice of packing only one bag for air travel is gaining popularity--but has drawbacks, as Jim Martin found.

One carry-on bag, zero checked baggage. The concept seems absolutely Zen-like in its simplicity. Given that American Airlines and other carriers now charge for every checked bag, the strategy can help cut your travel costs, too.

But for mobile professionals toting a laptop and other gear, how practical is the one-bag-only approach? For a recent trip from San Francisco to Charlotte, North Carolina, I decided to find out.
A 25-Pound Shoulder Bag?

Whenever possible, I follow a two-carry-on, zero-checked bag strategy. I pack a backpack or smallish bag containing a laptop and other materials I'll want at my seat. I stow this bag under the seat in front of me. I also pack a larger wheeled bag containing clothing, toiletries, and other items I don't need during the flight. This goes into the overhead compartment. When I'm in the airport, I loop the smaller bag's back over the wheeled bag's telescoping handle, so I don't have to carry the bag. On long trips, I usually check one bag and carry on one or two.

On my recent San Francisco-Charlotte trip, I challenged myself to follow the strategy advocated by Doug Dyment on his site OneBag.com. Dyment suggests it's best to travel with only one bag--with no wheels. Bags without wheels can accommodate more items and aren't as heavy, the theory goes. If you must have wheels, the site recommends using the Travelite luggage cart, $30 at Magellan's.

I started off by packing everything--clothes, toiletries, a pair of shoes, reading material, MacBook Air laptop and accessories, Palm Treo, and other gear--into a Red Oxx Air Boss ($225). (Dyment helped design the Air Boss.) You carry the Air Boss over your shoulders with a strap. By the time I finished, the bag weighed over 25 pounds--even though I'd streamlined my clothes as much as possible.

I faced a long layover in Dallas/Fort Worth on the trip out, and I had only 50 minutes in Chicago O'Hare to make a connecting flight during my return trip. The thought of hauling 25 pounds while I moseyed about the Dallas airport or dashed frantically through O'Hare was hugely unappealing, so I opted to schlep my bag on a Travelite cart.

My virtuous intentions aside, I confess that just before leaving home, my instincts told me to pack a second carry-on bag. Into a small backpack went the MacBook Air and its accessories, newspapers, nutrition bars, and a lightweight jacket.

I'm grateful that I followed my instincts. Coming home, the Charlotte-Chicago leg of my trip was on an Embraer regional jet with small overhead compartments. I had to check my Air Boss at the departure gate. If I hadn't packed the backpack, I would have had to scramble to extract my laptop and anything else I might want on board.

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