Light weight Luggage
 

Can anyone give us some suggestions on ultra-lightweight carry-on bags - and regular size cases for that matter? I know they're out there, but have not been able to find anything online that seems that light.
Thanks!

My recent post on carry-on travel lists several bags. If you really want a light-weight bag, then you want one without wheels. If you are looking for a wheeled bag, about the lightest one is the Heys xcase, a polycarbonite hard-side rolling bag (about 5.4 pounds).

Thanks Doug - sounds better than my beloved but heavy TUMI.

Tumi does make a line of "lightweight" bags, and if you go onto their web site, one might be on sale. However, their lightest bag is about 7 pounds. I actually use a Tumi 20-inch convertible wheeled backpack, and I love it because it holds all the close I need for a week-long trip and is small enough to carry on, but it weights a little over 7 pounds. It's an older model, and the newer one weighs more.

I looked at the Tumi lightweights - pricey! We had a HUGE wardrobe years ago that could hold all the clothes I own. Nothing like that getting on a plane these days. My two current favorites are the old wheeled carry-on and the wheeled duffel with the hang-up part underneath. I was able to pack in just that case for 2 weeks in Europe. I think I'm just a luggage junkie sometimes.

We have the 21" roller board from Rick Steve's web site - bought them about 3 years ago and have taken many trips with them - they are quite durable and pretty light.

You can get lighter luggage if you don't get wheeled ones, but you give up some convinience.

my sister and I took these to Europe for 3 weeks in 2007 and just loved them.

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/v...y-Lori-Greiner

Also try onebag.com to get inspired about lighter travel.

This last trip I switched to a 21 inch without wheels bag from Rick Steves. It is around 3 lbs. unpacked, which is great, but I have to say I missed the convenience of the roller bag style as the bag got heavier over the course of my trip. This lightweight bag I took had backpack strsps, a shoulder strap, and traditional luggage style handles.

Another vote for Rick Steve's. Two years ago we bought a few of the 21" rolling bags and they have proven to be great. Extremely durable! DH traveled with them for business several times a week for months on end and the airlines were not able to tear or destroy them;) We have taken them to Europe twice, both times doing carryon only, and they worked well. Measured with the wheels, they fit Air Frances size, and we were able to come in under the weight limit with AF since the bag is lightweight as well.

Eagle Creek has a great line of lightweight luggage, and it is 25% off in stores now (I saw it at Whole Earth and Luggage Factory). I just purchased the Hovercraft 25. Haven't used it yet, but love the set up and it's very light weight, lifetime warranty.

My friends swears by her Rick Steves bad, like the one annw mentions. It's a plain suitcase shape, with options of backpack style straps, handle, or shoulder strap. She's done 3 weeks in Europe using just this (plus a purse) a bunch of times.

(Myself, I prefer wheels)

We have an outlet store that carries the Kiva brand and also the Rick Steve's carry on convertible (back pack style) and 21" roller. The back pack weighs about 3 lbs. ($45)and the roller ($25) weighs less than 7 lbs. Prices are much better than the website as they are last year's models. I have checked the consumer reports reviews and they recommend the Helium Fusion for a great deal. I found these at TJ Maxx for around $49.00. While I like the idea of the backpack, I'm not sure I want to carry it the whole trip. We are going to four places in Italy mainland and four in Sicily. And as graceful as I have become in my fifties, I can totally see me toppling over out of the Alilaguna and into a canal! :)

Well, the lightest luggage will be a simple over-the-shoulder bag. If you are looking for wheels, then you should consider a hard-sided piece, as these are usually lighter than fabric bags.

I have found that Samsonite has some lighter bags. They are great quality too, at least when I have used them. Travelgourmet is right, the polycarbonate hard sided pieces are generally a little lighter than the fabric kind. There are some Samsonite luggage pieces here if you would like to check them out.

http://www.irvsluggage.com/Samsonite-Luggage

I use 29" rolling duffle bags - 3.5 lbs. each. They are soft-sided and have wheels and at the other end a handhold. No collapsing metal rods & handles between the wheels & handholds.

They really stand up to rough use, too.

M.A.

bookmarking

Can anyone comment on how well the lightweight roll-aboards cope with being checked in?

I'm looking specifically at the Rick Steves 21" rolling suitcase and the Eagle Creek Hovercraft 22" rolling suitcase.

I want to buy something that (a) is carryon size on most US domestic flights; (b) is as big as possible, and beyond that is expandable; (c) is lightweight; (d) is durable enough to cope with being checked in most of the time and not used as carryon.

I've loved the durability of my Briggs & Riley cases, but they're way too heavy.

tahl--The Rick Steve's bag that you mentioned is the one that I posted about above. My DH usually had to check the bag when he took it for business and trust me ,the airlines tried to destroy it, lol, but were not able to. There are quite a few scuff marks, but the fabric is not torn and it is still as durable as ever.

tahl, I don't think the EagleCreek Hovercraft 22 will work. The UNexpanded dimensions are 14 x 22 x 10" = 46 linear inches. That is 1 inch over the limit on American Airlines. If I were you, I'd go no larger than a 20".

Last year, I bought a TravelPro 19" at a discount store. It was a discontinued line, but looks like this CLOSEOUT one on ebay:
http://www.ebags.com/travelpro/walka...?modelid=98672

It fits within the sizer by American Airlines. I still think it's too heavy (7.5lbs - same weight as the Rick Steves you are thinking about), but it is very well-made. I have this for almost a year now and it has gone on over a dozen of trips with me (planes, trains, automobiles, miles of cobblestones) and still look brand-new. I had it checked once and it was no problem.

BTW, I may buy this Starlite 51cm suitcase by Travelite when I visit Germany (it is a German company): http://www.travelite.de/en/products.html?pid=58
It only weighs 2.1kg.