I’ve almost always been a backpack traveler. Ever since a long trip to England with a big, clunky suitcase, I’ve been a convert to the grab and go style of travel packing. Well, that is until I decided to try an Away suitcase. 

On our last trip to London, Kim and I gifted each other with one of Away’s “The Carry On”. I’d seen a lot of friends post pictures of rolling this neat little bag all over the world and wanted to see how it matched up against my lifestyle of carrying everything on my back. 

This is not a sponsored post. We paid full price for our Away bags and have not been contacted for a review by Away. Any links you see are Affiliate links which give us the commission to help run this site if you decide to buy anything, at no extra cost to you. 

Style

For Kim, we picked the Limited Edition “Paris” colorway that is glossy black with a midnight blue zipper and lining. I was lucky enough to get one of the Limited Edition collaborations with Star Wars in the Hoth colorway. The hard shell is a milky type clear look with a lining of probe droids that you can faintly see through. 

After I deplaned in London, I got no fewer than four comments from people on the Tube about how cool my Away bag looked. No backpack has ever gotten that type of recognition before. 

Kim’s glossy Paris colorway tends to show scratches a bit easier than my clear one so I’d recommend sticking with a more matte color. I didn’t baby my Hoth bag at all and it really held up and still looks brand new. 

Functionality

The Away bag’s built-in divider really helped compress and cut down on our packing. Like most people, I have a tendency to put a few more things in that I actually need on a trip and with the Away bags compression system and zippered divider, it was easy to get everything in and still stay organized. 

The front side is a zippered compartment that I opted to put things like shoes, my Dopp kit and bulkier items that might move around. The main compartment is covered by a compression pocket that I used for socks and boxers with shirts and pants underneath, cinched down to save room. 

I was immediately surprised by the amount of stuff I was able to fit in such a little bag. It's designed to make it easy to adapt to a Carry On Travel lifestyle. 

Ejectable Battery

I have a tendency to get to the airport pretty early. This usually means that I’m fighting off other passengers for the few available outlets at the terminal so that I can use my phone on the plane. This is where the TSA approved ejectable battery on the Away bag came in super handy. I was able to sit wherever I wanted while charging my phone and reading The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. 

Once on the ground in London, it was easy to eject the battery and drop it in our day bag for a quick phone recharge while walking around the Tate Modern. I’ve never really wanted this option in a bag before but it was super helpful on more than one occasion when we spent all day walking. Definitely a plus. 

Roll, Roll, Roll

As I carry more camera gear with me, it’s become increasingly common to carry two bags with me whenever I travel. I’ve settled into using the Peak Design 20L Everyday Backpack to carry my Sony a7Rii and accessories so any other backpack for clothes and books just didn’t make sense. 

With my Away bag and the built-in luggage strap on my Peak Design Everyday Backpack, moving from car to plane to Tube to walking has never been easier. I’m less tired since I don’t have to carry anything through the airport and switching back and forth is simple. 

My first stop in London was at Blackfriars Station. I was able to get out of the Tube, slip my backpack over the Away bag’s handle and roll right on over Blackfriars Bridge. The Hinomoto wheels on the Away bag are smooth and never once posed a problem, even when navigating cobblestones and streets. 

Ease of Use

Coming from using a backpack almost exclusively, I was surprised by how easy my Away bag made my trip. Rolling through the airport definitely made for less tired arms and it’s so compact that when I had to navigate stairs, it was light and easy. 

During our trip, we changed accommodations a couple times (Kim changed a few more since she mostly stayed with friends) and rolling through all types of terrain was simple. The divided compartments helped keep everything in place when opening and closing and the hardshell case kept everything safe and secure. 

Customer Service

On our way back from London, Kim’s compression pocket came loose from its bracket. Away has a Limited Lifetime Warranty, so we contacted their customer service and they promptly sent us a packing slip to send the bag back in for repair or replacement. It was a simple and hassle-free process. 

When I received my Away bag, the packaging lacked a British plug adaptor for the ejectable battery. A quick Facebook message to the company and they offered to ship me a replacement to where I was staying in London so I wouldn’t miss out on a single thing on my trip. 

Every step of the way we were contacted by a real person who did everything possible to make us feel like special customers. I haven’t experienced that level of customer service in a while. 

My only qualm would be that when Kim’s bag came back from being repaired, it was a bit damaged on the outside and the box it was in was barely hanging on. I imagine that was probably UPS’ fault, but it definitely could have been handled better.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a versatile bag that prioritizes ease of use and style, I’d highly recommend the Away Carry On travel bag. Its mix of functionality and style at such a low price point is hard to beat.

