The Carry-On Dilemma

My daughter never travels carry-on and her family are seasoned travelers, taking many trips with accumulated miles. It works for her because she doesn't want to worry about what to leave out of the bag and doesn't have to haul luggage around the airport. She mostly travels with major airlines and her checked bag is usually included for no extra cost.

On the other hand, as I trip plan I seem to have small local airlines as part of our travel plan. Those airlines always charge extra for bags and are very strict on the weight limitations. For example, in Thailand we flew on Nok Air and Thai Lion Air. Their max. weight for carry-on was 15 lb. We took a digital scale on our trip and made sure we were under weight. They weighed our bags every time. If they're over and you have to check them, they charge way more than if you had made that decision when you booked the ticket.

I have to admit I felt like a packhorse as we trekked through the airport to find our gate for our international flight to Thailand. We had our carry-on bags, our slingbags (mine grey and Larry's blue), our neck pillows, Larry's memory-foam seat cushion, and his travel seat/cane.

Luggage strategy can vary depending on the type of travel. If you're just traveling to one place on your vacation, a full-size suitcase checked in makes sense. If you have many destinations, plan to change motels/air bnbs often or plan to travel by train, carry-on size will be easier to manage.

We used the sling bags for our "personal item," but many "personal bags" have a sleeve that fits on the roller bag handle. I didn't want to use this option because my Eagle Creek bag (older 21" International version) tipped over more easily with something else hooked on top.

Whether you decide to take a 25" suitcase or travel carry-on, it's still a good idea to pack a capsule wardrobe (everything mixes and matches) in order to pack lighter. Heavy suitcases are tough to lug around for a person with back issues. Travel Fashion Girl has packing lists for traveling on extended trips, multiple climates, and for various countries. She suggests packing for one week and doing laundry each week. I'll post more about this later.