Luggage Solution for a Month Away
 

Hi Guys

So I'm going away for a month to Europe, visiting 10 different cities. What's my best luggage / baggage option?

I'll be going on mostly trains and a discount airline or two. I'll be carrying a netbook laptop.

I'd like to be set up so I can roll everything together from one handle - Everything is strapped to a main roller

Options I've thought about:
1) Carry-on Roller Linked to + Large Checked Roller
2) Carry-On Duffle Linked to + Large Checked Roller
3) Checked Duffle Linked to + Small Carry-on Roller

option 2

aslong as its a reasonable size...im assuming its like a small gym dufflle... its easier to sling around your shoulder while pulling the roller with one hand... having 2 rollers sounds like a pain... and having a large duffle with no wheels like option 3 is going to get you nowhere to fast...

Easy. You don't want a very broad suitcase/roller because that will be a pain to drag through trains. You don't want two rollers, either, because that is just lost weight.

Take an expandable 22" roller or similar sized duffle roller. The box shape roller will be easier for putting another bag on top than the duffle. It will also give a little extra protection if you decide to carry anything fragile. Downside is that it will be a bit heavier. The lighter the roller, the better.

Your second piece of luggage should be a no-wheels carry-on bag. I'd go with something not too small but perhaps not super full size, either. It is worth to consider whether it might be good to have a carry-on that can convert to a backpack or that is small enough that you can use it as a day bag when walking around. I'd look into bags like the Briggs Riley 235x or the Tom Bihn Tristar (brand new model). The Easygoing Carry-on bag and the Airboss are also options for lightweight shoulder bags.

All these are much better options than any of your original ideas because you will be more mobile. Your original plan, if it was of taking e.g. a 26 inch checked bag and a 22 inch carry-on, would be much too much luggage.

In principle, if you pack smartly, you should be able to do it with one 22" roller and a small backpack or messenger bag.

Till

Don't take 2 rollers. I've done this and found the hard way that I can't manage 2 on escalators. (They were 2 x 24" spinner cases, and I also had a backpack.)

Mind you, that was a 3 month round the world trip where we had to be prepared from -18 degrees C to +30 degrees C. For the 2 months in Europe we dumped all the luggage with relatives and travelled with just one smallish case.

Audrey

Can a 21'' Roller support a duffle bag? Being able to wheel my way is a HUGE plus!

piggyback luggage
 

There are specially made bags designed to piggyback (the 2nd wheel-less bag slips on top of the wheeled roller and balances nicely. I have this arrangement, made by Samsonite (but now discontinued -- I guess not that many people bought into it). Cost was quite a bit higher than for a regular bag, but the "docking" feature is fantastic, and it was narrow enough to fit in trains. Which can be a key consideration. Otherwise the real alternative is a backpack and not a duffel bag. I often go for trips around the world which cross the equator, so need both summer and winter clothing, and manage to do it with backpack (laptop plus light clothing) and expandable 22 inch carry-on (which is sometimes checked but usually both are carry-on). Of course the more important trick for a month long trip is to have the right clothing -- layered, interchangable and easily washed and dried. Laundry becomes a big challenge on long trips, if you are in a different city every other day.

In regards to trains... Any reason why a larger roller wouldn't fit?
I guess I'm used to Canadian trains where the rollers are stored in the baggage area at near the train exit.

Also any difference First/Second class for train? (not sure if one offers a checked bag service over the other)

I bought a bag bungee from Magellans. It allows me to have any bag as the upper bag on a roller suitcase, as it easily straps around it to the bar of the roller.

Of course, there is the question of how big a duffel and how heavy it is. A lot of shoulder bags have a piggy-back feature. Did you check out the "Great shoulder bag shoot-out" article in this forum? Read that for starters.

I suppose the aisles in European trains second class are around 60 cm wide. The narrower your bag the easier it will be to maneuver. A 21 inch roller is usually around 14" wide, so there is not the slightest problem.

Even if the bag doesn't have a slip-through piggy-back feature, you can still rig something up using the shoulder strap. Just loop it around the telescopic handles.

You will have a little more aisle room in first class but not much. There are luggage compartment on the front and back of each "space car". The so-called "space cars" are basically like planes, one single big cabin. Then there are cars that have compartments, those don't have the luggage storage area. Anything much bigger than a 22 incher will be hard to put in their overhead storage.

Seriously, use your 21" roller and any of the bags I mentioned above and consider the problem solved. You can thank me later. ;)

Till