Help Me Pick a Carry on Backpack that complies with AirAsia!

Lcollegedude101 on 30/11/2017 - 11:28

Hey guys,

Will be leaving in about 10 days and heading on a backpacking trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. I will be staying for 4 weeks all up.
As funds are pretty tight, hence my flights have been booked without any checked in luggage. So left with 7kg to carry all my stuff. I'm not too worried about weight (minimalist + can buy stuff overseas) but about the dimensions of a backpack that will be allowed for carry on, and one that is good value for money.

The dimensions for Air Asia flights are 56x36x23 Cms.

So far I've seen a lot of people recommend a) Osprey Farpoint 40 Travel Backpack & b) the Osprey Porter 46 Gear Hauler Duffel. Any thoughts on these? scared that these might be pushing it even though they are marketed as carry on. They are quite expensive and can't seem to find them on sale which is another concern…

Anyone has any advice or other recommendations? I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you!

Travel

Comments

  • Heracles26 on 30/11/2017 - 11:48
    +1

    Either of those would be fine imo just don't over pack and tighten the compression straps to make it look as small as possible.

    I have taken the farpoint as carry on numerous times as well as my Deuter act 40+10 with no issues

    • collegedude101 on 30/11/2017 - 14:42

      Thanks for that. Do you remember where you purchased your Farpoint 40 from?

      • Heracles26 on 30/11/2017 - 15:19

        I think maybe Cotswold outdoor. I prefer the deuter though as the hips straps are better when weight increases. My back is pretty bad though so you should be fine with the farpoint

  • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2017 - 11:50
    +1

    Carried the Osprey Porter 46 from Sydney to all around Vietnam, never had any dramas with any airlines (went on many small flights)

    It is surprisingly large if you know how to pack right (used packing cubes)

    Great accompaniment to any trip

  • bobbified on 30/11/2017 - 11:59
    +1

    As funds are pretty tight…

    You may not need to go buy a new bag at all. Any regular-sized backpack that you already have will be fine as long as you pack within the weight limits. Well, obviously, as long as it's not those huge backpacking sacks.

    I've learnt over the years that regardless of how heavy your backpack really is, if your backpack is packed to the max and it looks heavy, they'll check it.

  • noyesmaybeok on 30/11/2017 - 12:11
    +1

    People take multiple bags on AirAsia all the time, a few cm's is nothing. Hell, you know those big red white blue striped packing bags from the 90s? Some asian lady had one FULL of noodles, along with a huge backpack and a handbag you could hide a body in and walked on no issues!

    • ausdday on 30/11/2017 - 12:23

      Have I met you in the airport before?

    • davide14 on 01/12/2017 - 11:33

      They sure do. I took Air Asia from KK to KL. A lady boarded wearing a medium size backpack with another pack on her front plus plastic bags in each hand and a small handbag. I couldn’t believe how much stuff she was carrying and no one said anything to her.

      • Peck on 02/12/2017 - 23:27

        They don't pull them up because it may delay the flight. These people are a pain in the A#@*. Especially when those of us doing the right thing have to find a hole in the overheads down the back of the plane. Not great fun when deplaning.

        • Member 0230 on 03/12/2017 - 13:48

          Hear, hear.

          Looks like they're very inconsistent with their checks.

          We had a 12:50AM departure from Melbourne a couple weeks ago, and they were checking our cabin bags for weight.

          And again, they checked them on departure from Malaysia.

  • robbyjones on 30/11/2017 - 12:20
    +1

    Have a look a thefrontier.com.au. I bought my Osprey 46 from here and had it delivered, no dramas at all. The Osprey 46 is great as you can cinch it down to make it look a lot smaller than what it is, I take this on domestic flights all the time and have never been questioned, you can stow the straps and this makes the pack look smaller, it holds a shite load of stuff, I always overpack and take crap I dont need and I have no trouble packing this for weeks away interstate. This is on sale at frontier for $170, I bought the hoodoo red as that was the only colour they had, I was concerned about it looking grubby but it's great and more of a rust than red. Alternatively they have the Gregory 30 on sale for $90, cheap, looks ok but more of a hiking backpack than a travel one, but its smaller and cheaper.

  • rutho on 30/11/2017 - 12:24
    +1

    I would highly recommend the Kathmandu Litehaul 38L bag. It fits perfectly within the dimensions so I'm never worried about it being oversize, whereas AFAIK the Osprey models are technically larger than the size restrictions (at least while fully packed). It's a great quality bag too, I've done close to 12 months worth of travel with it now and it still looks brand new.

    https://www.kathmandu.com.au/travel/packs-and-bags/travel-pa…

    • djkelly69 on 30/11/2017 - 12:49

      I have the older/slightly different version of this (bought about 6 months ago) and agree it is great. Have not used it on a LCC, but no issues with VA.

      I only paid $100 however, so that may factor into it.

  • dasher86 on 30/11/2017 - 13:12

    Get a High Sierra <$100 and will do what you want it to do.
    something like this.
    https://bagstogo.com.au/high-sierra-xbt-17-inch-laptop-backp…
    Bonus is that it looks corporate enough that you can take it to uni or the office.

    Your packing is going to be less than 10 kilos so you don't need all the additional fancy straps etc.

    Max litres for carry on is circa 45.

    I like blackwolf if you want to get something more expensive.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2017 - 13:45
    +1

    Complies with Air Asia? Does that mean it has a flotation device?

    • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2017 - 16:27
      +2

      Airbag and parachute in one.

  • FirstWizard on 30/11/2017 - 14:00

    Got one a few months ago for a month long trip to the US/Canada. Was on heaps of domestic flights and saved myself checked luggage fees.

    https://loveluggage.com.au/products/kosciuszko-trolley-backp…

    I bought it form the local store, therefore, dunno how the delivery speed is.

    Though most airlines say 56cm is fine, however, Westjet has the limit at 53.3cm.

  • collegedude101 on 30/11/2017 - 14:46

    Thanks everyone for your comments!

    After doing some research I think i'm set on the Osprey Far Point 40.
    I've kind of left it last minute, so will need to have the backpack ideally before the 11th of December. Is this possible?

    Also, might just be my lack of skills, but I cannot seem to find the bag for less than the RRP (199) or maybe $179 (might be an older version though). Does anyone know a website/place that could have them cheaper? If anyone could give me a lending hand I'd appreciate it immensely!

    Thank you

    • noyesmaybeok on 30/11/2017 - 14:57

      I got a $30 bag from Big W. Can hold 6kg which is near limit anway.

      Smaller in size than the Osprey, but no issue, not like you need winter gear for your trip!

  • anthem29 on 30/11/2017 - 14:47
    +1

    Osprey Porter 46. Never had a problem with it worldwide (including AA)

    Did 9 weeks in Europe with them, great backpack.

    • collegedude101 on 30/11/2017 - 15:52

      Thanks for your comment. Do you remember where you bought your backpack from?

      • anthem29 on 30/11/2017 - 16:10

        The Luggage Professionals.

  • movieman on 30/11/2017 - 14:55
    +1

    The smaller Osprey Porter.

    Ideally get the lightest bag you can afford, to make it easier.

  • dpjohn02 on 30/11/2017 - 15:03
    +1

    Just did an AirAsia from Darwin to Bali with the Osprey 46 & the daypack that came with the Osprey 55L, no issues whatsoever. Did a return via Jetstar too no issues. Only issue I encountered was the REX flight departing Townsville on that trip, they asked me to check it.

    Go forth and carry on!

    • collegedude101 on 30/11/2017 - 15:51

      Awesome, thanks mate.

      Do you remember where you bought your Osprey 46 from?

      • garffi on 30/11/2017 - 16:43

        I bought mine from paddy pallins on eBay. There’s another seller that sells these bags on eBay and it’s probably the cheapest price around. Past deal

      • dpjohn02 on 01/12/2017 - 10:59

        I've used 2 different vendors for the Osprey bags:
        Osprey Farpoint 55L: wildearth.com.au/buy/osprey-farpoint-55-ultralight-travel-backpack-dayp/OSP0533-VOLCANIC
        Osprey Porter 46: http://www.downundercamping.com.au/?rf=kw&kw=osprey

        Be careful on the Porter 46 — it has a 2016 and a 2017 model. The 2017 will say something like "latest" or "newest" if you compare prices on Ebay. I had to cancel the first order because it was the 2016 and got the 2017 instead.

  • suchis on 01/12/2017 - 13:17

    Wear two socks
    Wear heaviest footwear
    Two t shirts and then carry rain coat over arm
    Wear jeans on and pack shorts
    ……
    3-4 kg saved!

  • myusername on 01/12/2017 - 13:21

    use a boogie board bag

  • Member 0230 on 01/12/2017 - 16:25
    +1

    Check the ultralight (1.2kg) Carribee SkyMaster 40.

    We just came back from a trip (on AirAsia) with it. Well-designed, lots of useful well-thought out compartments. Absolutely awesome, and will happily choose it again to replace my other heavy 2.8kg roller luggage.

    Others have similar ★★★★½ to ★★★★★ reviews, e.g., ProductReview.

    You can find it for close to $100 on sale — we did at Ray's, and Anaconda would have price beat it.

    Here, I've done some of the shopping for you — under $100 with free shipping!

    • Member 0230 on 02/12/2017 - 12:06

      I discovered lots of OzBs like the Osprey Porter 46, but also say you'll exceed limits if you max it.

      Dimensions check

      • AirAsia limits: 56 x 36 x 23
      • Porter 46: 56 x 36 x 28
      • SkyMaster 40: 54 x 33 x 18

      xyron in the thread says he prefers the Osprey for its build quality but frequently chooses the Caribee instead for its compartments and versatility.

      Quick compare

      • Osprey Porter 46: better build but fewer compartments, slightly larger (may trip carrier limits), slightly heavier (300g), more expensive street price
      • Caribee Skymaster 40: not as well built but more compartments, tailored to carrier limits, 300g lighter, cheaper street price

      Now that Osprey is on my radar, I might consider the Farpoint 40 — it's better suited for carrier baggage limits at 54 x 35 x 23 (but still much dearer than the SkyMaster though)

  • andrewc on 02/12/2017 - 02:30
    +3

    Hi there
    I am currently in Malaysia after spending 5 week s traveling around Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.
    I have been using the Osprey Porter 46. I have been using cheaper airlines such as Air Asia and have carried this on the plane with me.
    My bag is over 7kilos and not one person has checked the size or weight of my bag.

    • Scab on 03/12/2017 - 13:52
      +1

      Is that you in the photo, you look like you just met Tightarse?

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