One suitcase or two for two weeks in Italy
 

I am going to Italy for two weeks and have been hesitant about taking my 26" hard sided case because I'm going to have to get it on and off trains and possibly up and down stairs. I'm heading in the direction of a Briggs and Riley expandable carryon that I can check and topping it with a B&R tote that fits over the handle. B&R has a nice connector on the back of the carry on that will take the tote. Has anyone tried this combo?

No, but I wouldn't ever even consider it. Two weeks is no time at all. You don't need much stuff. And I don't even know why you'd need a combo. For two weeks take a 22" rollaboard and pack wisely. No one there knows you and is going to be scoping out what you're wearing. I do weeks after weeks in Europe with a 19" rollaboard.

Even when staying six weeks in Italy, I have never taken more than a 22" rollaboard plus small carry on type bag that attachs and sits on top when moving about. I don't have a Briigs and Riley but they are an excellent high quality brand although pricey.
I put what ever I would have in a purse in the smaller bag plus electronics and toiletry/RX bag. I pack a smaller empty purse in the larger bag and carry all of it on.

StCirq is absolutely right. I'll be traveling for a month in Warsaw and in Germany in June, and I'll be carrying a 21" suitcase and a shoulder bag.

I check my suitcase and use the shoulder bag for my book, my medication, my neck pillow, and odds and ends, but I could do without it.

If you wear the same outfit for multiple days, nobody is going to know.

I am into cheaper luggage that is super, super light weight. No point thinking about looks. It all gets dirty anyway and the airlines can rip the wheels off even the best. I go the easy way and check it. I pack a small carryon with meds and change of clothes. It is soft and fits into the larger suitcase or a tote that attaches to the larger suitcase. For me, a 24" is perfect with the carryon that can attach. Certainly do not need or want two suitcases to lug around myself.

I've found that expandable luggage is a recipe for disaster. Over the years I've gone with 26"/28" expandable Hartman along with a duffle bag. Now, having traveled a great dea and becoming a lot more savvy, I take a 22 1/2 " Rimowa. All I need for as long as I'm gone. As StCirq said no one know you or gives a hoot about what you're wearing.

I use either a 19 in or 21 inch rollaboard for just about ant trip. Never bigger. Once in a blue moon I also take a tote-type carry on too. But 90% of the time it is just my rollaboard an a handbag -- which would be plenty for two weeks.

huh, I could never travel for two weeks with a 21 inch suitcase. Shoes are the big issue, my feet being comfortable is very important and I do dress up some for going to the theater, and to dinner. If I never did and only took casual clothes, I probably could. Also, outer wear, it depends on potential weather.

Anyway, I don't even have a 26 incher, though, I think a 24 inch is a good compromise, also, that's what I like. I never have a problem taking care of it myself, including trains, but maybe I am stronger. I don't mean that to be snarky, but it is possible, I'm sure I won't be able to handle it when I'm 90, for example.

I don't own any hard-sided luggage, don't get them or why people like them so much. Seems like it would add weight, but also they can't adjust size that well. Mine can be squished down more, for example, when it isn't as full. I do have lightweight suitcases, also, you can get 25" ones about 8 lbs. It makes a difference if the bag alone adds on about 4 extra pounds, for example.

If this is the bag you are talking about, it weighs about 11 pounds http://www.briggs-riley.com/shop/col...dium-spinner-4

I do agree that is too big, not only height but all directions, it is 19 inches wide and 12 inches deep. (27x19x12)

Compare it to this hardside, if that's what you like -- a Samsonite 25 incher which weighs only 8 lbs. and is 25x17x11.
http://luggagebase.com/product/11620...d-Spinner.html

or this hardsided one at only 8 lbs which is 23x18.5x11.4
http://luggagebase.com/product/10534...r-Trolley.html

I've been eyeing a Ricardo spinner at TJMaxxs which is 24x16x7.5 and weighs 8.5 pounds for my next 2 week trip as I need a new one. Less than $100, but fabric.

Only you know what size suitcase you need, but two suitcases is probably too much.

I have a few pieces of Briggs and Riley, they stand up really well over time.

For my last trip to Italy in March I checked a 24inch bag and took onboard a 16in Knomo roll aboard and a small handbag. I had no trouble managing this on the train to Milan but I am strong and have done it all before.

I pack very carefully but love clothes, dress up for dinner and always shop, so a small bag isn't always good for me. The nobody knows you thing doesn't work for me, I know me! (Plus I have friends there). My clothes matter to me whether they matter to anyone else or not.
This last trip I did too much shopping and bought a small bag for the overflow, no big deal in the taxi to the airport.
So we are all different in how we pack, you just have to decide what you can manage.

