I’m one who travels light on the way to my destination. One carry-on bag (usually 22″) for the overhead bin and one day bag that will fit under the seat in front of me. I can travel for five weeks with only these two bags.
The problem is that I often need to buy another bag at my destination to haul home all the spices, cookbooks and souvenirs I’ve accumulated.
For this, the Eagle Creek Morphus 22″ bag has got me covered as it is a two-in-one.
How’s that?
As demonstrated in the excellent video from Eagle Creek on their product page, the front section that you’re looking at in the photo at left, actually zips off to become its own bag. The bottom part that’s made of polycarbonate has a layer of material that pops up and then zips shut into its own second bag (see photo below).
The outer bag that zips off can either be carried as a backpack or over the shoulder by using the strap that attaches to it. The bottom bag retains the wheels for easy rolling.
The top bag is meant to be used as a gear bag. It includes a laptop sleeve and lots of pockets to carry items that you would normally tuck away in a day bag but it has more room inside the main compartment than a regular backpack.
The larger compartment with the polycarbonate back is great for clothes and larger items. You could easily use Eagle Creek’s packing cubes to keep your items sorted in this portion.
Outer compression straps are found on both bags so you can squeeze the contents down easily.
The Morphus also comes in a 30″ version.
What I Love
- It’s made of water, weather and abrasion resistant material
- When packed as one bag, the Morphus has front, top, side and bottom handles making it super easy to place in and retrieve from the overhead bin
Not So Much
- Because of all the straps and added bits that are needed to use this as two bags, I’ve found that there’s less room in this 22″ bag than in other 22″ bags I’ve tested. Therefore, in order to use it, I have to pack lighter than I normally would TO my destination. This is OK if I’m traveling to a warm weather climate and I may not need a lot of clothes, but I wouldn’t be able to take this to say, Bhutan, where I would need to pack layers of clothes.
Available on Amazon for $395.
Travel Well,
Beth
Disclosure: Eagle Creek sent this bag to me for review. Regardless, everything I have said in the post reflects my honest opinions.
Mary Gallagher says
I tried a variety of packing cubes over the years but ended up discarding them for various reasons. But the concept is great and now I use from the Dollar Tree Heavy Duty storage bags that come in three sizes L, XL and XXL. The large have three to a box and I believe the XL has two and XXL one. Large is 15×15. I put all of my underwear and socks in one, all my shirts in one etc. Because they are clear you can see everything. Obviously they are light but heavy plastic. You can pack an empty one or two for dirty or wet clothes. They do have handles and you can smoosh out the air as you seal them. I ve used them on the last two trips and absolutely love them. Plus talk abut low cost! It also helped when the TSA recently ripped through my bag (upside down)at Dulles to measure the blades of a scissor. I didn’t end up with my underwear and clothes all over the floor and counter.
Beth Whitman says
Great suggestion, Mary! Thanks for sharing this excellent packing tip.