Luggage for big people (and weight limits)
 

In another interesting thread on luggage, the OP is worried about hitting the 50 lb weight limit with a 26" suitcase, and many responders agree with her.

What are they packing?

I am a big person, 6'3" and 255 lbs (well, 260 after a week or two of dining out). I wear size 14 or 14 1/2 shoes. I just got back from a ten day trip that included a wedding, so I took dress as well as casual clothes. I did no laundry on the trip, and I carried a pair of heavy walking sandals as well as my shoes. Weight of suitcase? 34 pounds.

I have a carryon in which I take my CPAP, medicine, toiletries (until now), and a change of underwear and shirt. It probably runs another 20 lbs, but I could get it all in one bag and still make the 50 lb limit, and I guarantee that one pair of my sandals weighs as much as three or four pairs of my wife's shoes!

The same packing has taken me on several trips to Europe for three or more weeks, though I do have to do laundry at least once. Again, what are they packing that weighs so much?

Some suitcases are very heavy in and of themselves. They can weigh ten or twelve pounds.

Sher is absolutely correct. My B+R 26" weighs almost 15 pounds empty.

yeah, I don't find that so unusual. My 25" suitcase has weighed around 38 pounds when packed, so 50 lbs for a 26 inch would be possible. That suitcase weighs around 16 pounds when empty, I think.

The problem is you can get a lot more in a suitcase that size. In my case, I had more than two pairs of shoes, and I also had several books in the outside pockets (guidebooks, etc.). Those weigh a lot. Also, toiletries of various kinds can weight a lot, and women tend to have more of them than men, I think.

I don't think it would be a problem if you didn't have any books, hardly any toiletries, and only two pair of shoes.

Women's shoes weigh much less than men's. And as for toiletries - sure they are heavy if one takes full sized containers. But by using travel sizes or transferring lotions/creams to small bottles/jars, they weigh almost nothing.

50 lbs is a lot - I know I wouldn't want to schlepp one that heavy.

>>What are they packing?<<

Maybe it's the books I take with me... I can't bear to be on vacation without something to read. #o

Books and gifts for people one is visiting? I couldn't deal with a 50 pounder, my left shoulder just wouldn't cooperate, so that makes me keep my packing within reasonable limits.

Interesting to hear your side of the packing dilemma, Ackislander. It never occurred to me that each item of a bigger person's wardrobe would weigh more--duh!

When you read these packing threads, though, you quickly see that some people are taking two outfits per day and seven pairs of shoes. Those people usually like to accessorize in a like manner, so you're adding jewelry, scarves, purses, etc. I can see all that adding up to 50 lbs in a heartbeat.

Books, gifts, and changes of outfit must do it.

My Hartmann 26" roller weighs just under 19 pounds empty, and I think the most it ever weighed packed was 42.

Yes, KSWL, big people's clothes weigh lots more than middle-sized or little people's clothes.

It is the shoes that are the real hassle, though dress shirts (cotton with starch) also weigh a ton.

If I were doing cities only, I think I might pack only tropical weight wool trousers. As it is, like many of the rest of you, I wear the heaviest stuff onto the plane, then sort it all out at the other end.