I have always been a big fan of Eagle Creek products, so I’m not surprised by how much I like the new Eagle Creek Strictly Business Carry-All bag.
I just returned from an impromptu cross country trip to Florida to visit family, but because I also needed to get some work done and keep in touch with the office, the Eagle Creek Strictly Business Carry-All bag was perfect for bringing my work necessities. It’s designed to accommodate a tablet and a 17-inch laptop, but for this trip I used it to carry my expensive camera gear and my iPad. It’s an ideal carry-on size that easily fits under the seat in front of me or in the teeny overhead compartments of the tiny prop planes that fly in and out of my small regional airport.
Even though my trip was a vacation, I realized this versatile shoulder bag will also be perfect for my upcoming business trips. At around 2.5 pounds, the Eagle Creek Strictly Business Carry-All bag is super lightweight, much lighter than my usual leather briefcase, and has at least the same amount of room for carrying all of the essentials. It has two main zippered compartments: one contains two padded sleeves (one for my laptop and the second for my tablet), plus room for some file folders or a book, and the other offers enough space for my camera and lenses, plus a variety of organizational options. This compartment even has a small padded pocket for my cell phone, a flat pocket, a key lanyard, and two pen sleeves.
The Eagle Creek Strictly Business Carry-All also has a hidden zippered pocket that’s ideal for carrying my passport and for keeping any other small items that need to be kept separate from the larger compartments. The bag also has two elasticized flat pockets, one on each end, for power cords or water bottles.
Another thing I like about the Eagle Creek Strictly Business Carry-All bag–it can be carried either by the rounded tote handles, or when I need my hands free, with a shoulder strap across my body. Depending on the situation or what’s most comfortable, I can adjust the strap (out to 50 inches) or even remove it completely and use the tote handles.
The Eagle Creek Strictly Business Carry-All bag also contains zippered pockets on the front and back that I use for stashing keys, note pads, and small items I need to access quickly. Thanks to a secure sleeve panel on the back of the bag, I can stack the bag on my wheeled luggage.
This bag is attractive but also unpretentious, which I really like! The Eagle Creek Strictly Business Carry-All bag also contains some unique safety features I haven’t found in similar bags. For example, to protect my valuable contents from pick-pockets, it offers special anti-theft zipper closure toggles. I just slip the toggles through a ring on the end, and the bag stays zipped and the contents in the bag remain secure. Another nice touch: the reflective accents on the bag for better visibility at night.
The Eagle Creek Strictly Business Carry-All is available in black and in taupe.
Bottom Line: Given all of travel I do for both work and for fun, I’m thrilled with this new Eagle Creek Strictly Business Carry-All bag because I see it offering a lot of options for both work travel as well for weekend getaway trips with friends. And because it’s so lightweight, I’m sure for some trips I will even be slipping it into my suitcase empty so that I can then fill it up with gifts and souvenirs to be my carryon for the trip home!
Manufacturer’s Site: www.eaglecreek.com
$160, click to shop at Amazon.com.