<My clothes matter to me whether they matter to anyone else or not.>
Exactly.

My expandable 21" might be enough for me for two weeks in Europe, but I wouldn't want to work that hard, or wear the same clothes that many times. Also, I would want to buy something and not have to fret about mailing it back, or buying something to then carry it in.

However, if I could add a tote to the suitcase easily, as the OP describes, it would work perfectly well, as the tote could hold a pair of shoes, toiletries, whatever I couldn't squash into the 21". And I could easily handle those two items myself on stairs and trains.

Expandable is even better, because if the worst happens and I buy more than one or two things, I can expand the suitcase and stuff them in.

So I endorse the OP's plan.

>>huh, I could never travel for two weeks with a 21 inch suitcase. Shoes are the big issue, my feet being comfortable is very important and I do dress up some for going to the theater, and to dinner. If I never did and only took casual clothes, I probably could. Also, outer wear, it depends on potential weather.<<

I take at least 3 pair of shoes on every trip, occasionally 4. And I tend to dress up . . . still all fits in a rollaboard really easily, usually w/ space to spare.

I had one 22" suitcase with a collapsible duffel bag in the bottom so I had something for purchases, last Paris trip. I shop and proud of it.

I had more than enough clothes.

Yeah, another vote for taking one 21" suitcase plus a large handbag/small tote (e.g. the "personal item that fits under the seat in front of you"). That's for 5 week trips. Wear anything bulky, including your bulkiest footwear and a jacket or coat, on the plane. Bring an empty fold-able (really thin) tote if you buy too much stuff - use that to bring home the dirty laundry and put your purchases in the suitcase. Or you can always buy a cheap suitcase in just about any European city to check on the flight home with your dirty laundry.

My wife and I travel in Europe for 6 to 8 weeks at a time. We take 1 backpack each, 1 large purse, 1 computer carrier, and my drug cooler (Insulin). We wash clothes, usually at a local laundromat every 4 or 5 days. We usually buy at least one suitcase to bring goodies bought in Europe home. Clothes taken including wearing on the plane. 3 pair of pants, 4 or 5 shirts, 5 changes of undies, 5 pair of socks, 1 hat, one plastic rain coat (small, in plastic bag and good luck putting it back) and one dress jacket for me. Wife, about the same. She might bring 1 extra pair of shoes, and no socks. A few pieces of costume jewelry. (She wil1 buy more) A small laptop and assorted power adapters, 2 folding totes for groceries and shopping, 1 portable fan, and spare glasses. We also take two rolls of toilet paper, the no core kind, and 4 washcloths. I also take 2,000 Euro in a under the shirt carrier. I buy umbrellas, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, perfume(In Paris, go figure), etc. there.

Listen to Janis. I think she used to teach people how to pack. I took her advice and started travelling with carry on only, often going for a month at a time. It has changed my life, no waiting for luggage and just doing a bit of laundry every now and then. Liberating.

Janis

Im a fairly light packer, but if I put 4 pairs of shoes ( even if 1 of them were sandals) in my 21" it wouldnt hold anything else! I only wear a size 6.5.....HOW do you do it?

Anyway I only take 2 pairs and wear the heavier pair on the plane.

Another vote for less - the more luggage you have, the more vigilant you will have to be to be sure it stays with you.

oceanroad, for several years, I have used a 22" Briggs & Riley suitcase with a small "cabin bag" that fits over the suitcase handle, and we usually travel for 2+ weeks. Neither bag is full when we leave, and I've never expanded it even after packing gifts and souvenirs.

But my 22" case is now considered slightly over-size by some airlines' carry-on rules. OK on United but not OK on their code-share Lufthansa if they decide to be German-precise. I'm considering buying the B&R International Carry-on suitcase that satisfies Lufthansa and eliminates any surprise luggage check-ins. It's one inch shorter but one inch wider and has the same capacity as my old 22" case. FYI, the B&R 4-wheel "spinner" cases have a smaller capacity than the 2-wheelers, and they cost more.

So, if you intend to carry on only, make sure you know the luggage limits of your airline and class of service.

One advantage to the B&R brand is their lifetime repair guarantee which we have used twice over the years.

I should clarify... I'm considering the B&R International case for foreign travel which we do mostly on Lufthansa. The International is too wide for United domestic flights, but then my old 22" would be OK.

The correct answer is FOUR suitcases for two weeks in Italy. Each will carry enough clean clothes to get you through 3 or 4 days. When you've exhausted one suitcase just throw it into the river and rip into a new suitcase.

