LightPacker: Travel stuff for people who pack light.

The Mountainsmith Euro LX (previously the Ramble) is an excellent, relatively inexpensive ($140 at Amazon) travel backpack. I’ve been using the Ramble as my main pack for more than four years, including long and short trips, and air, train and bus travel.

The Euro LX is about as simple as travel packs get: Big, main compartment that unzips all around for easy access; smaller, top compartment; and thin, front panel for books, maps, etc. The backpack straps zip in to a sleeve so they don’t get caught in conveyor belts, under tires, etc. (This is typical for “travel” packs.)

Depending on your airline, you might get away with carrying it on board. I generally check it on planes and buses, but it fits great in the upper storage on most European trains. There’s not really much missing — I even use it for business trips with a sturdy sleeve for suits/shirts.

For longer trips, its big brother, the Covert LX ($200 at Amazon), is worth a look — it includes about 35% more space, a detachable daypack and a laptop sleeve. But for trips as short as a weekend to as long as several weeks — if you really pack light — the Euro LX/Ramble is a good deal.