How many gadgets do you travel with? Three? Four? Five? When you count your charging accessories, company phone, perhaps even some wearable tech, it adds up fast. Which is why we are seeing more and more travel gear adapting to the tech world by integrating things like accessible, protected pockets and power supplies. And that makes us happy, because most gadgets are not cheap, hold a lot of valuable information and are a huge pain to replace.
Created with portable electronics in mind, ECBC travel gear is probably some of the most gadget-centric stuff we have seen yet, going so far as to include special TSA-approved pockets and charge packs in their rolling luggage. While we didn’t have the time to evaluate the entire line of bags, we did recently take the Pegasus Convertible Rolling Backpack for a test drive on a quick getaway.
Right out the gate, ECBC’s Pegasus had a few really great features that got us excited. Firstly, the quality is very apparent. Stitching, construction and the attention to detail both looks and feels nice, and overall the bag is very sturdy. This of course was put to the test when we filled it to near-bursting capacity and then proceeded to zip it up and wheel it through the airport. It closed up easily and traveled like a champ.
Right out the gate, ECBC&rsquos Pegasus had a few really great features that got us excited. Firstly, the quality is very apparent. Stitching, construction and the attention to detail both looks and feels nice, and overall the bag is very sturdy. This of course was put to the test when we filled it to near-bursting capacity and then proceeded to zip it up and wheel it through the airport. It closed up easily and traveled like a champ.
Secondly, the designers certainly did not skimp on the pockets. For once we almost weren&rsquot entirely sure what to do with all of them&mdasha good problem to have. Each of the compartments, especially in the TSA-friendly (front) portion of the bag, are reinforced nicely to protect all of those electronics everything has its own place. There is a laptop sleeve, a separate tablet sleeve, multiple smaller pockets for things like chargers, extra cell phones or whatever else you might have to pack, along with an accompanying battery to keep things juiced on the go. There is even a tiny pathway from the front to a separate and easily-accessible pocket on top, so you can stay plugged in while having your phone out. The TSA-approved section completely unfolds, so you can just flip it open and pass it through the security scanner, no bins needed.
In total the bag has the front TSA-approved panel, a top compartment for easy access (perfect for your phone or whatever documents you might need to grab easily), a secondary space behind with two interior pockets and then the main packing area. On the back you will find a space that holds the (very thickly padded) backpack straps when not in use, which of course becomes available for items should you be using them. The one downside to this is that if you are not using the backpack straps, this area is almost entirely taken up by them&mdashwe aren&rsquot joking, they are really thick. Although we did manage to slip three magazines in there at the last minute.
The only drawback to such a tech-centric piece of luggage (at least in this case) is that in order to stay within the carry-on size limits, you have to sacrifice space elsewhere. Meaning of course that the main packing compartment is definitely a bit tight. While we heartily recommend the Pegasus (and all of the ECBC gear based purely on the level of quality we see in this bag), we have to say that it&rsquos not ideal if you are over-packer. Pair this guy with one more bag however and you&rsquore probably set.
The Pegasus Convertible Rolling Backpack is priced at $399 and ECBC also offers messenger bags, backpacks, full size luggage, other carry-on items and more.