I look forward to traveling with mine for years to come. Away may just have converted me from a backpacking lifestyle. 

When I packed my bag for four days in London this summer, I limited myself to a pretty small camera setup. It wasn’t quite as small as my trip to Paris and Amsterdam where I only took a 50mm lens with my Nikon D750, but it wasn’t far off.

Into my bag went a Sony a7RII, a Sony 50mm 1.8, and the new Sony 24-105mm f/4 G Series lens. Actually, I picked up the 24-105 specifically for this trip. I’m not the biggest fan of zoom lenses in general, but the versatility and small build of such a long lens intrigued me.

Luckily, it arrived two days before I took off. Thanks, FedEx.

Look and Feel

The first thing I noticed was the build quality compared to the 50mm I owned. Every bit of it felt high quality and able to withstand a tough day of shooting anywhere in the world. When attached to the a7RII, it looks like it was built to be an upscale kit lens. The focus hold button midway up the barrel is also a great addition that doesn’t get in the way when not being utilized.

Weight

So the tradeoff with a zoom lens is usually in the weight department, you gain more focal length and lose portability. For the 24-105mm I feel that the tradeoff is more than fair. After lugging it around the streets of London pretty much every day of the trip, the extra 1.46 lbs (663 g) didn’t bother me at all.

Sure it’s not as light as the newer Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, which is a fantastically light 1.2 lbs, but the Sony 24-105mm makes up for that lost weight and aperture with some fantastic images, a longer focal length, and ease of use.

Images

Like I said before, I’m generally not a zoom lens fan, but when you need to be out all day taking photos, a lens that can cycle through focal lengths quickly and without having to change aperture can be invaluable.

Sony 24-105mm at 87mm, 1/320 sec. at f/7.1. ISO 100.

One of the first things that drew me to the 24-105mm was a review on PetaPixel where photographer QT Luong talked about how he doesn’t usually shoot with wide open aperture. I’m pretty similar in that way, especially when it comes to traveling. At only f/4, the 24-105mm is slower than the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 but having that extra 25mm in focal length was what really hooked me.

When I take travel shots, the majority of them are outside and don’t call for stopping down my lens to f/2.8 or below. Sure I don’t always get that smooth bokeh when staying at f/4, but I do get more control over what is shown in the image. For me, that’s the critical part.

Sony 24-105mm at 75mm, 1/320 sec. at f/4. ISO 100

The Sony 24-105mm f/4 allowed me to walk around and take some beautiful portraits, landscape shots, and medium-range street-style photos without having to change lenses once. The in body image stabilization also comes in really handy when shooting at the longer focal lengths.

Sony 24-105mm at 51mm, 1/40 sec. at f/4. ISO 400

Travel

When I went to Paris and Amsterdam in 2015, I took my Nikon D750 and only a 50mm lens as a way to challenge myself photographically. Since that time I’d switched to a much smaller Sony body and wasn’t as concerned about the weight factor of carrying around more than one lens. The 24-105mm fit perfectly in the bottom of my Peak Design 20L Everyday Backpack, attached to the Sony a7RII.

Sony 24-105mm at 105mm, 1/500 sec. at f/9. ISO 200

With the weightiest piece in the bottom of the bag, I rarely felt it as I walked around the British capital. My camera setup was actually slightly more substantial than when I did the 50mm challenge, but the smaller form factor made it easier to hold on my body all day.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a lens that can do it all right out of the box but is still an upgrade over a kit style lens, the Sony 24-105mm f/4 G Series might be precisely what you’re looking for.

After working with the 24-105mm for almost six months, it’s easily one of my best purchases for the Sony E-mount ecosystem.

You can view more about the Sony 24-105mm f/4 G Series lens here and purchase it on Amazon using the button below.

Last week we spent a few days in Austin, TX for a little gathering called TravelCon. To be honest, we were pretty overwhelmed going into the whole experience, being conference newbies and all, but the crowd couldn’t have been better.

On the second day, we were introduced to a couple who called themselves The Tipsy Gypsies. Nate and Marta Connella describe themselves as “a married couple who quit everything to go see and experience the world.” They also like to chronicle their adventures through film, photography, and adult beverages.

Nate is a pretty fantastic filmmaker and has had a few of his travel films featured on Lonely Planet, National Geographic, BBC World News and Travel+Leisure. I really love his style because you can see that he likes to get up close and personal with the culture and people. So many travel filmmakers today rely too much on cinematic drone shots and in Nate’s films you can really feel the atmosphere on the street.

