Luggage

[Teacher Terry]

My husband takes his CPAP as a carry on, but since it is a medical equipment, it does not count as your "one' carry on or personal item. He got a "medical" sticker at the counter.
At least on Alaska Airlines, he was able to have his backpack, cpap, and camera case.

I know you can do that but worry if I have it in its own case I may lose it so I put it inside one of my suitcases. On my trip tomorrow I am only going for 4 days so not even taking it.

 

[explanade]

I had a large Tumi suitcase. It got dirty on the first trip, because those conveyor belts are filthy and the baggage handlers always put the suitcase on the front.

I spent a couple of hundred repairing it twice because the handle kept tearing off. That's the top handle.

I pack the large suitcase up to the limit and probably sometimes beyond it. I overpack and for now, I'm not changing my behavior.

Typically for a 2-3 week international trip, you get two carry-on allowance and I used to check in a large and a small suitcase in addition to a roller carryon.

But now it's just one large suitcase checked in and it's soft sided, so I can stuff it, like when I return, I put the clothes which need to be washed in the outside compartment and I'm not neatly folding them so that they can have the least amount of volume.

So for checked-cases, I'm going cheap as I can go while still getting good enough quality. I bought an IT 28 or 29-inch bag which was much lighter than other suitcases of similar size. You could tell why, it doesn't have the big rigid frame of the Tumi which also made it heavy.

The first one didn't last and under warranty the company sent me another and I've been using that the past 4 years or so. It's outlasted the Tumi.

Originally I think I paid somewhere between $60-80.

For the carryon, for now I'm still traveling with a lot of electronics so it has to have a separate laptop compartment easily accessed from the outside. I bought a TravelPro a couple of years ago for about $200-250. I don't put any clothing in there. I was once stranded when my checked suitcase was delayed by 4-5 days.

I spent about $60-80 in Austria to buy some clothes. It was summer so even in Salzburg, all I needed was some underwear, shorts,T-shirts and socks. Airline reimbursed me.

I rationalize spending a lot more on the carryon because I never plan to check the bag, so it still looks clean, as did my previous carryon.

It's two wheels, not a spinner. The checked suitcase is a spinner. Both work fine, though the big 2-wheel rollers are better if you anticipate having to wheel your luggage some distance, like say you anticipate taking public transportation, in which case you're more likely to have to wheel through sidewalks and even some streets.

Long time ago, I broke the casters on one suitcase rolling them about a kilometer through the streets of Florence, which had cobblestone sidewalks. I would have been better off taking a taxi or something.

 

[Lsbcal]

Follow-up question...

I think I have decided to purchase a Travelpro international carry on. I've narrowed it down to two choices. The Crew Versapack and the Maxlite rollaboards, (2 wheels).

The Versapack is about $200, has some nice features like a laptop pocket, integrated toiletries compartment, and pocket for power pack. I'm not sure I place a lot of value on those but I can see how they might be handy. Dimensions are 21.5x14x9 inch totaling to 44.5 inch. Weight is 7.2 lb. I think this is in the flight crew quality level. They are only available in black and currently sold out but I am in no hurry to buy.

The Maxlite is more basic in terms of features and pockets but is about $145. Dimensions are 21.75x15.75x7.75 summing to 45.25. Weight is 5.4 lb. It is also available in colors other than black which is a minor plus to me.

My dilemma is that from what I have found, the international carry on limits are 22x14.2x9.05 totaling 45.3. This means the Maxlite might be oversize at 15.75 inch width. I am leaning toward this because of the color choice and the fact it is currently available as well as the lower weight.

Can anyone tell me their actual experience in how international airlines, especially the budget carriers interpret the size limits? My understanding is that the actual limit is the sum of the dimensions but in practice this is of course ridiculous because I could take a 45 inch 1 inch pipe and technically be under the limit but it is not going to fit in the bin! I've traveled a lot and never been asked to test my bag but I understand some of the carriers especially in Asia have become much more aggressive about this.

Any comments?

ETA: Plan to buy from Travelpro directly to avoid previous returns and have the warranty.

I bought a Maxlite for a Scandinavian Air flight. I called them and the guy said the very minor extra height (~1/2 inch) should not be a problem. We will be using one check-in and that carry-on. This is for a 1 month Europe trip.

Weight is the real issue for ground travel. For an old guy it is tough to get a weighty piece of luggage up on one of those Italian overhead train racks. So I will put more weight in the carry-on when moving around Europe.

 

[Route246]

Maybe this is more of a rant but I'm looking for constructive information.

I've mostly always bought cheap luggage that I replaced every few years - think $40 for a carryon size that might last 5 years.

The bag I currently use is about 5 years old and showing its wear. It was cheap.

But in shopping for a replacement it is becoming very hard to find a 2-wheel bag. Spinners are fin inside the airport but I have found they are horrible to use on cobblestones or other non-paved surfaces. My partner uses a spinner and it was terrible in Europe last summer.

Looking on Amazon, every 2-wheel bag I find says it has a high return rate which concerns me.

Any suggestions? I'd be willing to spend up to about $250 for a decent 2-wheel bag that I like but they seem to not exist any more. You either pay $50 for crap or $500+ for a brand name.

I find spinners cute but not very practical since I travel light and maximize my carryon.

I have 2 2-wheel carry-ons which both maximize cubic inches of capacity. One is "Eagle Creek No Matter What Flatbed 22 Inch" but unfortunately no longer made but has max capacity for domestic carry-on. The other is "Timbuk2 Co-Pilot Luggage Roller Suitcase" which is a clamshell style. Clamshell is very handy for long flights because you get easy access to half of your bag in an overhead without pulling it out.

My requirement is stout wheels (Timbuk2 are the most stout I've ever seen) and a double-pole pull-out handle as I like to strap my computer bag to the top and a single-pole handle doesn't work for this.

I consider myself an experienced air traveller but I don't fly much anymore. Neither of these would work well in those European countries where they measure and weigh things carefully. In that case I use a backpack.