Back in 2014, Eagle Creek kindly sent me a free Adventure Weekender Bag to review, and in 2018, I am finally getting around to writing about it!
It seems, however, that Eagle Creek has phased out the Adventure Weekender; it looks like the Eagle Creek Converge Weekend Bag is its upgrade/replacement.
In the past, I was a huge fan of duffel bags that convert into backpacks. That’s exactly what I was looking for before my long-term trip to South America in 2014. While I tested the Eagle Creek Adventure Weekender and the Tom Bihn Aeronaut, in the end, I flew to South America with the Aeronaut in tow. You can check out my review of the Aeronaut here.
Pros
- Material seemed water resistant
- There were plenty of compartments to keep things separate, including a mesh-lined, zippered compartment where you could potentially put dirty laundry.
- Compression straps to keep things in place
- 3 ways to carry: Backpack straps, by the handle, or as a shoulder bag
- The backpack straps could be zipped away so you could carry it like a duffel bag
- Carry-on sized
Cons
- The material felt much thinner than the Tom Bihn Aeronaut, almost flimsy
- The backpack straps were extremely minimal. When I wore the Adventure Weekender like a backpack, the top part slouched very badly and hurt my shoulders
In the end, I chose the Tom Bihn Aeronaut because it felt more sturdy and high-quality. The backpack straps were also more durable and supportive.
The Adventure Weekender is still a good choice, though, if you’re going on shorter trips where you don’t have to carry your bag for long distances. My biggest gripe with the Adventure Weekender was the lack of support with the flimsy backpack straps; that appears to be something they’ve remedied with their new Converge Weekend Bag, though, so you might want to check that one out!
These days, however, my favorite backpack to travel carry-on only with is the Timbuk2 Aviator.