My clothes matter a lot to me, too, I have lots of friends in Europe too whom I go out to dinner with and visit, and it's not as though I'm not strong enough to carry stuff. The point is simply to be unencumbered but as chic as you want to be. For me, that does not mean 4 pairs of shoes, it means 2, plus lightweight layers of fashionable stuff. People who suggest that you're going to look like a slob on travel because you can't fashionably pack a small suitcase just haven't got the drill down right yet.One of the secrets to my 19" rollaboard is that it has 9 wheels - never flips on me or is unsteady, and it's incredibly light. Cost me 15 euros at the Intermarché.

Dayle: >>Im a fairly light packer, but if I put 4 pairs of shoes ( even if 1 of them were sandals) in my 21" it wouldnt hold anything else! I only wear a size 6.5.....HOW do you do it?<<

Presumably, one pair will be on your feet on the flight :) Then in the suitcase maybe one pair of sandals which take almost no room. That only leaves 2 actual pair of shoes.

Or if you can get by w/ 3 pair . . . that really only means one pair of any size in the suitcase.

For most city-only trips I only need two pair of shoes - one on my feet and one in the suitcase. I might throw in another pair of substantial boots/shoes for countryside/hiking/potential mud trips. But for my packing classes I include three pair just to show what is possible.

Edward, haha. Great!

<just haven't got the drill down right yet> or maybe the drill is different for everyone, or different for different kinds of trips. I have packed for a three week trip in a 19 inch suitcase, even that I checked, I don't like having something too big with me in the airport and the plane.
But I am not packing like that for every trip. This last trip I had four pairs of shoes and two coats, I did not feel encumbered at all, and I used everything I brought.

The point is, everybody is different and there is no universal correct size of suitcase to take or correct number of shoes as long as you can manage it all yourself.

Did I miss something? I didn't read any comments about looking like a slob.

I prefer two small bags over one larger one. I've found a very small rolling bag plus a day pack works best for me. Can easily pick up my rolling bag to walk up stairs, etc. Can easily sling them under the seat or in racks over seats. I think your proposal of a small bag with a tote on top would work fine as well.

My sister and I were talking to a young-ish woman in Sienna. We told her we each used just a 22" suitcase. She seemed horrified. She said she had a separate suitcase just for her shoes.

P.s. I'm a 97 lb weakling. Well, the 97 lb part is a big lie, but the weakling part is accurate. It's not easy for me to haul around or lift even a 21" inch plus a shoulder bag. Thank heaven for my white hair. I get a lot of help on account of it.

I am lost in inches and pounds.
I have no idea what the size of our suitcases is.

So we simply pack up to the limit of aircraft carrier. Just 23 kgms per suitcase. 100 kgms for the 5 of us (last is 6 so you might think she is the light packer but actually I am that one).
I am the mule carrying the cases so I try to pack light.
My wife likes to dress for hersel and gave the virus to our daughter.
We usually come back with half the clothes clean - but wrinkled.
And the answer is 'no I don't want to pack less I like to choose what I wear'.

Never mind the dimensions - 11lb and 8lb when empty?? Seriously??

Just no.

DH and I packed 1 carryon each for 2 weeks. We each took 3 changes of clothing and 1 extra pair of smaller, dressy looking shoes. We wore our big walking shoes.

A trip to the lavarie or a laundry was required, but we enjoyed that.

If it was winter, we took silk undies.

He had a big murse and I had an expandable wallet. On the way back, if our purchases over-filled the carryons, we simply put them in the expandables and checked the carryons.

Please yourself, but go as light as you can.

Good one Edward!

For shoes, I fill them with little stuff, socks, etc., rolled up. Then they become containers! ( I learned this over years of packing for ski trips. My boots would also hold my hat, gloves, socks, sunglasses and goggles!!!) If you need to dress up take a solid colour outfit, skirt or pants, a couple of tops and then change out the jewelery or scarves which take up no room. I have done this successfully on cruises as well.

First trip to Europe, kids and I all wore hiking backpacks. What a mistake.....

Second trip to Europe we each took a spinner and it was a breeze. The back wheels of my spinner broke trying to catch up with my kids in our way to the airport back to USA, figures, the 4 weeks it worked like a charm.

This summer we are all taking the lightest spinners and a big shoulder bag each. My son carries his own stuff, but my daughter and I can wear the same stuff (actually she wears my clothes) so we basically have double outfits and two 22".

