Originally Posted by
macintoshd
The reason I intended to do this in the first place is because LH has their staff walk the boarding area harassing passengers and actually weighing carry on items on international flights, their limit is a ridiculous 8KG (17LB) and some wheeled carry ons are up to half that weight. Of course nobody checks their bags but just shuffles stuff around. In any other airline you could take a ship anchor inside and nobody would care.
Air Canada is really strict too. They weigh your bag as they check your passport so there's no way around it. I've had to check an 18" rolling bag I was taking on a 2-day trip (this was before I discovered non-wheeled bags.) For a week long trip in the winter I'd use a 20" or 22" roller and bundle pack to fit everything in the one (rolling) bag. I don't think there's any way to carry that much clothing while keeping both bags under 17lbs. If it gets checked on an international trip no big deal IMO.
BTW, for an overflow situation the REI Overnighter is a better option IMO. I own one and it's my preferred bag for 2-3 day trips. It looks like a medium sized backpack and wouldn't get gate checked on even the stingiest foreign airline.