Even singer ha come out with a Featherweight 2. If this is a machine to be ported here and there and may get a bit roughed up don't blow the bank on an expensive one. New machines are not made to last. Hancock fabrics has a 3/4 Janome for under 70.00 Wouldn't waist money on the Walmart brands unless you know you will be throwing it away. One of the problems we regualarliy see with the newer models is poor stitch quality even with drastic tension adjustments. We work with used and vintage machines and almost always feel as sense of loss over the decline in quality even by the leading brands when we handle newer machines. Think too about where you're traveling and how much you'd be out if it got stolen or broken.