Bird is the Word: Bags for Bird Camp

If there's something I'm pretty bad at, it's packing light. I try to only take the minimal amount of stuff with me when I travel, but I always end up with a suitcase that i precariously close to being over the allotted weight limit.

Another downfall of mine is that I always had a moderately sized suitcase. And when your suitcase has empty space, most of the time you have a tendency to fill it up. 

Over the winter, I was doing some research on carry-on sized rolling suitcases and came across the brand Lipault. I loved the idea of a collapsible rolling suitcase but was NOT about the prices. Over $200 for a 9x22x14 suitcase? NEWP.

I found this carry-on sized suitcase and added it to my "Wish List" on Amazon. One day I went to check and Amazon had an "Open Box" deal on this bag with the special Green Feather Anniversary Print. With the free Prime shipping, the bag cost me less than $100 and it was in brand new condition! The zippers still had the plastic on them, the wheels had no wear, and the inside still had the packing material. What a steal!

(still available on the Lipault website)

Also, I didn't even notice until Bird Camp started feeling real (49 days!) that there are birds in the print on the bag!

I'm hoping to pack as minimally as possible using Eagle Creek Spectr packing cubes (which will be another post in itself). Hopefully I will have extra space for all the swag I'll be bringing home!

(similar model here)

The other bag I'm bringing (not sure if I'll actually bring a purse or not, that will probably be decided the week I leave) is my North Face Surge backpack. I used this for my last year of nursing school and love that it has padded pockets for an iPad, laptop, and sunglasses (on the front). 

The best part is that it zips completely open to be TSA compliant so that I don't have to haul my laptop out of my bag when going through security. 

Ideally, I'd like to be able to go carry-on only, but flying Southwest means I don't pay to check my bag, so why haul everything behind me the whole time, you know?

Are you a minimalist packer or do you stuff your suitcase to the gills?