Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have been scouring the net for the perfect companion for my 2 month trip across Europe. I fell between this luggage pair, the Meridian and the Eagle Creek Lync System 22 (I do not think Amazon sells this piece yet but it is at REI). I will have over 10 flights and did not want to check any baggage. I also wanted a day pack to trek around the cities and possibly do some climbing. The Meridian and the Ozone had these components. I chose to look at the Ozone first because outdoorgearlab.com recommended the Ozone over the Meridian. I also could not justify the extra 10L the Meridian gave for the extra money. The Eagle Creek has 43L of space in its pack. When I initially got it, I found that the front or back superficial pocket could maybe be used to store an un-used daypack if I purchased one separately since it did not come with one itself. The measurements though would have only allowed me to bring a very, very small pack (maybe 10L if I was lucky) and even then, the measurements would have me folding the daypack to fit it into the slots (thus, losing the extra bit of space I would have had). The Ozone has the zip-on daypack on the front of the luggage piece, thus eliminating the need to find somewhere to stick it into if I were to use the luggage as a pack. The daypack only has locking capability on the largest pocket, so either you have to keep your important items in that pocket alone while you have it zipped on the luggage piece OR you can clip it to the front straps of the luggage piece (kangaroo pouch)....this way you have the daypack on your front clipped onto the shoulder straps of the luggage piece. I found this to be a very well-designed aspect of the luggage...I can keep my documents (airline tickets, passport, ID, money, etc) in the daypack and have immediate access to it while keeping everything safely in front of me. When opening both units, I was also very surprised (as were other reviewers) at how much the internal frame of the Ozone took up so much space in the luggage piece (it bulges substantially into the unit). The Eagle Creek did not have this problem. When having them side by side, it visually appeared that the Eagle Creek was shorter than the Ozone but the specs prove otherwise. Apparently, the Ozone has 35L of luggage space while the Lync has 43L. As seen in my photos, I used the packing cubes to help find out which luggage piece would work better for me (fit more). I used two eBags medium sized cubes for my clothing and one slim (large) packing cube for underwear, socks and camera. Here is what I packed into each for reference: 1 Medium Cube: 1 jeans, 1 khaki, 1 traveling fleece lined pant, 1 slim workout pant, 1 thermal pant and 1 long-sleeved denim dress. 1 Medium Cube: 1 sweater, 2 sleeveless shirts, 1 flannel shirt, 1 thick thermal, 1 light thermal, 1 bra. 1 Slim Large Cube: 1 bikini, 5 socks (1 of which were thick wool), 5 underwear, Nikon D3300 camera with attached lens, 1 extra Nikon lens. 1 pair of Toms 1 pair of flip flops 1 belt 1 REI waterproof jacket (I lined the bottom of one piece with it and laid it over the top of everything in the other one) This is not what I am bringing on the trip essentially but it packed the cubes and the luggage. I could have added items to both Medium cubes (probably 1 item to each would have filled it to capacity). Both luggage pieces fit everything. It was much easier to pack it into the EC (obviously, with that tiny bit of extra space) but both bags were full inside their main compartments. I could not have added anything to either side inner pockets unless they were very, very small items (maybe jewelry, watches, soap, photocopies of documents, etc). I probably could have used the very front flap pockets to pack my underwear in and use the space from the slim cube to pack heavier shoes (a real pair of sneakers). The daypack is nice on this bag. It is just big enough for my needs. I could easily pack my Samsung 10-inch tablet, camera, water bottle, some books, travel-sized soaps and a light sweater in it for my trip. The pockets are well-lined and the laptop compartment is heavily padded for protection. Although the Eagle Creek has that extra bit of space, it lacks the daypack and it also lacks the hip-belt when converting it to a pack. The hip-belt is essential to ensure everything is evenly distributed while wearing it and being comfortable (who wants to carry their luggage solely on their shoulders?) The frame of the Ozone does take up a lot of room but it still fit the same amount of stuff as the Lync. The ozone also has better padding and strap system than the Lync (the Lync has very little back padding, allowing the frame to cut into your back and the straps attach via velco to the bag...makes me think its possible for it to come undone easily). I will be returning the Eagle Creek today and potentially getting the Meridian to compare the Ozone to the Meridian. I am posting my photos in the hopes of helping someone else having the same issue as me trying to decide on a pack. I am 5'4" and 115 lbs for clothing size comparison and photo deciphering. Only reason there is not 5 stars is because the frame does take up a LOT of room and the colors are limited.