Does anybody else out there hate wheeled luggage as much as I do? A few things I've noticed: 1) it seems the people who use this type of luggage move more slowly in the airport. Getting through airports has now become the equivalent of scrambling through an army obstacle course, what with everyone (it seems) wielding one of these wheeled albatrosses behind them. 2) Though some of these wheeled contraptions may be sold as carry-on luggage, I have yet to see the piece that actually fits easily into the overhead bin (which then, of course, adds to further delay). But, this is just my opinion. I'm wondering if I'm alone in this opinion.

Sorry, Cap'n.
I disagree on almost every count.
Wheeled luggage has been one of the best innovations in travel technology in the past 15 years. Did you ever have to struggle carrying a week and a half's worth of bags on your back trying to make a connection? It was not fun.
Most wheeled bags designated for carry-on use fit nicely, but snugly, in most overheads. I have the largest carry-on size that Hartmann makes and it has fit in every overhead on the hundred or so flights I've taken it on. Most importantly, it serves as a vehicle on which I can carry my (overstuffed) garment bag, which I often have to check.

The one place I think you're right on is airport pedestrian traffic. I was rushing through the airport in Paris last week fighting a log jam of wheeled luggage. They can take up almost as much space as a baby stroller sometimes, so you can't fit too many of them abreast.
Overall, though, I absolutely love my wheeled luggage and would hate to part with it.

You are alone!! I love wheeled luggage. Each person in our family has their own color-coded, airline-size-approved bag! We all pull our own weight - which is great when you are traveling with younger children. I have thought at times that the person who invented this wonderful luggage deserved an award!!!

Wheeled luggage is the greatest thing ever for those who are getting along in years, strangers to immense airports, or who simply can't lug heavy weights. For example, try making the transfer in LAX between a domestic and a flight to Hawaii or overseas. Without wheels, we would still be trying! With wheels, we were there under our own power in minutes, just barely making the connection even as it was. No, sorry, Captain--wheels are deals.

There was a good article in the Wall Street Journal about two Fridays ago in the Weekend Section about the horrors of wheeled luggage. I personally couldn't manage without mine, and I see you're not getting much support on this forum, so maybe you should read this piece to find kindred spirits. It claims that wheeled luggage is going out of style because it looks so uncool!

Used to be that the flight crews used the wheel luggage and then business travelers, now it seems that everyone has them. Maybe that's why they are so uncool. I like mine because it saves my shoulders and back. Maybe it's just the speed of the people walking in the airport and not the wheels that are a problem. I am a fast walker and it annoys me when I get behind someone who is really walking slow. Could be that the out of shape and overweight people just aren't moving fast enough. (It's better for your health if you move at a fast pace than at a snails pace.)

I'd love to see what logic that article was based upon, Susan. Wheeled luggage is virtually a necessity these days and whether everyone has it or not will not affect its acceptance, cool or not.
Much like saying everyone has a cell phone, not trendy anymore, so I'm going to go back to using the wallbound versions. Not!

Laney, I'm completely with you on the necessity of wheeled luggage. The Journal article was not based on logic, clearly, but on a sense of fashion and hip-ness. I can't imagine caring about being chic when my arms and shoulders are in pain, but apparently that's not the case for everyone! By the way, I'm not usually very interested in the Wall Street Journal, but my husband has a subscription, and I find the Friday Weekend Journal section to be pretty fun and interesting, with an occasional good article on travel.
Susan

Ahh, the all-permeating importance of hip-ness. Got it.
I didn't mean to sound as though I was disagreeing with YOU, Susan. I knew you were just the messenger.
Thanks for the clarification, though.

I'm not evaluating the hipness of wheeled luggage, although I personally think they are sort of dorky looking. What's wrong with just taking a simple duffle bag. Do we all pacl THAT much stuff that we need to have wheels on are luggage? And more times than not, I have seen numerous people struggling to get their wheeled bags into the overhead bin. Many times people can't because they are just TOO big, so then the person has to have their bag checked which means even further delays (the first delay comes when they stand in the aisle- blocking it - for minutes trying to get their bag into the overhead.) Wheeled bags are heavier because of all the mechanics necessary to make them wheel. Plus, many of the wheeled bags out there are cheaply made and at some point one of the wheels breaks. (Yes, I admit, there are good quality wheeled bags out there, too.) Plus, not all surfaces are created equal - try wheeling a bag down a cobblestone street.

