Travelling can be stressful. There are language barriers, exchange rate calculations and tropical diseases to contend with. This means that even a straight up, supposedly relaxing, beach break comes with at least some stress that needs to be dealt with before the relaxation can actually begin.
One thing that shouldn’t be stressful though is the airport experience itself but unfortunately, these days, it more often than not is.
Airports
First up there is the ever increasing popularity of the “self check in” and failing to do this correctly can carry some pretty hefty fines. Then there is the semi undressing for security checks and finally the budget blowing cost of treating yourself to a coffee and sandwich in the departure lounge.
One of my pet hates though has always been luggage allowances. I’m fine with hold luggage but sometimes I don’t want to check my bag in as I like to get out of the airport as soon as I land. This is especially true for short breaks, travel conferences and stag-do’s where I only need a finite amount of stuff.
Get the carry on packing wrong though, and you risk been forced to check your bag, pay an excess or even both. There is also the problem of flimsy, flight cases cases breaking and shoulder bags that are just not suitable for human shoulders.
Choosing The Perfect Carry-on Luggage Bag shouldn’t be this hard. Well it doesn’t need to to be anymore. Let’s take a look at some of the best products on the market for carry on luggage allowances.
Choosing The Perfect Carry On Luggage Bag
Samsonite Spark 55
The Samsonite Spark 55 is a 2 wheel drag along carry case. It boasts a very spacious storage capacity with soft padding to keep your stuff protected. It’s expandable, has a TSA cable lock, internal straps and enough handles and carry straps to suit whichever way you want to carry it.
The measurements are 40.0 x 20/26 x 55.0 cm which should fit with most airport baggage allowances but be sure to check.
It’s also a lot harder wearing than most similar models which is reflected in its price tag; I haven’t seen these go for less than $150.00
Whilst ideal for image conscious business travellers who don’t to carry anything, I personally find cases a bit annoying as they tend to slow me down and are frankly useless as soon as you hit a cobbled street (of which there are plenty in my home town!) .
The UA Storm is ideal for those who just to pile all of their stuff into the bag and worry about sorting it when they get to the hotel. It has a deep 39 litres of depth which is filled and accessed from the zip off top. Its waterproof, has padded shoulder straps and even has a water bottle pocket!
The dimensions are 25 x 56 x 28 cm which should give you no trouble whatsoever with baggage allowances. These can be picked up for around $80 making them a decent budget option but personally I find the chaos of having to dig to the bottom of the un-organised bag a bit annoying.
The Standard Luggage Co Carry on Sized backpack is a backpack, suitcase and shoulder bag all in one making it fit for all traveller and all occasions.
Choosing The Perfect Carry On Luggage Bag has never been easier as it has been custom designed with airline allowance rules in mind. At 21.5 x 13.5 x 7.5 in when zipped and 21.5 x 13.5 x 9.5 when expanded it fits just perfectly. It has a generous, expandable 45 litre capacity but best of all has separate laptop and luggage compartments making it easy to whip your laptop out in the departure lounge or even on the flight.
In addition to this it has a built in emergency whistle although we sincerely hope you never have to use it! These can be found for around $180 but the bag is water resistance and hard wearing so it needs to be viewed more as an investment which will put you in good stead for countless trips and years of travelling.
In so many ways Standard Luggage Carry-on Backpack feels like the perfect bag for minimalist, digital nomad millennials so you will forgive my bias in saying it’s my favourite!
Those of you who know me know I will be headed to the Travel Bloggers conference in Istanbul this fall. I have a lot to get arranged between now and then but thankfully my carry-on bag is no longer on that list!
Enjoy your flight and pay close attention to the safety demo!