Take the example below, a one and a half minute look at their time in Hong Kong. You can feel the hustle and bustle in the streets in a city that houses some 7.4 million people.

Travel and Food and Drink

There’s not much that will get you closer to a culture than by enjoying local cuisine and drinks. For a lot of people that means venturing out a little farther than most tourists and seeing the soul of the locals in their own districts. I love Paris, but if you never leave the touristy center, you probably haven’t experienced the real grittiness of the city and the people that walk its streets.

In 2016, Nate and Marta traveled through Portugal for a month, starting in the north at Porto and heading down south to Lisboa. “If a country's wealth were based solely on the kindness and character of its people, Portugal would be one of the richest countries in the world,” said The Tipsy Gypsies about their film The Spirit of Portugal.

Check it out below and experience Portugal through the eyes of The Tipsy Gypsies, then plan a trip for yourself. After all, this is a site for inspiration. Now get out and travel! And thanks to Nate and Marta for hanging out and talking travel. Y’all are the best!

Cover Photo by The Tipsy Gypsies.

On November 9, 1989, I was five years old. Not exactly a great age for remembering world events. Still, a single memory floats around in my head of holding a small newspaper for children with a picture of East and West Berliners standing atop a structure that I didn't know existed. 

Ever since that day I've been fascinated by the era known as the Cold War and what would motivate someone to put up a barrier between people. Currently, I'm reading Berlin Now: The City After The Wall by Peter Schneider and am struck by how much each side of the city had in common right before that day in November 1989. 

Standing for almost thirty years, it feels like the remains of the Berlin Wall speak to me. I've yet to step foot in Germany, beyond a flight routed through Frankfurt, and it is the top of my travel bucket list. I have this dream of being in the city for the thirty year anniversary of its fall in November of 2019. To stand at the Brandenburg Gate and look upon the progress achieved in my short lifetime.  

Music, Movies, and Memories

For the last few years, I've immersed myself in documentaries, movies, music, and remembrances of the Cold War era, especially the turbulent 1980's that led to the fall of the wall. Books like The Berlin Wall: A World Divided, 1961-1989 by Frederick Taylor and Berlin Calling: A Story of Anarchy, Music, The Wall, and the Birth of the New Berlin by Paul Hockenos offer a glimpse into the political, cultural and, everyday lives of Berliners on opposite sides. In Berlin Calling, Hockenos looks at the culture of communes, artists, squatters, and music that helped lead to the eventual reunification of the German capital. Taylor's The Berlin Wall gives a much more comprehensive take on the politics at the end of World War II that brought about the Wall and its eventual demise.

Following on from Berlin Calling, I stumbled upon a user mix on Apple Music entitled Berlin Wall, Microfilm, and the Cold War that collects some great tracks from David Bowie, Re-Flex, Blondie, and many more, that helps transport my mind to '89. 

Last year while talking with my grandfather, I learned that he'd been part of an Air Force team that helped prepare Francis Gary Powers for the reconnaissance flight that led to the 1960 U2 incident, the aftermath depicted in Steven Speilberg's Bridge of Spies with Tom Hanks. 

Of course, I also mixed in a bit of the fantastic, mainly with movies like Atomic Blonde, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and tv shows The Same Sky and The Americans. 

Constantly Making Plans

I'm not sure there's any other city in the world that I've dreamed about more than Berlin. From constantly reading, studying maps of the Wall's route and even brushing up on the German language (not quite successfully though), there's no place I've prepared for more without actually going. That's something I'd like to remedy shortly. As I said before, I'd love to be in Berlin for the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Wall, but the truth is, right now I'd settle for simply seeing the city. 

There's an inherent romanticism to travel. The movement from one place to another. New sights, smells, surroundings and a sense of shared kinship. For me, though, seeing Berlin isn't merely a change of place, but a pilgrimage of sorts. Like stepping foot on ancestral soil, even though I have mostly English and Scottish heritage. After immersing myself in the history, culture and politics of the Cold War, visiting Berlin feels like going home. 

So in 2019, that's what I hope to do. See you soon, Berlin.

It's been a long few weeks in the Journey & Play world. From lots of work projects, hurt shoulders, and wrists, to the beginning of new jobs and all the anxiety that can bring. So from us (Kim & Kevin) enjoy your weekend and look for the fun, the lighthearted, the joyful. Start with this short film from Guy Trefler for a lighthearted and irreverent look at the City of Lights.