Originally Posted by
travelmad478
Speak for yourself. I'm female, 5'2", and 115 lbs and can lift my often densely packed and quite heavy rollaboard into the overhead bin without assistance or "looking bad" (whatever that implies??
). If I couldn't lift it, I wouldn't bring it. On many occasions, men offer (unsolicited) to get my bag down for me, which I am happy to let them do, but I ALWAYS warn them that it's heavy.
I'm a bit shorter at 5'. I also warn the seated person below my bag in the aisle when putting it away or taking it down. I have asked the aisle person to step out for a second or wait until it is vacant so I can wrangle it. There are some bins which are a bit higher and I need to step onto the bar below the seat if it is available (usually Asian carrier) or even step onto the seat to make sure it clears everyone else's heads. I probably have one of the lighter wheeled carry-ons onboard because I want to be able to manage my own bags. But sometimes a specific seat & bin configuration makes it safer if a taller person helps or I step onto a seat.