Airplane bag/case for backpacks?

I hate these new forums, you can’t edit. So I’m adding on.. I’m almost tempted to buy a square yard of Robic or something and just sewing a sack, but I have no access to any good sewing machine or knowledge on how to do this… hence the looking out!

The REI pack duffel has worked well for me.

I like the Eagle Creek No Matter What Rolling Duffel x-large:   I hauled it from Alaska to NZ, all over NZ, then back to Alaska and it performed well and held up just fine.   It has wheels, but only weighs about 4 lbs.  It was large enough for my HMG 4400.    An added bonus is that it folds up pretty small for storage or transport if you are not using it.

Then you have to carry the darn thing.

We use two green garbage bags (per pack) and some 2″ wide packing tape each time. The remains go in the rubbish bin at the destination airport. Leave a ‘handle’ sticking out so they have something to grab.

Cheers

I like Roger’s trash bag idea.  Especially with the packing tape reinforcement.  For small packs, trash-compactor* bags are the strongest available.  For larger bags, the “contractor debris bags” are 2 to 3 times thicker than the cheaper, mass-marketed ones.

Some airlines still offer bags at the check-in counter and they always have tape.  But it’s hard to count on.  The plastic bags are pretty tough and I’ve saved some and reused them multiple times on car seats and backpacks.

In the disposable approach, if you wrap the pack in corrugated cardboard before you put the plastic bag around it, it will have some additional protection, as will its contents.  Then, yeah, throw the cardboard and plastic when you get there.

You seem focused on the weight, so are you thinking you have to carry the duffle bag with you for your whole trip?  I’ve been known to stash things in a highway culvert or under a bridge near the trailhead, etc.  Haven’t lost anything yet.

If you can’t find a trash bag before you get to the airport, follow the janitor around.  Every few minutes they walk away from a trash can they just put a new, clean trash bag into.  Or ask them for one.

Hmmm…This?  Can’t beat the price :)

Osprey Airporter. Someone needs to make a frameless pack that is nicely trimmed inside so you can turn it inside out for travel. It could have a roll top with buckles on the inside, forming a grab handle.

I have a REI Wheeley Beast that I have been happy with.

Ask the airline for a “car seat” bag. When you travel with a kid seat they wrap it up in a heavy duty plastic bag. I’ve done this before with Wildland fire packs and backpacks. Works great. No charge. Disposable.

Brilliant! Sounds like it might have potential for a pack liner too.

+1 on a DIY bag – I really don’t like the idea of having to buy another bag to put my pack in, that I then have to lug around. I’ve used tough rice and potato sacks, as well as ‘rubble sacks’ used for building debris. Generally though I just use tough garden/refuse sacks. I use one on the outside of my pack during the flight, and one inside as a pack liner. The internal one becomes the external one for the return journey.

#1- I’m not sure why everyone says that they can’t edit posts.  I can.

#2- I used to recommend a golf club or ski bag, since airlines used to not charge for them, but all of them do now.

#3- Given that, yes, I’d say wrap the hell out of it with plastic wrap or such.  Otherwise if you use a real bag you have to carry it with you on your hike or find a place to store it.  Do airports even have lockers anymore?

How do you edit your posts, Dean? I don’t see the pencil sign anywhere…

Thank you all for your help – there are some real gems here, but to answer 2 additional questions:

1. I prefer to have something that I don’t ditch after using, both for environmental purposes re: trash and also because I like the “buy it for life” mentality as much as possible.
2. I would like to be able to hike with the duffel/wrap/etc but yes, it is a possibility that I ditch it somewhere hidden. Although my pref is for something light enough (again, the zpacks, if it were durable, gives me hope) that I could just pack into my bag.

Thanks again!

I believe it’s just the first post in a thread that can’t be edited.

Edited to add: other posts should have an edit “button” at the top right, next to the reply button.

We’ve had good luck wrapping packs or other large items in bubble wrap and then taping.  Have done this with hiking poles as well.  Doesn’t weigh much if you have to carry it around but easily disposed of as well.  I have had to ask for bubble wrap in several foreign languages and a couple of times I had to sort of act out what I needed when I bought an item and didn’t have any wrap with me to use on return trip. It can easily be used again/recycled.

Good idea on the bubble wrap. You could keep a small chunk as an example. Whipping up a photo on your phone makes a quick and dirty translator.

