eng3

I travel internationally alot for VACATION. Maybe 4 times a year or more. One issue that has become more and more of an issue is carry-on luggage. In the US, it is nice that no one weighs your bag. I can always pack enough in my bag for a trip.
Once arriving internationally, I often have to take shorter flights on airlines who have ridiculously low carry-on baggage WEIGHT limitations. 10kg, 7kg. My lightest carry-on bag is around 3-4kg empty. Some even include your personal/laptop bag in that limit.

Some "solutions":
1. Find a lighter bag. I'm the type of person that buys a cheap bag with a good pair of wheels and just uses it until it breaks. Usually the airline replaces it. I've seen some that are a little lighter but are vey expensive and I don't think I will ever pay "hundreds" for a bag. I also only like two wheel soft sided bags and it seems like baggage companies are focusing on 4 wheel hard sided bags. Maybe a duffel bag would be lighter but I want something I can roll.
2. Laundry: Hotel laundry is usually prohibitively expensive
3. In-room Self-Laundry: This can sometimes work. This may allow me to half the weight. I've run into some issues though. Many in-room machines in europe/asia are washer/dryer combination units with no exhaust. These dryers can only dry a few articles of clothing and take forever. Some destinations just don't offer this or the room is much much more expensive or in a poor location
4. Laundromat: I've tried this at times. When there is one close to your hotel it's nice, but this is not always the case. Also, you have to sit there and wait for your laundry so it eats into time to actually enjoy your trip
5. Hand wash: Maybe I'm doing it wrong but when I hang dry the clothes (mostly cotton) they get very stiff. I'm also not too sure how well it actually cleans it. It takes a long time to dry as well. I don't dare try this with jeans.
6. Check in bags: This can be costly if you have many flights. There is wasted time and risk of loss/delay which can ruin a trip. Also, sometimes I do an intl-intl self-connect which would be difficult to impossible if I checked my bag.
7. Wear dirty clothes: I've tried this too. In the winter months its not too bad as I don't sweat much. Though I usually have to pack more layers in winter which increases weight. In summer months, my clothes get sweaty so I really don't want to wear again.
8. Just chance it: Sure, it is rare for them to actually weight your bag, especially if you can skip the check in counter but it only takes one time where someone at the gate catches you and makes you pay or ruins your trip.

Is there anything you're doing that I haven't listed above that works for you?

moondog

I usually go with #6 and nonstop flights. When train travel is involved, I try to be a little more strategic (e.g. backpack for essentials plus a light, small, and agile roller) because there usually isn't an option to check bags.

deniah

1. Fabric duffel-style bags with backpack straps. Luggage frames are heavy.

2. Wear a coat with multiple pockets for storing dense things (like electronic chargers, shavers, etc)

3. Callous…but eat the luggage cost or higher fare. If you can afford many vacations, you can afford the expense.

adamgump2

so jealous man, 4 times a year!!!

gobluetwo

Lighter clothes. You mention jeans. Denim is heavy and takes forever to dry. Replace with lighter weight fabrics which also dry much faster. These can be cheap (I have a pair of nylon/spandex Wrangler pants from Walmart for $22) or expensive (I also have some tech fabric lululemon pants which are $100+), but the commonalities and advantages over denim are greater stain resistance, much faster drying, much lighter weight, and greater breathability.

I just weighed my pants and my jeans range from 24-28 oz while my tech fabric pants range from 13-16 oz. That's close to a 1lb difference or .4kg just from a pair of pants. Replacing 3 pairs of jeans could easily save you 1 kg in mass. Similarly, lighter weight shirts, shoes, etc. can all save you significant mass.

chrisl137

This is probably the best weight savings/cost.

There was a time, long ago, when essentially the only people who had wheeled luggage on aircraft were flight crew. Everybody else seemed to have soft bags with carry straps - sometimes backpacks, but usually clamshell or double-clamshell with a shoulder strap and sometimes stowable backpack straps. The transition happened some time in the last ~25ish years. Some time around 25years ago I received a bag from Travelsmith as a gift that was called "The ultimate carry on" or something close to that. Double clamshell, external large and small document pockets, internal side pockets, one of the compartments expandable for conversion to checked, and stowable backpack straps and a regular shoulder strap. It's still in great shape after decades of use, and I haven't seen anything similar in years. It fits anywhere because it's squishable, so it never ends up on the ramp-check cart. It's 1.8 kg empty, and I could probably drop a few hundred grams by removing the backpack straps that I never use and leaving the strap behind (it has handles, too). I have a duffel from REI that has comparable storage flexibility that comes in at 1.4 kg. You can probably find similar duffels made from lighter weight materials that come in under 1 kg.

deniah

yeap, around that time patagonia introduced the “mlc” as one of the original do-all bag.

it was ultra light but unless it was well-loaded, it tended to be very floppy.

the bag has seen multiple revisions with the current iteration looking like its structured, coming in at 1.3kg

eng3

Yeah, that's what I do when I run out of opitons but it doesnt work if I have to do a self-connect in certain situations

1. I want wheels, sometimes I have to go a fairly long distance
2. the coat works in colder months. In warm months, it's an extra item I have to carry around that has no other purpose
3. It's not just cost, there's wasted time and times where it isnt practical. Some carriers offer a larger carryon weight for a fee. Many do not and just like to fly their planes with the overheads mostly empty. As for being able to "afford many vacations", who said they're expensive? One could be using points for everything. One can find deals. Trips don't need to be long.

