When my favorite Kiva backpack bag with removalable pack broke, after many years of use, I searched to find a replacement instead of incurring the repair expense. Kiva no longer made the bag I had and it was quite costly to have the bag repaired it was not cost effective when considering the price of this bag.

Searching to find a reasonably priced alternative I found this High Sierra bag.  I was able to inspect it in person at Bed Bath & Beyond and later purchase it from an on-line retailer for less.

So far the High Sierra bag has traveled to 3 destinations since my purchase last August 2011.  Each time I have taken this bag as a carry-on.  If you pack efficiently you can have enough clothing for about a week.

I first tried Eagle Creek's packing cube system for all my items and found that it is easier to get more in rolling up some clothing items and using the smaller Eagle Creek Pack-it Half Cubes.

The backpack features of the bag are wonderful.  The full bag with day pack has a backpack features that worked wonderfully in the London Underground traveling to our hotel.  Having the removable day pack also provided convenience from carrying a separate backpack.

However, on some airlines if you have the day pack full it is hard to get the entire bag with day pack into the overhead compartment.  My similar Kiva bag with daypack fit into the overhead with no problem.

I rated 4 star due to the rigidity of the fabric, which is heavier than the cordura used in the Kiva bag.

So far this bag waiting for trip number 4 has held up, but it has not been handled by baggage personnel.  Overall this is a nice compact bag that a savvy traveler will appreciate if traveling lite.