Review: Eagle Creek Converge Weekend Bag

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Eagle Creek Converge Weekend Bag

I travel about once a month for work/pleasure and pride myself in being efficient and minimalist when on the road. (AKA anal retentive) In order to do this, it is imperative to have great luggage. When given the opportunity to review the Eagle Creek Converge Weekend bag and organization cubes (drool) I jumped right on it.  Below is my experience with the Eagle Creek Converge Weekend bag and organization cubes on a few trips including my trip from Denver to Hong Kong and mainland China.

Eagle Creek Converge Weekend Bag Packing

What’s really cool about this bag is that it’s designed to be extremely organized. You start with the base bag and then can add on cubes designed specifically for the Converge bag to take your organization to another level. The cubes are offered in various sizes/shapes and each one has it’s own function. When the bag arrived with all the cubes I was like a little kid in a candy store. So many cubes and so many possibilities!

Inner Compartment:

• Garments – I was able to put 3 dress shirts and 2 pair of dress slacks in the garment bag. I am a small/medium build and found the garment bag to be a little narrow which required me to fold the shoulders in a little.
• Shoes – I always travel with a pair of dress shoes and running shoes. If you want to pack shoes make sure they are low back shoes. I tried packing my Chukka boots and they were a bit too big for the medium size cube.
• Socks/Underwear/Running Gear – Using the two sided cube I was able to pack away everything I needed into this cube
• T-Shirts – I was able to put several T-shirts into the compression cube.

Garment Bag Packed with 3 Shirts and 2 Pairs of Pants.

Other Compartments:

• Laptop – My  17″ laptop fit perfectly in the dedicated laptop bag.
• Mouse/Power Supply – These fit perfectly in the smaller outer compartment.
• Larger Outer compartment – This fit my business cards, my phone, passport, pens, device chargers/cables, gum and was my final resting place for my keys when I arrived at the airport.

Larger Front Compartment to Hold the Important Things!

All Packed and Ready to Go!

Eagle Creek Converge Weekend Bag While Traveling

The backpack configuration is what I used for the majority of this trip and I found the bag to be extremely comfortable. I really like the added chest strap when in backpack mode as it adds a little more support.

Close Up of Chest Strap

I like to be efficient and fast through the security line. I went to pull my laptop out and realized that I had to unsnap the handle buttons in order to access my laptop. This is not a huge deal but kind of annoying when you want to fly through the security line. Anyway, I made it through security, boarded the plane and threw my bag in the overhead. It fit perfectly as advertised by Eagle Creek.

You Can’t Get Your Laptop Out Without Unsnapping the Handle

I will note that this bag can fit below your feet if you are in dire straits. When flying home from Dallas to Denver I boarded late and the plane was out of overhead storage. I had some valuables in the bag and did not want to check it. I was able to stuff this bag under the seat in front of me. It did protrude eating up my foot space but it was doable.

When I boarded the plane from Dallas Fort Worth to Hong Kong, I had quick access to all my necessities (laptop, power supply, cables, gum) loaded them up in my seat and threw my stuff up top. When I arrived at the hotel in Hong Kong I felt like I was already unpacked. I setup my laptop and got all my cables situated. I hung the garment bag in the closet and left all my other stuff in the cubes. This was huge benefit and made finding all my stuff super easy thanks to the all the organization cubes. Now that I am in a rhythm with this bag, I am able to pack super quickly.

“Unpacked”

Eagle Creek Converge Weekend Bag or Business Professional Bag?

A bag regardless of its use should be comfortable. What attracted me to this bag is the fact that it had multiple configurations for carrying. This is important for a business traveler because you want to be comfortable while traveling and look professional when conducting business. Eagle Creek nailed it with this bag.

When in travel mode, you simply take the backpack straps out and clip them on. Personally, I love backpacks when traveling and am not a fan of rollers. Backpacks allow you to be more agile and enable you to move around the airport quickly. The Eagle Creek Converge Weekend Bag proved to be comfortable when fully packed.  Having a backpack instead of a roller proved to be especially important when I had 20 minutes to switch terminals at Dallas Fort Worth. Try racing a friend with a roller in an airport and see who wins. 🙂

Rear View of Backpack

Backpack Side View

When it’s time to get down to business you can stow the backpack straps and clip the shoulder strap back on. This gives the pack a more refined look. A look in my opinion that is more suitable for a business meeting. Even though I was only relying on one strap I still found the bag to be extremely comfortable. What I really liked is that I was able to access my business goods (laptop, mouse, power supply, business cards etc.) without opening any of the compartments that held my personal goods. This is important because there are many situations where I check out of a hotel, need to go to a business meeting and then fly the same day. Even though this bag is marketed as weekend bag it also excels as a business travel bag.

Final Thoughts

If you like being extremely organized and efficient when traveling I highly recommend this bag for a 2-3 day trip. The bag is $179 and comes in three colors. To use it to it’s full potential I highly recommend getting the Converge Weekend Set. It’s a bit spendy at $375 for some, but I know what I’ll be reaching for on my next business trip or weekend getaway. You can pick the Converge bag or Weekend Set up directly from Eagle Creek. www.moosejaw.com/eaglecreek

Product Specifications