Can you lift your suitcase over your head?
 

OMG. I read yesterday that you should be able to lift your suitcase fully packed over your head in order to be able to easily put it up on the train. I dont even have clothes in it and I can barely do it !!!! Time to rethink what I really need.

yes indeed.
Many train cars have a large rack at one end that is waist to shoulder height, but it is often full, and you have to be willing to put your bag a distance from your seat. I do carry a cable and lock just in case.

Not only do you have to lift your suitcase above your head but you have three minutes to do it with people exiting the cars and people pushing you from behind to enter. You have the train steps which make you have to sort of toss the luggage if you cant lift it up with you on the steps.

It is the only real hassle with train travel, so pack lightly.

The first thing I did after I packed my backpack for my 4 month trip is lift the thing over my head. If I couldn't, stuff came out. Sometimes people may help you, but you can't count on it. Plus as Natalia said, you have to be fast...you've got 30 seconds from "go" to do it. :)

Just remember to lift using a good braced stance. I saw a few people nearly throw out their backs - doesn't make for a pleasant trip.

Hi Janda! :)

Yes. I can say that I can lift my suitcase over my head. Packed FULL, it only weighs about 18-20 pounds. Of course, totally empty it only weighs about 4 pounds so I'm not starting out with a heavy suitcase like it sounds like you are.

(My suitcase is a 22" x 14" x 9" soft-sided convertable back-pack).

Jennie :)

Another good advice - pick up your packed suitcase and walk around the block carrying it, NOT rolling!! I bet 1/3 of it will be left at home after that :)

OMG!! that IS funny! Just the image of me trying to lift the damn thing to get it out of the room is enough.
If there were some reason (emergency?) that I must lift it or leave it, I guess it would have to be left..
Unless this is about carry ons, then I will be OK because I don't use them :)

Isn't that what nice helpful strong men are for? I am woman hear me roar for most other aspects in my life, but not when it comes to luggage! There ARE benefits to being a solo woman.

Nutella, I traveled solo, and many times helpful gentlemen came to the rescue.

But there are times when you are packed in by little old ladies. Everyone is trying to get around you, luggage racks by the door are full, so you better be able to put that thing somewhere! ;)

The issue is really about lifting the suitcase up and stowing it onto the luggage rack once you are inside the compartment where there will be fewer people pushing and so forth...you can always rest it on the seat temporarily.
And no, Ladies, "helpful gentlemen" do not exist solely to help people who overpacked lift heavier-than-they-should-be suitcases, sorry....

I CAN lift my filled 26" suitcase over my head, but not easily, and I don't enjoy it. The 22" is easy to lift, but I've never been able to limit myself to that for a two-week trip.

then if we are talking about overhead luggage, I guess I know now that I have to keep it light enough for my wimpy arms to lift :D

Hi cmt!

It is easier when you are on a train with a compartment...but try Italy on a Eurostar train. Yikes!!!

There is a fine art to making a show of one's luggage distress, bound to attract attention from a knight in shining armor. And the need to choose your train compartment carefully goes without saying! ; )

Janda, just when I thought I had all the bases covered, you come up with this one!! I am rushing down to my basement to get my weights--you know, the ones that have been gathering cobwebs since I abandoned that post-New Years resolution to get more exercise...

And yes, Intrepid, the "helpful gentleman" I married exists for many more reasons than to heft my luggage, but if I didn't have him with me on this trip, I wouldn't think twice of turning down any assistance from stronger-muscled arms than mine!

Well Nutella, believe me, I do try to choose my compartments carefully...;)

But as I said earlier, those Italian Eurostar trains can be tricky. Assigned seating, no compartments, and sometimes no one around who can reach you to help you.

I really think it behooves women to be able to lift their own bags. If a nice person helps, great. If not, you can hoist it up yourself and look smug about it.

I guess I'm in the minority here. I suppose that when you have no choice, you will FIND a way to lift that sucker up over your head. I know I have.

I can't count how many times I have returned from the US with "zip" clothing in my suitcase, but rather nothing but groceries, groceries, and more groceries. I know the thing has been 40 pounds at times and I still manage to get it up in that overhead bin. It's not as if I'm going to run around the block with it over my head. It honestly only takes a couple of seconds of "sheer might."

I will add, however, that I have seen women struggle with too heavy of a bag and I, or someone else, usually tries to assist. I don't suppose, though, as other posters said, you can always count on that.

I can just see you waiting for your knight and the train pulls away from the station.

I agree with Mina wholeheartedly.

Even if I am with a man I lift my own luggage, but I let him help me if there is time, after all he has his own luggage too, usually. You really only have a short time at most stations and you have to hussle and standing there being a lady in distress waving a hanky just doesn't cut it.
It is not so much the overhead that we are talking about it is getting on the train itself. I am about 5'3" and the top of the stairs are eye level.

I second the light-weight convertable backpack for an easy carry on. I have problems with my neck and shoulder so I have used and worn out my wheeled backpack after eight years of traveling.

I just bought another 20 x8 x 14 inch softsided back pack with wheels by American Tourister from Walmart for $29. It weighs between 4 and 5 pounds unpacked and 16-18 pounds packed. This is a real lifesaver when I travel by myself.

I don't even have to lift it when on a plane because it has soft sides and is usually squishable enough to fit under my seat! On a train, I may just keep it by my feet.

I do pack light, and if I am going to be in a cold climate for the first part of my trip, I mail back cold weather clothes, and then I have room to buy souvenirs.

One the way to my destination -YES but one the return trip it would give me a hernia. Full of pottery and wine and wrapped in my clothes.