Luggage: Soft or Hard
 

We need luggage for a two week trip to Europe. We are going to 4 cities - France and Italy. Talking to salespeople, it seems they are recommending the hard type of luggage for travel oversees due to the wear and tear oversees. We have one 22" soft type luggage with locks and wheels that we have gone to all over the U.S. What do you recommend we get?

Just keep in mind hard luggage can get very heavy. We use a soft type by Atlantic and love it. It has been all over the US and Europe because of our vacations or my husband's job, and is in perfect condition.

My wife & I each purchased 1 softside carry-on luggage from LL BEAN, for our 1st trip together to Europe about 10 yrs or so ago. We go for about 2 weeks on each trip to Europe. We are still using those same cases & they are still in good condition.(We also use them on trips in the States.) We pack everything we need in those cases, plus using a camera case & large handbag. My wife also folds up a duffle bag & brings that along, which we use on the way home. We always come back with more than we take. That has always worked well. Those can even get alittle heavy & at times wished we maybe had wheels on them. But they have lasted. I can't imagine carring around hard sided suitcases, unless you are paying a taxi to take you & your luggage from door to door. If your luggage has suited you all over the states, it should suit you in Europe, as long as the wheels are solid. There are many places with uneven sidewalks or cobblestones or gravel, & in many cases you may still need to walk up stairs with that luggage & usually it is in a crowd. The smaller & lighter & easier to manuver the better. Even if your transportation gets you to within a couple blocks of your hotel, you will be thankful for light luggage. <BR>

Hi Stacey: <BR> <BR>I have found that hard luggage works well if you are going on adventure type cruises, or where you will be travelling by land and then back and forth on a water craft. My husband and I went on a Smithsonian trip to China last year in May and found that the luggage was thrown around quite often by the baggage handlers at the various docks we visited on the Yangtze River. Most of the seasoned travelers used hard luggage in this instance. Our soft side luggage has served us well on trips to Europe where it has gotten only airline handling. Most important, I think, is a good strong fabric with well constructed zippers and wheels, of course! <BR>

I've traveled in Europe several times and recommend soft sided luggage...you'll want fairly small bags that you can you can either wheel or easily carry on your shoulder, as there will be plenty of times where you'll have to carry your luggage. And I recommend no more than two bags per person, one preferably. I can't see taking hard sided luggage as it is much heavier, less flexible so might take up more room on trains, harder to carry, and overall more inconvenient.

We've used soft luggage with backpack straps, daypack feature, and expandable bottom through Europe several times, taking only one bag per person. Then, this year, we took our kids and bought them each a small 22" nylon bag on wheels for $50 at Target. Each kid also had a lightly packed daypack. I envied the kids their wheels. How about this? Buy the best softsided, lightweight parachute material suitcase available, then buy stickon wheels, also available at Target or any discount store. <BR>

My answer would be -- it depends. When I go home to England for a family visit, I use my trusty hard-side Samsonite on wheels. That's because I bring back all kinds of goodies I can't buy over here, and I'm concerned about damage to fragile items in a softside bag. I was also glad of the hardside when tendering out to the hydrofoil in Positano, or anywhere else that my baggage is out of my hands and thrown about! The only place that is a challenge is changing lines in the London Underground, where stairs seem to be inevitable. But it wouldn't be much better with a softside bag.. the stairs are still there. <BR>

Stacey-after 26 years with a major airline and lots of years doing personal travel,I am just back last night from a trip to Italy with my family and am ready to say that I am giving up my hard sided samsonite cases with wheels. My husband always complained about "baggage drills" with our children: changing hotels,trains,rental cars,etc. so this trip I went to Target and bought each of us a rolling duffel bag in a different color.The bags sell for about $50.00 and hold alot. Bags are probably around 3ft by 2ft. I put everything together in various yard bags inside and it worked out so well. My family each pulled their own bag,took responsibility for it on train and putting into taxis,etc. Husband didn't pull out back or complain!!! They actually fit into small taxis(had a huge fight ;ast year in Nice about them wanting us to use two taxis)and with a lock on each of them-it was perfect.Carryon bags were over the shoulder duffels with various compartments. Have a great time! Debbie <BR>

Stacey-after 26 years with a major airline and lots of years doing personal travel,I am just back last night from a trip to Italy with my family and am ready to say that I am giving up my hard sided samsonite cases with wheels. My husband always complained about "baggage drills" with our children: changing hotels,trains,rental cars,etc. so this trip I went to Target and bought each of us a rolling duffel bag in a different color.The bags sell for about $50.00 and hold alot. Bags are probably around 3ft by 2ft. I put everything together in various yard bags inside and it worked out so well. My family each pulled their own bag,took responsibility for it on train and putting into taxis,etc. Husband didn't pull out back or complain!!! They actually fit into small taxis(had a huge fight ;ast year in Nice about them wanting us to use two taxis)and with a lock on each of them-it was perfect.Carryon bags were over the shoulder duffels with various compartments. Have a great time! Debbie <BR>

We broke our cardinal rule about "carryon rolling softside bags only" on a five day trip to Milan. We spent 4 hours in Malpensa filing for lost baggage, and 3 1/2 days without luggage. I refuse to travel with hard-sided luggage on a trip (like Sonia, though, when I visit the homestead I pack the giant American Tourister hardsided suitcase-on wheels). No bigger than 21", soft sided on wheels...and not expensive (I've had olive oil, perfume, shampoo and sand explode inside suitcases for a total loss). We test out the packed suitcase by hoisting it over our heads; if it can't be done, we start UNpacking.

