Planning on an extended vacation and find yourself at a loss for luggage? You know, suitcases are not like diamonds and “Lord of the Rings” movies. They don’t last forever. Eventually, luggage reaches a point where the end has to come. Or, alternatively, you can’t keep relying on borrowing the luggage of your parents forever. Eventually, you are going to have to take the splash and invest in your own set of suitcases.
Of course, this reality of aging can really make your water cold when you walk into a store to buy your first set of luggage or replacement luggage. That cold water becomes a harsh slap across the face if it has been some time since you last invested in luggage. Have you priced luggage lately? Outrageous. Which is just one reason why your latest investment needs to be made with intelligent foresight so that you don’t wind up having to spend even more money in the not-too-distant future.
Two Small Bags are Better Than One Big Suitcase
Why bother trying to lug around one of those enormous super-sized pieces of luggage when it is much more convenient in many cases to deal with two smaller pieces the luggage? The advantages of multiple. In the first place, if you have two smaller bags, you can half the load on those downsized overnight trips that don’t require such a big suitcase. Secondly, if you are traveling by air, you aren’t going to get that big piece of luggage to get recognized as a carry-on. And if you have to storage two pieces of luggage on a plane and only one gets misplaced, you aren’t totally screwed.
Backpacking
Did you know that there are backpacks out there that cost more than $1400? Well, that’s a ridiculous sum of money to spend on such a piece of luggage and should be offered as evidence should there ever be a trial to prove that you have to be smart to be rich. But backpacks at a price that reflects the actual amount of labor involved in making it. Look for a backpack that be converted into a standard suitcase when needed, but can also be strapped to your back when required.
Wheelies
You know those suitcases that you see people wheeling through the airport with self-confidence and the assurance that they won’t get snagged on rugs or tip over when they come to a stop? Want to experience that same self-confident smugness when you wheel your suitcase at high speed through the airport in a mad dash to catch your plane? Have you ever stopped to really take a good look at what common feature binds them all together? Two wheels. Two large wheels. If you get luggage that can roll, you want to get luggage with two large wheels rather than four small wheels. Unless you want to have trouble with keeping things going in the same direction and don’t mind having problems with balance when the suitcase is standing still.
Packables
Packable luggage comes with various names such as duffels and totes, but it’s all the same thing. What we’re talking about here is luggage that you set off with on your vacation in a form that is so compressed that it can disappear into the bottom of a standard suitcase. The magic happens on the return trip when you find that you now have need for an extra suitcase to carry back home all the cool souvenirs you bought on vacation. That’s when these packable toes and duffels can expand to become an extra addition to you set of luggage.