JT Kirk, I will be glad when school starts and you are off here.

First off who gives a damn if the luggage is dorky looking?

Secondly, try lugging a huge duffle or carryon from one concourse to the next especially if you have any physical problems.

Most airports now have a device on the belt where they xray your bags and your carryon must fit thru it. Very rarely have I been on a plane that has been delayed because someone had to check an oversize bag. Most delays were caused by idiots with their life long possessions in duffles trying to stuff them into overheads that were half the size of the bag.

My only complaint is that wheeled didn't come about sooner. Now if I could just get some wheels on my purse....

Did you forget to take your Midol again today, anon?
You know that PMS insanity defense was stricken down.

Wheels on luggage are great. When I got my first wheeled suitcase back in the early 80s, it made travel much easier. But I CHECKED that big suitcase. The problem with a lot of wheeled "carry-ons" is that they enable people to cram a lot more stuff into it which they otherwise would not have been able to carry, but now can manage because it rolls. And many of these bags do NOT easily fit in the overhead, and definitely not in your PRIMARY carry-on space, beneath the seat in front of you. Few airlines actually install AND use templates to screen out non-conforming carry-ons. And even when they do have templates, I've seen the security agents allow them to be bypassed -- they slide right out of the way. The security staff don't work for the airlines -- they don't care what size of baggage gets through. So you do get delayed while people try to cram their bags into the overhead. And the overheads get filled up with those big bags, so that later-boarding passengers are forced to look all over the plane to stuff their oversized bags.

I've had my share of too-heavy bags, some containing important documents and other necessities that I would be negligent to check, so I empathize with folks complaining about the burden of heavy bags. But the first time I had to check a document bag (because I was in a bulkhead row with no under-seat storage, and the overheads were full) was the last time -- I purchased soft briefcase that fits under the seat standing up. If you can't fit what you need in a bag that you can carry without endangering your health, and that fits in the hanging closet or under the seat in front of you, maybe it just isn't "carry-on" luggage.

I too could never make it without my big wheeled bag when I travel, but I don't like the ones that are supposed to be carry-on size. There's no way three of the things could fit in one overhead bin. I noticed that ATA was making people check them at the gate yesterday--anything over the very smallest size.

Wheeled luggage is the greatest invention since, well, the wheel. I like mine som much, I'm thinking of putting my kids on wheels and dragging them through the airport with me.

Dammit, Jim. Why do people have to attack you just because they disagree with you? When will they grow up?

The rest of us love ya!

I'm just a lonely starship captain, what do I know.

Flight attendents obviously need to know how to pack all they need to last for three-or-more days into those compact, rectangular rolling boxes. And I doubt they spend much time ironing their blouses before a six a.m. flight. Do they take a course on how to do that?

I've been traveling for years, yet I still either overpack or manage to forget something. And when I get there, all my clothes are trashed--that is, wrinkled beyond recognition. Is there such a thing as Remedial Packing 101?

Wheeled luggage has been the greatest invention for travelers........however, the majority of the traveling public seems to be intent on buying the largest size made! This causes the "domino theory" of stopping up traffic in the aisles for boarding,delaying pushback from the gate due to bags that don't fit under the seat or in the overhead,etc.Please, please remember that anything over 20 inches should really be checked!The best rollaboards for keeping your clothes so they don't look like you slept in them is the kind that has a "2/3 suiter" area at the top.Happy traveling! Debbie

Love the wheeled luggage. Speaking for myself personally, I know that I move quicker through an airport with wheeled luggage than I do with something I have to carry. The only luggage I use now is a rolling 20-inch piece -- it fits everything I need for anything from a weekend to 2 weeks.
If you have hanging things, they will stay unwrinkled if you put them inside a thing plastic garment bag or dry-cleaners bag before folding them inside the luggage. The plastic covering helps prevent wrinkling for some reason. Works with folding clothes too -- put several pieces inside a 2-gallon ziplock bag and press out all the air before sealing it. This allows you to fit more into your suitcase and helps avoid wrinkling.