Choosing a suitcase
 

Does anyone have a recommendation for a light wieght, fairly inexpensive suitcase to take on a tour that limits luggage weight and has lots and lots of plane flights? We need something that will pack easilly since we do much moving around.

Search for threads on this subject and you will find more information than you can digest.

This sounds just like an 'ad' but I have to honestly say that after years (if not decades) of travel I eventually bought a samxxxx suitcase and I wondered why I had never done so before!<BR>Open and shut case!

If you are weight-concerned than by all means use lightweight cloth duffel style bags that have zippers. I use two of these and they weigh far less than any hardcase. Kipling has many different colors and the bags have substantial straps and handles. But Kipling will not qualify as inexpensive. On the other hand, I've used them to go to Asia 4 times, Europe 4 times, Brazil once, and the Caymans, in the last 4 1/2 years. They show no signs of wear and tear and likely will still be with me for years to come.<BR><BR>Michael

I have the same problem. Is canvas really better than nylon?

I prefer a lightweight backpack myself. Much more convenient for getting around and if don't take a lot of stuff you can get away with a 30L pack. Suitcases are a lot of bother and rather inefficient for travel in Asia. There are companies who make backpacks with wheels and and a handle of you like the option of luggin something sround behind you.

I prefer a lightweight backpack myself. Much more convenient for getting around and if don't take a lot of stuff you can get away with a 30L pack. Suitcases are a lot of bother and rather inefficient for travel in Asia. There are companies who make backpacks with wheels and and a handle of you like the option of lugging something sround behind you.

I never found a suitcase I liked. Every holiday I ever went on with a suitcase, I ended up ministering to its needs first.... can I get it in here, will it fit there, can I carry it up here, etc. Then I went to Vietnam armed just with a backpack, and only a camera in my hand. What a difference! I never even had to think about it! It was such a success that my family did the same thing on a four-country tour of South America -- even the five-year-old took only what she could fit into her backpack -- and, the big test, a five-week Greyhound tour across the USA. Having both hands free makes such a difference! Try it!

Thank you all so much for your wonderful advice. I guess I neglected to tell you that I am a female, and a pretty old one at that. Backpcks really scare me. Any revised advice?

Not really, Scot... I did the five-week cross-USA tour just four months short of my sixtieth birthday..... my daughters toured with backpacks from age 4. You would get used to it in ten minutes. The trick, as all the guide books will tell you, is to set out on the bed everything that you can't possibly do without, and then throw 80% of it back into the drawers. If you find that you have been TOO severe (but you probably won't) you just pop into the first thrift shop you come to while on your travels. I remember that for South America I was dumb enough to take stuff like toothpaste and shaving cream, not thinking that, wherever we happened to stay, if it wasn't supplied by the hotel, there would be bound to be a shop on the corner where it could be bought for a few cents and then left in the hotel room for the next guest (or the cleaning lady). Same goes for<BR>outer clothing and umbrellas.... buy at one charity shop, give to the next. Trust me on this... you mentioned lots and lots of plane flights, and I can tell you, wherever you land it's a great feeling to have all your luggage in the locker above your head, and you just walk off the plane with it, smiling at the hordes of people waiting at the carousel, and you're first through customs, first to get a taxi, and you are actually enjoying your holiday while your planemates are still trying to locate their luggage!

I like to travel with a backpack also, preferably one that can roll and has an extendable handle. However I sometimes suffer from back trouble, so I like a hard sided suitcase as an alternative. I have found that the ABS plastic ones (all major brands sell them) are fairly lightweight, easy to pack in, roll on wheels and as an added bonus, won't get crushed when shoved in the bottom of a bus cargo hold, or when loaded under everyone else's bags on the airplane.

any other suggestions for suitcases (not backpacks- they're not my thing).

The ABS plastic bag sounds interesting. Has anyone else had experience with them. Thanks!!!!!