...most importantly, the travel bag.

EVERYONE seemed to have a different idea about what I should buy when I was looking for my most important travel companion... the travel bag!

Forums, family and friends all offered advice about choosing a pack that fits well, was easy to pack / unpack, robust, blah blah blah! I basically wanted one that would hold a lot of stuff, not hurt my back and wasn't too inspired by the great outdoors (you know the type... the kind you'd see 'that' bloke wearing with his sandals and walking pole!).

I think the best places to go for 'professional' advice would be the outdoor shops themselves. Most of the ones I visited seemed to have their own expert on hiking, trekking etc. Probably the most useful was a guy in Blacks (Birmingham, Bull Street) who had a VERY enthusiastic love of all things travel... telling me about back support, moulded waist straps, ultra light weight materials etc; he was closely matched in knowledge, but out done on by personality, by a lovely woman in Millets (Birmingham, Union Street). My only problem with these guys is they all seemed to have their favourite brand which they would encourage you to buy (or rather, probably, their managers wanted you to buy). In defence of the outdoor shop sales people... 2 of the shops did agree that Osprey were the BEST choice for trekking bags due to their light weight and excellent comfort levels. This brand does appear to be the most expensive though so shop around!

My solution to this was to head back up north for the weekend and talk to a friendly (and probably useless) geordie for help and advice. As expected the assistant in Tiso (Newcastle, Grainger St.) showed me backpacks, travel packs and a few other alternatives; basically he told me that I'd probably only need a really expensive rucksack if I was going to be doing a lot of trekking (which I don't think I am!) and so a one of the wheeled alternatives (pleasing both my sister and various friends who SWORE that wheels are millions times easier to deal with than rucksacks) would be a much better option. In the end I purchased (thanks Mam and Dad) the Wheeled berghaus Jalen 70 + 15 (pictured). This pack has a detachable rucksack on the front, a separate pocket at the bottom for sleeping bags / shoes etc and a massive main compartment that can be fully unzipped making packing much easier. As well as the excellent wheels it also has a full Berghaus Biofit back system which zips away under a flap for easier airport check-in! Job Done (also worth noting that if you buy a pack and something else such as a sleeping bag from TISO you get 15% discount...if you ASK)!