Another suggestion, as you want to avoid throwing it away – use a large sized pack-liner or roll-top dry bag that is big enough for your pack to fit inside. Then use it as your pack liner while hiking. I don’t think cuben will be tough enough for using as a pack protector during a flight. You can get silnylon bags of all sizes, a low dernier cordura might work too. Otherwise I’d make your own or get one custom made to your specs (fabric, size, closure) – very simple to do. I’d look at the above fabrics, plus robic and possibly even dyneema.

One other point – my main concern when flying isn’t necessarily the pack fabric, it’s the stays. I’ve recently transitioned to a frameless and carry-on sized pack so this is no longer an issue, but some packs have fragile stays or frames (eg ULA recommends that OHM and Circuit users don’t check their bags because of the carbon fiber hoops). Many people check their packs and are fine, some are just unlucky. If your pack is expensive, too big for carry-on and you’re concerned about the frame then I know some people use a thrift store suitcase to contain their pack while flying – you can either give it to another thrift store at your destination or store it for your return flight.

Lastly, if you’re going to fly a lot, I’d consider transitioning to a carry-on size pack, or at least one that compresses down to that size (ie. frame less than 22″ tall, or a frameless pack).

Thanks, thats a great idea! Do you have a lead on a Robic or *durable* silynlon, or cordura that would fit something around 40L, 35″ height?

I have a very basic sewing machine.. I dont think it can handle industrial fabrics like Robic (I use it to patch a pair of denim, nothing more).

The reality is, I can fly carry-on based on my gear, but I often have things that unfortunately due to stupid airplane regs I can’t fly with – a small knife/multitool, liquids, etc. Or I travel somewhere, then want to bring sometihng *back*.

“I often have things that unfortunately due to stupid airplane regs I can’t fly with” — mail those items to yourself general delivery or, if staying at a hotel a night, call up and ask the hotel.  If it’s just odds and ends, it’ll be cheaper than the checked bag fee. Even trekking poles and 10 days of food in a flat rate “game board box” is going to be cheaper.

There seem to be three categories here. 1. Something lightweight that you can put in your backpack and carry around with you. (And use as a camp ‘container’ a large thingy like the cheap Ikea bags kayakers use because backpacks don’t fit through 11 x6″ hatches) 2. Something temporary (like plastic bags) or ‘loaned’ by the airline. (If these could be counted on, then they’d be the perfect solution) and 3. Not quite Backpacking Light, but handy and reliable, like the roller duffel someone mentioned.  I’m on my way to Japan and Hong Kong, but I’ll have ‘bases’ in both places, so I’m looking for a bag I can put my Osprey 65L in, but also a small hand cart. At the airport, lash on my girlfriend’s suitcase, my ‘Pack Duffel’ and then roll away.  Having traveled a bit with my Osprey, straps hanging out all over. The airlines have done their best and worst and it’s held up. It’s been jammed on conveyors, carefully set into large bins. Twice when I had a handcart I wasn’t allowed to lash it to the backpack– they insisted it was a separate piece (and above my limit), so a large fairly sturdy but lightweight Pack Duffel seems the ideal solution to cover all contingencies. Maybe one light enough, with a zipper all the way around that it could work as a ground cloth? Or one that has some sleeves that tuck in, making it a rain and wind jacket?

I recently purchased the Six Moons Designs travel  pack because it is on sale and I’m tired of checking bags, so while not technically for a backpacking trip,  my solution for a recent trip was to use a sleeping bag storage sack tucked in an outside pocket. If enough room for stashing in the overhead bin all is great without  the storage sack as was the case with the outbound flight. If not all is great, as was the case for the inbound flight, I put storage  sack on the pack with the  lift handle poking out and tagged.  It worked like a charm. That said, I’m going to buy some beefier fabric from RSBTR and do a MYOG version that will pack small, light, and hold up under abuse.

Also of note…maybe I’ve  been lucky, but I’ve packed the 3-piece Ruta Locura poles on a carry-on an been fine.  Maybe I need to reevaluate.

Since this thread got resurrected, I’ll chime in that i used a heavy weight contractor trash bag last time and that worked great for checked backpacks, both ways. Cost about $5 a bag, very sturdy. I felt a little bag about throwing one out at my destination, being a plastic-hater. But the jet fuel was probably worse for the environment. I think my family at least used the bag for some trash.

It worked like a charm. That said, I’m going to buy some beefier fabric from RSBTR and do a MYOG version that will pack small, light, and hold up under abuse.

The company that you linked to, what state are they located in?

Dan – Ripstop By The Roll is located in Durham, NC…good stuff. By the way….not to beat a dead horse…I DID NOT attach a link. The new BPL programming did it automatically.