See above

It sounds like you might be describing female clothing. Guys usually wear jeans but I have dockers style pants the are thinner I suppose. Jeans are better in the winter as my jacket won't cover my legs. Also I feel like I can wear jeans longer before needing to wash them which can save weight. In the summer I pack shorts which are pretty light.
I know women can get away with really light clothes like leggings but it can be an issue in some places (ie. some middle eastern countries) or just when it's really cold out.

I'll take a look. maybe a duffle with wheels would be a good idea. The airline just replaced a bag that they damaged. They only had two 2-wheel options. One was a pretty nice bag but weighed 4.5kg. The other was like 2kg but was like a duffel with whieels. They seemed to describe the duffel as being much lower in quality so I went with the former and use it for domestic trips.


I was thinking of looking for shirts/pants that are quick drying and comfortable that arent expensive.

invisible

As for lightweight luggage options - look for "IT Luggage" brand with softside walls. Sometimes they have sales online on Amazon, Kohls or Walmart. You can also find them at Marshalls and Ross. I and my wife have been using them for >12 years. They look like that they will fall apart but are suprisingly durable - we changed our carry-ons only once in 12 years.

P.S. You can get 22" spinner at Walmart for $60

OskiBear

If you look in the Travel Products forum, there should be plenty of info/advice for the issues.

You should definitely move away from cotton clothing. When traveling, I usually bring clothing made of very light synthetic or wool material. These are generally designed for travel or exercise and dry very quickly. They can be found in t-shirts, polo shirts, underwear, and socks. Additionally, when you wash them (I just do it in the sink), make sure you wring them out in a bath towel, which will absorb most of the remaining water. It then dries very quickly (a couple of hours). As for pants, I sometimes bring jeans but don't expect to wash them and have other pants as well. I typically travel in the winter so it's not generally an issue.

manneca

You can wear your one pair of jeans on the plane. You only need one pair.

If you want a roller bag, get one that is smaller than a US carryon roller bag. My carryon bag usually avoids the weigh in because it is tiny. And it's full of camera gear so it's way over the limit.

If you travel to Asia, there are usually tons of laundries where you can drop off your clothes and pick them up the next day. It's usually $5-10 for a load washed, dried and folded. I've also seen them in South America. If it's rainy it might be an extra day.

How long are you gone? If I'm going for a month, I pack for a week. If I'm going for a week, I pack for 3 days. If you follow the logic, I should only pack for 3 days no matter how long I'll be gone, but if its a short trip, then I don't really need to bother with laundry. Clothes can be aired and worn again. You don't have to wash clothes every time you wear them. Underwear is an exception, but that's usually light. I buy ExOfficio (though the quality has decreased in the last couple of years). It dries overnight nicely. Some hotels have free or cheap laundry. They just aren't the ones FTers frequent most of the time.

eng3

I'll take a look. I only see one two wheel option that's a small under-seater.

I guess I'm use to cotton wearing the same t-shirts forever. I have a few poly-blend shirts but I find I sweat in them more. I'll take a look at other clothing options. Washing in sink with other materials might be a good idea. Especially with pants.

I'm of the opinion that anything that enters an airplane lav needs to be washed. I can usually smell it on my clothes. So for a long haul flight, at least two pants. I agree that jeans can generally be worn longer without washing. Underwear and socks are light so I can easily bring enough of that.
My tshirts are somewhat light but as I said, it depends. If I'm going to be sweating through the shirt every day because it's the hot summer, then I want to change shirts daily. Depending on the hotel, sometimes they are still a little damp the next morning. I've tried using the hotel hair dryer. It takes a while but sometimes I might get another day out of it.

skitraveler

Merino wool, I'm partial to Icebreaker, is great. It doesn't pick up smells and will dry quickly when washed. I wear the same baselayer top and leggings for a week+ long ski trip. Casual t-shirts for multiple days, they come in different weights (g/m^2) as well for temp and keeping light as possible.

ft101

Checking bags is not a waste of time if you manage your time better. Instead of being out of the airport 20 minutes quicker, do something during the wait that'll otherwise take you 20 minutes later in the day. Cost wise you have to work out how many times you estimate you will get caught and pay a premium for gate checking against the cost to check it in upfront and see which you think is better.

Very occasionally a bag will get delayed. If you're heading home that's not an issue but if you're travelling look on it as an opportunity to spend the airline's money on new stuff for yourself. Always have a change of underwear and a t-shirt in your carry on to tide you over.

The self connect risk can't be helped unless you chose routes where it's not required, but if you're that close timewise then a small delay in your incoming is going to make you miss the next one anyway. That's probably a greater danger in your plan, particularly with LCCs.

nmpls

Honestly, I strongly prefer travelling for pleasure with a backpack, because I rarely bring the more formal clothes that needs the suiter in my roller. My Tom Bihn aeronaut 30 is like 1kg and my 45 is under 1.5kg. Both of which are substantially lighter than the self-professed lightest rolling luggage in the world made by July (which is just under 2kg). They're not cheap by any means, but they're are extremely well designed and I've found them very easy to carry. I honestly find it way easier to carry over a distance than a roller bag, particularly if there are stairs or uneven surfaces.
I will say I was like you on bag prices til I tried good bags, and man, its nice to have something that works perfectly for a decade or more.