Best Personal Bag for a Quick Trip to Denver
Many people might not know that Frontier Airlines originally was founded and served the western United States. Currently, headquartered in Denver, I’ve flown Frontier my entire life. Including the first time that I flew alone at 7 years old and got “wings” and a coloring book that they would issue to children flying alone.
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I’ve always had a pretty consistently good experience with Frontier but I will say that I’m not in love with the switch to the budget airline model. It’s not lost on me that a lot of customer dissatisfaction with the airline in recent years is a direct result of this pricing model.
In fact, part of why I’m writing and sharing this post is because of some recent experiences that I had flying Frontier specifically related to carry on personal items and what I consider a problematic process to check that customers are complying with the rules related to bringing a personal item and size requirements.
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Personal Bags on Frontier
I also run a personal finance blog and as a result of that project, I spend a lot of time talking about money. I’ve paid off a ton of debt and have worked really hard to turn my finances around. So, flying Frontier is attractive to me because of the cost savings and also because I’ve flown this airline my entire life.
With that said, I was really upset by what I noticed on some recent flights during the fall and as a result I began a quest to find the perfect personal bag so that people won’t get charged $100 at the gate for a bag that doesn’t comply with the sizing requirements.
So, what happened?
I was flying to Philadelphia and was about to board my flight in Denver. I had a soft squishy bag (on purpose) because I was attending a conference and would need 5 days worth of clothes and 14 days worth of undies.
IYKYK.
When it was my time to drop my bag in the sizer, I was fine. But, it felt like the people being asked to size their bags was a little subjective. And, I saw several people really get upset because they were being hit with huge fees at the gate. Don’t get me wrong, some of those folks had WAY overpacked their bags. But, there were some bags where I thought to myself-are you serious?!
Then I arrived in Cleveland and was waiting for my connecting flight to Philly. The experience that I had was so problematic that I vowed to find a perfect bag so that I and other travelers could travel confidently and not worry about getting dinged with a costly fee.
In Cleveland I had pulled my MacBook Air out and was holding it. The gate agent was being very aggressive with passengers about sizing their bags. When it was my turn I slipped my bag easily and then she looked at me and said “The laptop too.” Are you serious lady? It’s a MacBook Air. That thing is like 3 centimeters wide.
I slipped it in and then watched as a woman tried to pay her fee with a $100 dollar bill but couldn’t because Frontier doesn’t take cash and the woman (for whatever reason) didn’t have a credit card to make the payment. The other gate agent ended up paying with her credit card and taking the cash. After that experience I was left asking myself the following:
- How many times a day does a passenger end up missing their flight because they overpacked their bag and thought that the bag they had worked perfectly?
- How are employees incentivized to catch and upsell passengers with wrong sized personal bags. Let’s be clear, I’m also very aware of how weight impacts fuel on flights and that is a very reasonable part of airlines managing costs. But, I was left was such a negative impression of the airline-after a LIFETIME of flying that I had to ask myself would I continue to fly Frontier?
- How could I find a solution that could take care of my luggage needs for a short trip and be able to carry everything that I really needed?
I take several trips a year, typically to conferences, where I needed to look nice, have several events happening during the event and also needed to carry my laptop and some casual items.
I’m happy to report that I’ve found a great bag that’s perfect for short trips to Denver and beyond.
Mocare Travel Duffle Bag on Amazon
I was actually in love with a different much more expensive bag but decided to look online for something similar. I loved that the Mocare Travel Duffle Bag came in different colors and it was perfect for my needs.
Pros
- It’s fashionable…enough. I wanted a pretty cute bag that I could carry around and look somewhat put together at the same time.
- The bag is made of squishy, flexible duffle material.
- All of the compartments! There are several compartments within the bag.
- Separate compartment at the bottom of the bag that you can store shoes, bathing suit or other items in.
- Enough room to fit your laptop.
- Strap that you can loop over a carryon handle with.
- Multiple colors
- So affordable! I paid $36 for the bag (I have Amazon Prime)
Cons
- You do have to pack with intention. I pack my items and then roll them tightly and put them inside gallon sized Ziploc bags so that they fit perfectly inside the bag. I found that I needed more going out clothes and so the next time I attend an out of state conference it’s important for me to remember to pack another party top.
- Don’t overpack the bag! If you’re attending a conference it can be tempting to overpack the bag. You won’t be able to bring back any swag back. Or, you’ll need to ship it home (which may be cheaper than being charged $100 at the gate.
Mocare Bag Packing Best Practices
If you’re attending a conference or going on a short 5 day or less trip, the Mocare bag should work perfectly for your needs. Here are a few best practices when packing and deciding to bring one personal item versus checking in a bag.
- Have a clothing strategy-If you’re attending a conference you will typically need the following types of clothing:
- Clothing for the flight
- Business casual
- Party cute
- Informal
- Swim suit/hot tub gear
- Multi-use shoes
- Cute flats
- European walking tennis shoes
- Flip flops for showers/Pool
- Bring miniature toiletries
- One multiple use set of bottoms such as jeans or leggings to wear on the flight.
- ALWAYS check that your bag fits in the sizer at another Frontier gate. Preferably an empty one. I do this so that I make sure that there are no issues when I’m in the process of boarding the plane.
Frontier’s Personal Bag Requirements
Here are the sizing requirements for personal items on Frontier Airlines.
- Height=14″ Tall
- Width=18″ Wide
- 8″ long (no jokes please)
Since the Mocare bag is made of a flexible but sturdy material, it’s easy to slip into the bag sizer when you’re in line.
What to Wear in Denver
If you’re planning to visit Denver, it probably is helpful to know what to wear while here. You’re in luck! Denverites are ridiculously casual and they typically look like they’re about to participate in some type of physical activity such as walking 30 miles, riding their bike for the next couple of hours or going mountain climbing.
Basically, if you’re wearing casual clothing you’ll fit in fine. However, I would recommend being prepared for the following activities.
- Walking-It is very likely that your Denver friend will walk a lot or hike. Even if they think they don’t walk a lot they probably do. I found out that I walk a lot more than I thought I did when my friend from L.A. visited.
- A cute top and shoes-We don’t dress up, but it’s nice to have a cute top and shoes to wear in the event that you go out for happy hour or something social.
- Sunglasses-It’s very sunny here.
It’s likely that your friend will have a backpack for you to borrow or other gear as needed if you end up doing some type of physical activity that requires being outdoors.
I love this bag and am excited to use it for upcoming short trips. I should also mention that it fit very easily beneath the seat in front of me as well.
