What do you consider to be the best international carry on? I would like to have the back pack than can attach to it. I want it to be a roller bag and light weight. I have looked at Rick Steve's 19 inch upright for Europe, the larger back pack, maybe Avanti. My husband got the Briggs and Riley 20 inch Explore wide body that is supposed to be international standards. It also has a backpack that attaches. We plan to pack light for France with bags that we can manage. Please advise.

Convertible backpack luggage is obsolete in the era of wheeled bags. The harness adds extra weight and turns you into a beast of burden.

Everywhere in Paris, I see people rolling along with what looks like a totally standard sized bag.

I myself use only floppy canvas bags that do not roll but which have a good shoulder strap.

We have successfully traveled all over the world with our Rick Steves 21" as a carry-on bag including on a flight today. Easy to handle and I put a smaller bag on top of it. Husband attaches his backpaxk to it.

i like roller bags as they stop me getting frozen shoulder again, and if I were to buy a new one, I'd get one with 4 wheels not 2, as they seem to move a lot more easily in airports.

I like Briggs and Riley luggage; the stuff lasts forever. I am hesitant to get anything with four wheels because those wheels always look like something is going to knock one of them off.

Have used the Rick Steve's 21" roll-aboard for many years and loved it. Just switched to a 21" 4 wheeled spinner by Samsonite, the Lift spinner, and so far, so good. It weighs a little over 6 lbs. And is expandable. Got it for about $90 last year.

Another vote for the Rick Steve's 21" rollaboard. We have had ours for several years and they take a beating! DH has had to check his due to items for work that cannot go carryon, and he did that weekly for about a year and the bag looks great. These are so functional and durable. We have used ours many times for travel overseas and always do carryon only, and they hold quite a bit.

We have the Rick Steves 21" as well. We bought then in 2006 and have logged a lot if flight miles with them and dragged them all over the place. They are still in good shape.

I did a search, starting with the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco.

I found this retail import place for berets. http://www.basqueimports.com/

It's somewhere on the SF Peninsula.

Duh!

What you get for having 2 links up at once. My apologies.

I'm tall and the roller bag handles never seem long enough, so I always get a sore back from bending down. I like the
Rick Steves Convertible.

It's not the harness that adds the weight, it's the wheels and pull out handle.

If you can find a bag with both wheels and harness at a reasonable weight, then I think that's a good combination. Detachable day pack is also great. Can't recommend a particular brand though. Like you mentioned, I always consider the weight of the bag when it's empty. I try to travel with under 10kg (because I struggle with more than that) and if the bag is heavy that really eats into what I can take.

I also find two small bags works well but some airlines won't allow both to be carried on.

Lastly, different airlines have different rules for carry on luggage, with American airlines generally having more generous allowances. Advise you check some of the budget European carriers as well.

I too, hesitate to get a 4 wheeler, they just look way to fragile and I dislike having to haul non functioning equipment around. I had a wheel chip once, luckily it was on the way home and not for the whole vacation but it was still annoying. OTOH, it was the 1st time I checked a bag and found freedom.

>> ...that is supposed to be international standards. <<

This is the challenge. There is no international standard per se. What you can carry on - both size and weight wise - depends on which airline(s) you travel with.

Before buying, make sure you understand what you can/cannot take on baord.

I had/have the same concerns re durability of the wheels with the four wheeler, but bought one because of the ease of rolling it. As I move it, the four spinner wheels make it much easier to roll the suitcase without the pressure on my shoulder when wheeling a 2 wheeler suitcase. Since I've only had it about a year, it is too early to judge durability.