meibao

So here's the thing, I'll be heading to the US for a 5 week trip and I'll be travelling around for the first week while the rest of the time I'll be at a friend's place. I'll only be using a carry-on for my way up (either an Airboss or a Skytrain) but I intend to order and ship a suitcase to my friend's place while I'm there as I foresee a lot of shopping being done lol so all the extras purchased will go in that while what I came with can remain in the carry-on (in the event that I really fill up the suitcase with purchases lol).

What size would you recommend getting so that there is no chance in me exceeding the 50 lbs weight allowance. I'm thinking a 24" or a 26".

Are there any recommendations on durable yet lightweight bags for checking in? I've seen the Duolite from Antler and was wondering if there were any others I could look into.

NeverFirst

I don't think there is any such thing as "no chance" in exceeding the weight limit, it all depends on what you're buying.

As a rule of thumb, my large Samsonite (29 inches), with a very stuffed-full load of "holiday gear" (mostly clothes, couple of books, some electronics and a big bit of wood (which is about 2 lbs on its own) came in at 25kg (55lb). A couple of bottles of wine in there would have added to the weight significantly.

I would go for the 26 inches in your case; 24 inches is just that bit too small and inflexible and would annoy me; it's just too big for carry-on, but without giving much extra packing space, which you may as well use if you're checking.

Millon deFloss

I used a 15 pound /6.8kg 27" Kirkland bag for a 17 day trip last month. Packed full (but not crammed) it weighed 43 pounds/19.5Kg. No books or bottles of wine but 2 pairs of men's shoes.

All depends what you put in it.

dko3tgk

26"-27" inch is the optimal size. 29" always goes overweight for me. I end up having the bag 10-20% empty just so I can come in under weight. So jsut go for the 26-27" 28" can be ok depending on the shape and volume of the bag.

meibao

Thanks everyone...the last time I went for a long trip like this I used a big suitcase (old school type) which I no longer have so I couldn't do the measurements but I suspect it was in the 29" or bigger range but never paid attention to how heavy it was lol.

I think I'll stick to a 26"-27" size unless I find a lightweight 29". I know a friend of mine just came back from a trip using what she reckons is a 29" though I'm inclined to think it's a 26" and she had about 50 lbs in it. I do know that her bag empty is not all that light and all she only had shoes and clothes in it. Given that I might buy a book or two, I think I'd better get something lightweight just so that I can make the most out of my allowance. Worse case scenario, I ship back my excess lol

FINASTORY

From my travels, I find that the 24' to 26' size is the optimal size for a 50Lb bag.
We regularly travel to India and end up doing a lot of shopping which easily fills up the bags.
A 27' - 29' goes overweight when packed full. If we leave space, it damages the bag.

alex0683de

I own a 29" case, and I also have problems with it being slightly overweight when full (and not necessarily with heavy items). I'll definitely go for something smaller next time, and would suggest the same to you. 26" should do nicely.

Braindrain

I limit my checked bags to 24-25". Considering many of them are being built with the extendable zippers, you can actually get a little bit more in there. I donated my 29" years ago as the physical size of that bag was already exceeding limits for certain airlines.

RevJim

I usually travel with a 27" bag and I rarely come in over 50lbs. I find it to be big enough that there's usually a little extra room for extra stuff I buy on the road.

I also have a foldable/zip-up duffel bag that is small enough to use as a carry on. I stow that (collapsed and zipped up) in my checked bag. If the checked bag is overweight, I can pull out the duffel and fill it with the heaviest items from my suitcase. Then I just carry it onboard (my other carry on is just a computer bag, so nobody minds). Kind of a nice backup system to have.

aktchi

Stay with 26" or smaller. The 29" was made for an era when airlines used to allow 70 LB per bag.

deirdre

Ditto.

I just came back from a convention where I brought back a ton of books. My Travelpro Crew 6 25" was expanded and stuffed to the gills with books. I was afraid it'd be over 50#, but it came in at 46.6. Yay. I never travel with a bigger bag than that, but sometimes I check two bags as an alternative.