Quote Originally Posted by quizvan View Post
Oh, I'm totally with you on functionality -- I love pretty things, but not at the expense of practicality -- I am a pragmatic Bostonian after all I have beautiful luggage which I've rarely used, because they're too small or too heavy. I do find myself using the same luggage over and again, which is why I so strongly recommend the Pegase 60 -- it's an absolute workhorse. One of the reasons that I like the replica LV luggage so much is that there's a piece which meets every need, from trolley to garment bag to backpack to carry-on. They are also priced to be bashed around (and, like Schroeder with his Beethoven busts, I keep spares of my favorites in a closet ) -- the most expensive piece was still less than $200, vs. $1000 for Mulholland.
BTW I do have the replica LV Bosphore backpack -- that may work for you, although it doesn't hold as much as a LL Bean nylon backpack. It does have several external zipped pockets. There is also a Damier Geant backpack called the Pionnier, but it's even smaller than the Bosphore backpack.

Yep. They really do have a bag for everything for everywhere! Have you seen that badminton bag? I didn't even know people were traveling to play badminton like that!

What about the Christopher? That might work. It's more functional than the Bosphore and bigger. It's about as big as any L.L. Bean with an "metal skeleton."