Buckled together right out of the box
For my upcoming trip to Iceland, I have chosen to only take a carryon and a personal item.  I researched my choices using the dimensions the airlines have on their websites.  I also thought about future trips and overall practicality.  Therefore, I chose to go with a backpack over a rolling carryon.

 

Separated

The last backpack I had was the one I used from high school through college.  It was a standard LL Bean backpack that reliably carried all my books and other school stuff for years.  While that backpack was still in decent condition all these years later, I needed one geared towards travel.

 

Backs of both packs

After extensive review reading, I ended up buying a Thule Landmark 60L women’s backpack.  This is a two in one backpack, consisting of a 40L backpack and a 20L daypack.  The larger is the perfect size for the carryon. The smaller will be my personal item.  They snap together with buckles for different ways of wearing.

 

40 L

40L Backpack

It has padded shoulder straps and waist straps that all tuck into a pocket behind the back padding, which could be useful if you had to check it.  There are handles on the top and the side and it opens like a suitcase with compression straps inside.  The backpack has a hard top that protects items like sunglasses from being crushed.  It also has a whistle attached to the shoulder strap.

 

20 L

20L Backpack

This daypack opens from the top only.  The padded straps cannot be tucked anywhere.  Inside there is a padded laptop compartment and zippered mesh pocket.  On the outside, both sides has a deep bottle holder.  The whistle could be placed on this pack.

 

The whistle

I have used the daypack twice so far.  Wearing it in lieu of a purse was super comfortable.  I was able to fit my wallet, phone, glasses, sunglasses, water bottle, all my purchases from vendor stalls, and my fleece jacket when I got too hot.

I think it will work well for me.  I did buy packing cubes to use inside.  I’ll talk about those in another post when I post about packing the bag.

Previous Iceland trip posts:

Sometimes, You Need a Recharge

Preparing for a Trip of a Lifetime