One large soft-sided bag that converts into a backpack and an optional carry-on soft-sided rolling bag works great for me. Picture yourself climing stairs and negotiating cobblestones with your luggage and let that mental image be your guide. With two bags, the one on my back was out of the way (yet could convert to a regular looking bag to be presentable in nicer hotels) and the carryon bag could be carried if it wouldn't roll easily.

<BR>Can someone enlighten me on this talk about shampoos, perfumes etc."exploding" in luggage? Is this only in your carryon or just the checked luggage. Aren't the baggage compartments pressurized? Is it the way they toss the bags that cause the exploding? I wanted to pack aerosol hairspray and shaving cream in our checked hardside bag this time since we won't have room in totes.Do they explode more on international flights from US to London?? Will this be a big mistake?? Thanks. <BR> <BR>Mary <BR> <BR>

Mary, <BR>Regarding exploding shampoo, etc. It happens to both checked as well as carry on despite pressurization in the cabin. You know this because your ears pop during take off and landing so they do not pressurize the cabin as much as the sea level. Also things served in sealed packets on board, peanuts, margerine in a sealed tub, sealed orange juice in a cup look as though they are about to explode. For soft wall container things, such as shampoo in a soft plastic bottle, etc, you can reduce the internal pressure by squeezing out as much air as practical then seal the cap tight (the bottle looks like it has been stepped on), then enclose in a plastic bag for additional protection. For glass bottle things, well, you hope the cap is sturdy enough to withstand added pressure from the expanding gas inside the bottles.

I definitely prefer soft sided luggage..much lighter. The good stuff is very sturdy. We have travelled to Europe, New Zealand and Australia many times during the last 12 years. We have always carried soft sided luggage. As a matter of fact, the first time that we left the country the first thing that we did was to get rid of that heavy, hard Samsonite stuff. We use to buy the cheapest soft sided luggage at the flea market and if the airlines tore it up we would just throw it away when we got back. Recently, we decided to get some better soft sided luggage (Jaguar) at J.C. Penney. It has held up like iron. -Dave-Safety Harbor, FL-

I've made maybe 20 trips to Europe in the past decade, plus lived there for a few years. I've seen lots of broken hard luggage. The locks tend to be weak and the sides don't give. I use TravelPro roll-aboard luggage and have made almost all of those trips, plus about 50 segments per year in the USA, with the same bag. It's pretty beat up but it still rolls. <BR>Whatever you do, make sure it has wheels and a stout grip to steer it with.

My latest and greatest bag is a "c-fold". Unzipped, you hang it up to pack, just like a garment bag. Your clothes go in on ordinary hangers (which you'll be glad to have along when you see what the hotels provide). There are lots of compartments for fold-up items, shoes, etc, plus two outside pockets. It has wheels and a telescoping handle. Awesome! Best part is that upon arrival, you can hang it up and live out of it without unpacking and repacking. Mine's only 26" and I am amazed at how much it holds. Even more amazing, the more you stuff into it, the more wrinkle-free everything arrives. After five years of airline mishandling, it's still in perfect condition - can't justify buying a newer model with more features and bigger wheels. For toiletries and sundries, I highly recommend a "Gotta Go" bag (they have a website and they're available through Magellen's). Mine is black vinyl, about the size of a box of Kleenex (they have several versions). Comes with two dozen or so plastic bottles of all sorts and sizes (flip top, eye dropper, spray, screw on top) and two sheets of labels. There's a plastic tray in the bottom to hold the containers, so everything stays upright. I love this bag! Can pack everything I need from my bathroom in it. Best to fill containers no more than 2/3 or so full to allow for expansion. For extra precaution, you can tape the tops. In the alternative, you can pack all liquids in zip lock freezer bags. Would avoid aerosols - nothing like shaving cream all over everything - from a half full can.

My finding has been that hardsided luggage acutally tends to be destroyed more by airlines. My last piece was finally purchased by Delta and the baggage guy begged me to buy softsided. <BR> <BR>By the way, I agree with the person who practiced loading their carryon over thier head. I get very frustrated with people who assume someone will help them, if you can't handel it then send it to baggage check!

I've traveled quite extensively overseas (to Europe and Asia), as well as in the states on business. I have the soft type lugage that is a pullman. I found it very reliable and very easy to tote around in Europe on trains from city to city. Have a great trip!