What size of suitcase is best?
With airlines charging for everything except oxygen, suitcases have become a real money-marker. The standard charge for a single checked bag is around $45.00, one way. For a family of four, that’s an extra $180.00 each way! Just think, if you had bought a different ticket, that $360.00 could have gone towards little Timmy’s college education, maybe bought a lab guide or something.
Yes, I know the price of the “inclusive” ticket is more so you don’t save all of the $360.00, but you do save something. But that’s not what this article is about. This article is about the size of your bag, how massive is it? In this case, bigger is not better.
Suitcases come in standard sizes (yes,there are exceptions), large is usually 30” X 19” and can carry half of your walk-in closet. The medium suitcase is 26” X 18”; small is 25” X 14” and cabin or carry-on, 19” X 13”. For our adventures, regardless of duration, it’s the medium suitcase, 26” X 18” for us. And for a cabin or carry-on, no suitcase, no way, we use a day-pack and I’ll tell you why in a minute, but first, back to the checked bag.
There’s a certain feeling about large suitcases that people have. They crave the space they provide. They think of all the clothes, shoes, books, and jackets they can pack, not to mention all those souvenirs they can bring back! Man, will they be the hit of the family when they return!
In reality, the bag will probably weigh more than you’re allowed so you’ll either step aside from the check-in counter and start unpacking your underwear, or you’ll just pay the extra $100.00 to send your bag off. Hopefully, you’re not making connecting flights and will have to pay their excess weight fees as well.
Now if you have the medium size suitcase, you can certainly over-load it as well, but because it’s smaller, you’re already thinking, “How am I going to get everything in there?”. If you’re like most people, this is where you realize that you’ve picked out too many clothes for your trip. Time to go through and select those clothes you really need and a couple of really likes. Everything else, back into the closet.
And that’s OK, it can be done! My wife and I just returned from a 3-month adventure in Europe where we visited 4 countries and tons of cities. We packed all our things in medium-sized suitcases, AND once packed, my case weighed 37#, hers’ 35#. Best part, we could still carry them even though they have wheels!
Moral of the story, go medium, pack smart and forget about that mambo sized behemoth of a suitcase.
Now, the carry-on bag. Most people have a carry-on sized bag that fits perfectly in the overhead and can hold a ton of stuff. The problem can be that if you didn’t buy that “inclusive” ticket, your carry-on may end up being checked, and sometimes at a cost. Not to mention that because you’re a smart packer, all your valuables and medications are in that bag and now that you have to check it, it just went down to the abyss. I just keep hearing the late John Lennon singing, ” imagine no possessions….”
There are no “clear” statistics on baggage thefts but one thing is certain, valuables do from time-to-time disappear from suitcases. Best insurance, don’t put valuables in checked baggage, keep it in your possession. See where this is going?
We’ve found that the best way to ensure your carry-on bag will travel with you is to use a day-pack instead of a suitcase. A day-pack can hold almost as much as a suitcase, sometimes more, and we’ve never witnessed an occasion when an airline required a day-pack to be checked. It can almost always fit under your seat so no need to check it. And if you think about it, once you arrive, you slip the pack on and now you’re hands free to fill out customs forms! Not to mention you now have a day-pack that will hold your water, food, rain gear, etc. while you’re touring!
We recommend a day-pack for your carry-on bag. Be safe, be sure, carry a bag that you know will be with you. And if you’re not the day-pack type, at least pay that “inclusive” price so you can put your bag in the overhead, but don’t let your valuables out of your sight.