Day bags when traveling
 

There's a ton of articles and posts about backpacks vs suitcases but what about carrying your day to day stuff? Day packs, messenger bag, fanny pack, wallet only...? :D There's a lot of options out there! I'm thinking about an upcoming trip and if I should upgrade. I'm curious what other people found useful. I see a lot of day packs with tourists around where I am.


So what do you like to use when site seeing? Answers of course depend on your travel needs, destination and activities. Please include links if the items are available online.

Not knowing if you're male or female, I'll offer two perspectives. ;)

My brother (who is a 29-year old road warrior) recently purchased a Tumi carry on bag. He admittedly spent a fortune on it $700+ (it's now on sale for $500+ http://bit.ly/1ALdZPQ) but says it's the best travel purchase he's ever made. He doesn't anticipate buying another bag for 10 years.

Alas, I haven't bit the bullet and upgraded to one of those bags.

When siteseeing for guys, you don't want to carry a fanny pack. That SCREAMS tourist and leaves open for pickpockets who target tourists. That's just my opinion.

When I am siteseeing, I use a slim crossbody bag. I like Barringtons Gifts Stadium Crossbody (http://bit.ly/1JmQnCl) which is secure and has card slots. It's very slim though.

When I need to carry more stuff, I like GiGi New York's Madison Crossbody (http://bit.ly/1KhSbOI)

I have carried both bags to Paris, throughout California and New Orleans. I use them almost exclusively for travel and rarely at home.

On my last trip I used a crossbody purse from Vera Bradley that someone gave me. The bag has a bunch of pockets to organize. It managed to hold a water bottle, my camera and other smaller day to day items.

http://www.verabradley.com/product/h...ategoryId=1131


My issue with purses is the weight on your shoulder can get to you by the end of the day... which in my case the heavy items are my camera and water.

The fanny pack was a joke. :)

I use a normal pocketbook/purse, same one I'd carry at home.

For a guy, I'd suggest a small day pack.

I do what suze does.
DH carries the camera, no other day bag.

A messenger-style bag is another good option for a guy.

If little to no photography is planned, I use a messenger bag. Either my bag of holding ( LOTS of storage space http://amzn.to/1AN4ob0 ) or some other one that I have.

If photography is a main theme or I plan to need more than two lenses, I take my Nat Geo backpack ( http://amzn.to/1KCVxZL ). I love that thing. It even serves as my 1-2 night trip bag.

I generally use one of three bags:

1. Cross body messenger bag. I have a bag from Pacsafe which I really like since the main zipper can be clipped closed and the general design is aimed at security. Any messenger bag would be good for me, I just really like the size and pocket location of this one. It has a small interior zip pocket that is perfect sized for my passport and on the side I keep against me. It's perfect for my wallet, book, maps, small camera, water bottle, etc. Since it's cross body, the strap distributes the weight fairly well and it doesn't drag on my shoulder too badly. When I'm in a crowd (subway, bus, busy street, etc) I swing it a bit more in front of me and rest my hand on it. When I'm not in a crowd, I swing it behind me and it stays completely out of the way. Unfortunately it's a little too small for a larger camera. It's perfect for a P&S sized camera, and my bridge camera fits as long as I pay attention. It would likely be too small for a dSLR.

2. A small Derek Alexander cross body bag. It's basically just rip stop nylon with two outside pockets. It weighs practically nothing and is perfect purse size for holding a wallet, map, camera, and not much else. This is great for when I'm not too worried about security and don't something small.

3. Backpack! Perfect for when I'm planning to spend a day hiking around temples/ruins/whatever and need a bit more space. This fits any camera, two water bottles, tripod, book, maps, snacks, etc. I don't like carrying this bag in any kind of crowd because it takes up space and it's too easy for someone to get into. Nicely padded shoulders are important here and I like the chest/hip straps as well. They're small and unpadded (not like hiking bags) but it's enough for added comfort.


I almost always use my messenger bag as my 'personal item'. If I check my bag then I will generally take the backpack as my carryon with a change of clothes, camera, etc.


I don't have links for any of it right now, sorry. I got it all on ebags.

Everyday purse if not carrying a lot, but it's leather, so sometimes a little painful at the end of the day. Minimalist purse (baggallini) if I'm going somewhere like an amusement park or biking where weight and size matters.

Crossbody bag if I need to carry iPad or spare shoes or rain jacket. You know those reusable nylon grocery bags that pack into their own little ball? Yup. So classy. But I haven't found any cross body versions in the last couple of years.

Bought a lesportsac back pack a few years ago at an outlet mall and it actually is perfect for day long trips if I have sunscreen, water bottles, kid or dog stuff. Usually put that empty into my carry on on the way there. I fill it with souvenirs and my purse on the way back and use it as my "personal item". The lesportsac are not worth full price but definitely worth the outlet mall sale- it's held up really well to my use and abuse.

https://www.lesportsac.com/Voyager_Backpack?color=