Yep, it's NBO-JRO. Thanks, Leely!

Le SportSac's are about the lightest, and they are pretty tough. I use them for carryons as a "personal item", but not (so far) for my primary carryon bag. Mostly because I find them a pain to pack and re-pack: the bottoms aren't really flat, and they have straight, not U-shaped zippers. And although they are pretty tough, they are not as strong as cordura, and I fear that they are not very water-resistant. (I've seen some small planes with alot of moisture in the baggage hold.) So not the best unless you can carry it on 100% of the time.

At Orvis they had a carry on size case mad from the same material as li sportsac but it had foam inner panels so it had some shape. I have not checked it so I do not know how it will stand up to that but I carried it on with a backpack. It held a lot more than you would think but I did find that rolling my clothes for packing worked best. I included a pair of hiking boots and could fit all my safari clothes and some books, suntan lotion etc. It was very lightweight and easy to carry. Weighed about 7 kilos packed. Worked great.

Friends of ours recently struggled to buy light luggage and pack light on a trip to Kenya. Their actual experience was that the intra-Kenya airlines didn't weigh and didn't seem to care about the luggage.

What has been your recent experience? Have your bags been weighed? Did they care if your bags weighed over 33#?

When I flew Kenya Airways (in and out of Nairobi) they weighed everyones luggage. And while they might let an extra kilo pass, anything over that incurred an overweight charge. Ouch!!

I know people keep saying no wheels, no handle, but what about a soft carry on size rollor where the handle is hidden inside? (You can still see the wheels) The outside is durable luggage fabric... We pack VERY light and have gone 3 1/2 weeks to SEast Asia with no more than this and a carry on purse...Will that work for SAfrica, Nairobi, Tanzania safari and Zanzibar? Thanks

travellinglots,
I think many people recommend non-wheeled luggage because of weight issues. I know for me every kilo counts as I'm horrible when it comes to packing light! So I went out and purchased the lightest bag I could find. If you can fill your wheeled bag with everything you need and still meet the weight restrictions, then I think you'll be fine.

The one thing everyone might think about when purchasing luggage is to be sure the nylon is strong enough not to be able to be cut into with nail file or jack knife and also that all zips have double pulls so they can be locked. Remember, theft is a problem in some of the camps and lodges.

Jan

We were limited to 26 lbs in Zambia. I found a terrific little duffle at KMart - $14.95. It was sturdy and the pockets held all the little stuff. My friend had a Totes bag that weighed almost nothing. It was expandable and had a leather handle which was easy to carry.

Both jcasale and ShayTay recommended the Rick Steves bag. Were you allowed to take them as carryons on your international flights or did you have to check them?
Thanks