Goodbye Tumi rollaboard - hello Red Oxx Air Boss

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simongr

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Hi all

As some might have read in the great hand luggage only challenge thread I found out recently (after getting tennis elbow from pulling it along so often) that my great and versatile Tumi regulation rollaboard is carry a few pounds more than is good for me - emp it weighs 5.5KG!

So after a fair amount of internal wranglings I opted for a radical move to a Red Oxx Air Boss - I think it is the bag recommended by the one bag traveller website. The classic red version was on back order so after a brief wait the bag arrived (via MyUS.com) ready for my first trip with it. This is pretty radical for me as if you look at my usual travel luggage it starts with black dive bag, black Tumi duffel, black Tumi rollaboard, black Tumi suit bag, black Tumi laptop bag, black Smart Cover on the iPad, black pastry holder, black moleskein notebooks and black pen case - seeing a theme?

So today was the first trip - an overnighter to Melbourne which is what I have been doing a fair amount of recently. So I thought I would share a few thoughts and pics.

The bag seems huge - but I measured it against the Tumi and it is regulation size. It has three sections - two outer fold out out for clothes and a central section for dumping stuff :)

I had a pretty clear vision of what I was packing (just a change of shirt, tie, cufflinks, undies and a pair of shorts and a t shirt for in the hotel in the evening (so when I fall asleep on the sofa I don't pour red wine all over my suit).

The first challenge was the laptop - I elected not to take the laptop bag and just put everything in the Boss. This worked ok - plenty of space but it makes the bag heavier and as I am used to a rollaboard this was a challenge. Also a challenge was getting the laptop out for security as the front pouch it was in is covered by the handles - something to work on.

So far first impressions are ok - I think on a week long trips I would be able to get a lot more in here than the Tumi and be under weight (or at least not be grossly over weight like with the Tumi - it regularly cracked 12kg on overseas trips). The bag has a somewhat more casual design than I am used to but I can live with that.

At the moment it is an endorsement but I will see how I go after a few more trips.

Here's a few pics for interest.

The Boss

ImageUploadedByAustFreqFly1360135211.533251.jpg
 
More pics as they didn't upload

Clothes side one

ImageUploadedByAustFreqFly1360135384.051548.jpg

Clothes side two

ImageUploadedByAustFreqFly1360135416.727315.jpg

The place to dump stuff (bad quality pic)

ImageUploadedByAustFreqFly1360135442.653676.jpg

Laptop pouch

ImageUploadedByAustFreqFly1360135464.081212.jpg

Note I am not sponsored by Red Oxx but if they happen to read this thread I do like getting stuff for free...
 
Simongr,

I am sure you will enjoy it once you get more use out of it.

I bought my Air Boss (grey and black) mid last year and have done a number of overseas and domestic trips with it ranging form a day to a week. I can am on a week trip at the moment and when I weighted as I passed through SYD on Monday it was 6.6kg witha weeks worth of stuff in it. I also got the Metro Breifcase wich is also used daily and it is great andd eay for going through securoty as it is quick to get the laptop out as you walk up to the check point.
 
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What's the quality of the shoulder strap (and connectors) like?
I have ripped some off bags that were probably a little heavy before.
 
How does it go for weight with your laptop in it? I'd be concerned about lugging it around without wheels with the brick that my company laptop is. Thought it would push me to swapping out the company brick to a Macbook Air!
 
Connectors seem very solid - only issue is how the bag lies against the body as the bag is sort of wide.
 
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The weak point is normally the cloth/nylon loop that connects to the bag.
While it looks like industrial material and double stitching it still only seems to be 2cm wide....

Just think of the stresses putting 15kg of weight on 2x 2cm sets of stitching
 
I also am not on the airboss marketing payroll. Just a happy customer of about 2 years. But I also like freebies.

Hi all
The first challenge was the laptop - I elected not to take the laptop bag and just put everything in the Boss. This worked ok - plenty of space but it makes the bag heavier and as I am used to a rollaboard this was a challenge. Also a challenge was getting the laptop out for security as the front pouch it was in is covered by the handles - something to work on.

The trick is to put the laptop at one end, then position the zip opening at that end. that way you can open it from the end and extract the laptop fairly easily. Also good for in the overhead bin, just make sure the laptop is at the outwards end. ;) I carry a satchel as well for the laptop as it is more convenient for taking things from hotel to office/work. Also with an MBA and iPad may satchel can be heavier than the airboss.

What I would really like is for the pocket where you put your laptop to have some like pocket sections for USB sticks and/or cables. Basically little nick nacks that I don't want to put on the other side in the pocket designed for passports and such.

Connectors seem very solid - only issue is how the bag lies against the body as the bag is sort of wide.

Give the weight being lower than my satchel most of the time, I don't use the shoulder strap on the Airboss and just carry it by the handles.

The weak point is normally the cloth/nylon loop that connects to the bag.
While it looks like industrial material and double stitching it still only seems to be 2cm wide....

Just think of the stresses putting 15kg of weight on 2x 2cm sets of stitching

About an inch wide. The strap is continuous from one buckle to the other. It's suppose to have some sort of wire/metal insert for strength, or to prevent cutting with a knife or something. I'll put up a picture of the stitching in a second if that'll help. The heaviest I've had it was just under 10 kgs.
 
My laptop is 1.2kg so with cables and the like the bag is a little heavy and I am just working out the place to store the laptop and papers.
 
The weak point is normally the cloth/nylon loop that connects to the bag.
While it looks like industrial material and double stitching it still only seems to be 2cm wide....

Just think of the stresses putting 15kg of weight on 2x 2cm sets of stitching

7Kg moa, 7
 
I am another Red Oxx fan and I too like free stuff ;) only I own a "Sky Train" in Midnight dark blue and not the "Air Boss".

The construction is excellent, built tough. I don't use the shoulder strap as I find it is too heavy, if I am not using the Sky Train as a backpack I just carry it in my hand. Red Oxx also have an excellent warranty. I bought the bag last year so in the limited time that I have had it in my possession the only criticism I can find is that I find it a little bit too big for short O/N trips. I wish they made it a little bit smaller as it comes in at just over 105cm.


I have a trip report saved on my iPad about travelling with HLO which I must post online, I just have to get off my rear end and figure out what I need to do to post photos online. I travelled and my entire bag and contents came to 6.6kg IIRC. No additional personal item, everything was in the bag.

Back on the topic of Red Oxx products... I also own a market tote and a travel basket.

Should I find that I need new/smaller/something different I would definitely consider Red Oxx.
 
I am interested in buying an Air Boss and just wondering if anyone can provide details of who to buy from. Delivery would be to Victoria, Australia.
 
Mine was bought directs from Red Oxx then shipped via MyUs.com $225 for the bag and $60 for the postage. Red Oxx will redirect to myUs.com for overseas purchases.
 
Tom Bihn (Seattle, US) produce some great bags in this style. I got the Tri-Star recently when I was over there. It's a great bag with compartments and cubes for packing clothes, and it's base (empty) weight is remarkably low. Very sturdy construction.

Tri-Star - The midsize "one bag" travel bag for business or leisure travel. - TOM BIHN

There's lots of YouTube videos referenced on their web site of people doing reviews and showing how they pack it.
 
Not a fan.

Looks like a school bag.

Grumpy-Cat.jpg
 
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