For me the biggy is the shoes, I usually wear my low hiking shoes in the plane, I must take running shoes as I love to power walk in the mornings and at least 2 pairs of sandals and slippers are a must to rest my feet at night, and after years of traveling with my kids our small 220v electric kettle always comes for the cocoa/coffee/tea.

I notice that many of the sample packing lists in this thread appear to be for temperate weather. Winter giveth and it also taketh away: the clothes are bulkier, as are the shoes, and there are more accessories such as hats and gloves, but OTOH you can re-wear more because you just don't get sweaty. Just an observation!

I didn't notice anyone calling anyone else a slob, either. The same posters use these threads to brag about themselves over and over, and then get very indignant when their advice isn't universally agreed with.

I do think that buying a suitcase that is too heavy when empty is an unfortunate rookie error. I did it back when the airlines didn't care about the weight of your luggage, and boy did I live to regret it.

I also think that some fabrics do better rolled and squashed than others, and not everyone has, or wants, performance travel clothing. For example, I have learned that certain of my blouses emerge virtually unwearable form that treatment, and they stay home now. I only wish this weren't a question of trial and error.

<the same posters use these threads to brag about themselves over and over..>

This. Yup.

Like I said before, everyone is different and that is okay. Not everyone wants to take only a 20 inch suitcase and carry it onto the plane, just as not everyone wants to take a 24 inch bag and check it in.
Just take what you want as long as you can manage it yourself and it complies with size regulations for how you are travelling.

I agree that some suitcases are too heavy now when empty. I have a couple of those, it is hard to find just the right bag, so I am always looking.
I did finally find a good small carry on, made by Knomo. It has wheels, is light, narrow for rolling down the aisles (my others are too wide for the aisles now) and holds just what I need for the flight plus a spare pair of shoes and change of clothes if I want that.

I am not ever wearing performance travel clothing. All my clothes seem to be okay after hanging them up, some things I steam in the bathroom.

We also travel with a 22" suitcase each plus a backpack for hubby and a weekender that sits on top of the suitcase for me for declarables. I find that I can put a pair or 2 of flat shoes in the mesh that is on the underside of the suitcase top. We are going to Italy in 2 weeks and I am taking a pr of sneakers, a pr of Easy Spirit mules/clogs and a pr of Skechers sandals. If you stick with neutral colors, i.e., black and beige pants, you can mix and match. If needed you can relax for an hr or so in a laundromat or leave it there for someone else to wash and pick it up later.

I have been wondering the same thing. After talking with friends and fellow travelers this is what we have decided to use. They have gotten great reviews. Do some youtube review searches. Can't speak to if they work yet as are trip in still a month away. Good luck.


http://www.amazon.com/Osprey-Porter-..._detailpages01

Compression Packing cubes
http://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Creek-Pa..._detailpages02

Don't go overboard on those Eagle Creek compression packs. Sure they 'compress' but the pack itself takes up as much space a a garment or two (or 3 depending on the garments) so you actually don't end w/ any more items in your suitcase.

Now Space Bags® are a different thing and really compress a LOT. I often throw one in my carry on sized suitcase. But I take it <u>empty</u>. Then IF I buy a lot of things on my trip I can mush down a lot of clothes to make space for my new purchases. If I were to use it full on the flight over I have a crammed full suitcase and no space to pack anything else on the flight home.

for extras we might buy we carry a ripstop nylon bag which folds into its own pouch. It weighs essentially nothing and measures 5x4 inches folded.

People need different things when they travel. I must have a pillow I know works for me. Thankfully I have found a 4oz really comfortable sea to Summit inflatable one which stuffs Ito a 3" sack, packs inside a shoe. Others, I learned today , need some kind of hair iron thing.

If I wore black and beige colors for a few weeks I would scream. Others hate to wash things. I bring easily washable things and do them in the sink. Others hate that idea.


There is not just one right way to pack. In my experience one learns over time what works and what does not.

In lieu of compression bags, my tip is to use ziploc bags for organization and some compression. For example, I put undies in one, socks in another, scarves in another, so all those small things aren't loose; and if you get all the air out of them, they also compress to some degree.

LOL - four pairs of shoes and a kettle!

I don't think I could ever travel these days without checking a bag, even carry on sized. I have "products." They are transferred into small nalgene leakproof tubs and bottles from The Container Store. Most of my recent trips have been for business, east to west coast, and it hasn't been a problem taking my 26" Rimowa plus a carry on with wheels for my personal item and computer gear. This trip to Italy will end up being very severely pared down. I was watching a Rick Steves video last night on PBS and seeing women struggle with 26" suitcases on trains just reinforced the plan that unless you have help, it's just too big for a smallish person traveling alone.