Best luggage to take traveling
 

I will be traveling around Asia to Vietnam, Thailand, China and Indonesia for about four months and was wanting to know what the best luggage to take is. I know that people recommend taking a backpack but I don't really like them and can't carry them as I'm very small at 5ft2. I was planning on taking a 60L wheeled holdall and a day bag. What's the best lightweight wheeled holdall to take and has anyone used one for travelling.

I am 5'2" and travel for a month at a time with a 22 in rolling bag and a small back pack. I find the small backbook frees up my arms and distributes weight more evenly rather than straining one shoulder with a carry bag. It also serves nicely as a day bag to carry water, books, a light jacket or sweater. As for suitcases - just look for one with sturdy wheels and check out the interior space to see that it holds the maximum amount possible. I like outside pockets.

I am petite as well, and I like Delsey. You can get them on sale at Macy's. They have a 26 inch one that I use, but you may want the 29 inch. They have several lines, but get the ultra light one. I typically travel for less than a month, so the 26 inch is fine for me. Get a color other than black so that you can spot it at the airport.

I also take a Tumi flowery cute back pack and matching shoulder bag. I have tried using a bag that piggy backs onto the suitcase, but it makes the suitcase too heavy. In addition, I always bring a small lightweight canvas duffel bag from REI. I use it when I have a driver for the day, or a long bus ride, and it can be checked at the airport at the end, when you have gifts.

Lots of choices. We got two ultra-light samsonite bags at Costco though I don't know if you are a member or even have one nearby. They came in set at 29 and I think 24 inches or something with that. The two were like $159.00 IIRC. they work just fine. We id our bags by putting brightly colored ribbons on the handles and our tags are also very bright.

Having a foldable or collapsable bag along is a good idea I think. we do this all the time.

Tumi bags are great but also very $$. I have a large Tumi shoulder bag which I take all the time and it was gifted to me by a rather eccentric and generous friend of my moms. In fact she gifted 4 such bags, all black leather. My larger one would be at least $500.00. It has held up very, very well.

Cheers, Larry. :).

We prefer to use carryon luggage only so for many carriers, 22" is now too large. I bought the Rick Steves' 20" rolling carryon and were very pleased with it for our Sicily trip. We flew Alitalia who has strict carryon criteria, and we had no problem. It's also very lightweight.

I know you didn't ask about carryon luggage, but I thought I'd just add that extra bit of information for those who are interested.

I'm with progol. You'd be surprised how much you can fit in a 22 " suitcase. We've only had to check it in for smaller planes. Makes life a breeze when getting off planes and getting through customs while everyone else is getting their luggage. No lost bags and easy to use on trains, stairs, when having to switch planes last moment etc.

Depending on how much traveling you'll be doing, after a month, you may really wish you had a backpack. There are so many options now that are designed for smaller body frames.

My tiny, 5"1 daughter got a really nice one at REI that she loved. It was an internal frame pack, not one that looked like she was scaling a mountain. Many small suitcases now have straps so that you can alternate between carrying, wearing on your back, and even rolling.

A small wheel-less duffle from LL Bean and a day pack were all the luggage I used for years of travel in Africa and Asia. Then, I conceded to advancing age and got a duffle with wheels, which I learned added about 25 % to the weight. Now, in 2016, I have found the ultimate: what Hammacher Schlemmer calls the world's lightest carry on (Product No. NX-84290, $149.95), which weighs four pounds, comes in two colors, and has four spinning wheels. Initially, I thought that I would miss all the pockets of the duffels, but now I realize that the fabric added weight and that I can compensate by separating categories of articles by plastic baggies. If you purchase this piece of luggage, I urge you to mark it distinctly. On my first trip using it---to New Guinea in May---it got lost overnight. On the second trip---to Bulgaria in July---Air France lost it and it has never turned up. The new one that I purchased last week is going to have unique identification on it. Another possibility is not to purchase the black color. ZZ

Sound so like a great bag but 22 " is the largest bag allowed in most planes.

To dgunbug: It is not my intention to be argumentative, but I don't know how small an airplane would have to be not to be able to take a piece of luggage greater than 22" in length. I could bore you out of your skull telling you of my experiences in four-seater single engine planes in Africa in which there was no difficulty with the duffle bags. Hammacher Schlemmer gives the height of its carry on as 23 3/4". ZZ

We travelled in Asia and New Zealand for the whole of 2015 using a Lowe Alpine TT40 Carryon. At 55x35x25cms (22 inches in old money!). It will fit most airlines' carry on size limits, if not their weight limits.

Ours weighed in at around 10kg. The weight limit on most Asian carriers is 7-10kg. We took over 20 flights around Asia mostly with air Asia whose limit is 7kgs. We experienced no problems in taking our bags into the cabin (checking in online helps bypass the checking process.

Traveling light save a lot of time and inconvenience. Here is a link to my packing list
https://accidentalnomads.com/2016/05...ck-like-a-man/ my wife's list is similar, but with less gadgets and more lotions and potions!

Carrying on bags reduces significantly the opportunities for one's bag to get lost or broken into by airport staff, to say nothing of the time saved waiting around at baggage carousels.

Lowe Alpine now do a wheeled version but I am not a fan of wheeeled baggage. Partly because of the weight added and reduced available packing space, but also because in Asia, the wheels can be next to useless once you get out of airports and onto rough roads and sidewalks.

Before buying any sort of backpack, wheeled or not, try it on for size and weigh.

To complement my main pack I use a MUJI daypack. It is made from the same material as Hang gliders, is incredibly light and strong and folds down to nothing and will easily fit in a pocket.

My goodness, I wish I had the guts to take a small carry on. Air Berlin just "misplaced" my bag for 30 hours when I arrived in Poland. Their policy is to not investigate until five days have passed, so I was fretting until the bag suddenly appeared at my hotel.

So, to all you carry on folks, how do you wash your clothes?

Hotel sinks and laundries mostly.

And some hotels have laundry service if you don't want to do it yourself. It's really easy and most convenient to have your bag with you at all times.

Hotel sink. But I check my bigger bag, don't want to cart it round the terminal. On the other hand, I take as few flights as possible, prefer trains in many cases.

Big folks need to carry big clothes, but small people in Asia fit right in and here, clothes are cheap. Carry less, buy local, wash in sink...frankly, no one cares.
And, while not directed towards any western woman in particular, ladies, plz plz lay off the chemical perfumes. You stink up the bus.

After 20 plus years with an LL Bean 22" rolling carry-on the wheels fell apart. My husband had the same thing start to happen on the previous trip. After losing luggage never to be seen again, we have both become carry-on only no matter where or how long the trip.
However, I was told by a rep for a flight on Delta connecting through Japan that I could not use my 22" even though it was ok for my husband to use the same suitcase - the rep actually measured it with a tape measure! After much back and forth, I was allowed to take it on board.
So, when it came time to replace the bags we decided to go smaller and lighter. I found an Eagle Creek Adventure 19-20" that we both love! It is amazingly light, easy to wheel or carry and holds much more than I thought it would. I used it last year on a 3 week trip to Japan and Korea and had packed more than I needed. This bag does come in a larger size if you don't mind checking it.
On longer trips, I try to find a hotel that has a laundry room to do a load of wash. I'm not a fashionista so I don't need to carry a pair of shoes to match every outfit. We spend from morning to night seeing all that we can and generally only wear one outfit all day. I do a trial packing before leaving and then decide what I really need to take with me.
And yes, some airlines have become very fussy about weight and measurements on the luggage. It seems like it mostly depends on who is at the gate and if they are in a good mood the day of your departure!