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.

Sorry - it should read on the way...and on the return trip....

Janda, you could always hire a porter to travel with you. :)

Capo = Porter in Italian? :-)

Being able to lift your luggage into the overhead compartment is on my top 5 list of travel rules.

Scarlett, I love you but you're gonna have to work on this one so we can travel together!

And I should have added that nine times out of ten, I DON'T need stronger arms than mine--I'm strong as an ox!

Come on ladies, I need to give you lessons. Tomorrow's will be how to helplessly stand on a street corner holding a map upside down, and get invited to coffee by the first handsome Italian who walks by.

Just playing a little to lighten the Monday workday stress ; )

Nutella :D

I love everyones reply. :)

dln, I have been doing upper body exercises to help build up these arms. I have been walking at least 30 minutes a day also.

I dont like asking men for help unless I have to. I am a strong woman and like to do things myself !!!

Capo, are you applying for the position?

Jennie,
check your personal email :) I wrote you back.

Hehehe Nutella...

I find that sitting alone in an Osteria, absorbed in my own thoughts while sipping wine will do it. I've had all kinds of interesting people plunk themselves down in front of me!

I want handsome Italian men to plunk themselves down in from of me !!!

Janda, all my neighbors have seen me out in the extreme heat of the day walking, trying to break in my shoes for double duty, Italian style! I've been attempting to approximate the same conditions I will find next week in Rome. I will confess, however, that it's been hard to find anything like the seven hills of Rome in our flat Midwest!

Don't you think we'll all have interesting stories to tell when we get back from Italy? We'll have everyone on Fodors entertained from now to Christmas!

I want handsome Italian men to plunk themselves down in front of me !!!

Janda, from what all my girlfriends have been telling me, I don't think that will be a problem! (The problem will be fending them off...)

On many trains there are seats set back to back that a good sized suitcase can slide between. In my many travels by train in Europe, North America, and parts of Asia, I can't remember when there wasn't someone who would help a person struggling with their suitcase.

But lighter is better, and many people do overpack.

There was a thread a while back about travel essentials, and some of the things people considered must haves were quite surprising. A gluestick? An i-Pod or portable CD player? Duct tape? Pillow cases? Shortwave radio?

I hope you are right dln. :)
I agree, we should have some very interesting trip reports coming up. Cant wait to see how each person experiences Italy.

Grasshopper, interestingly enough, I just found out what porter actually is in Italian -- portatore -- and it shares its first two letters with my last two.

Sure Janda, but I also realize that with the Seattle economy the way it is, you'll people far more well qualified than I <i>begging</i> for a position as your porter. :)

capo begging !!!
NUNCA !!!

I know this thread is about trains--but I have an airline story. I was up-graded to first class on an American flight from Dallas to Denver last year. As I struggled to get my carry-on into the overhead bin, the flight attendant came by and remarked that if I couldn't get it into the bin myself, I should have checked it--and then went on down the aisle!! So much for the amenities of first class on American. No one helped me, and I eventually got it up by myself.

Sally and everyone,

I'm so short (5' on a tall day) I can't lift anything up high. Even if I could lift my light weight bag I still can't stow it anywhere up there. I've been sliding my soft sided carry on underneath the front seat and using it as my foot rest. I guess I'm going to have to do the same thing on the plane.

Jane, I wonder if the flight attendant would have helped you had you been male.

I find that one benefit of a trip, just like one benefit of having a small child, is increased muscularity in my biceps ;).

My current opinion on packing light - fine so long as one does not skimp on underwear and shoes.

It's conceivable you read this advice from me, as I have posted it often. In fact, the full version of my advice is that you should be able to CARRY it UP and DOWN one full flight of stairs, above your head, without touching handrails or walls. Not that you will have to do that, but it IS a good test of whether it is too heavy for you.

And I submit that you should be able to carry ALL of your stuff up and down one flight of stairs, without separate trips, and still never touch handrails or walls. For this test, of course, over your head would be asking rather much.

Best wishes,

Rex