Now that we have our ticket search to Europe squared away, I am looking to replace our old Delsey carry on luggage. They’ve served us well but now they need to be replaced. I’ve read that inter Europe carriers have stringent carry on policies and I do not want to pay for checked luggage.
I know some of you have traveled to Europe recently and hope you can offer some recommendations. I’ve looked online and I can’t find definitive reviews. I don’t want to pay more than $200.
There is a good discussion here: http://www.onebag.com but this site does not recommend wheeled bags. For a wheeled one this one was broght to my attention but I have not used it. http://shop.eaglecreek.com/no-matter-what-flatbed-duffel-20/d/1410
Check if the airlines have weight as well as size limits for carry on bags.
I would have suggested Tumi, Delsey or Briggs & Riley 20" carry on but $200 is a tough limit. Both REI and Backcountry have a good variety of bags like the Eaglecreek mentioned above that should work. The discount carriers for short hops within Europe can be pretty spartan and have restrictive baggage policies or limited space. I travel internationally a fair amount and carry a gym bag becuase it can be crammed into spots that a rollaboard would not fit
We have some very light weight Eddie Bauer Commuter rolling duffels that we find perfect, but they seem to be discontinued. Might be some on E-bay. Rick Steves has a rolling carry-on that looks promising. https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/rolling-carry-on
Personally, I try not to spend more than $100 and the lighter the better. I like duffels with compression straps and plenty of grab handles.
^I may be a little too optimistic that we can travel light. We will be traveling for a month. I just know that on our two week trip this summer, I had a carry on and wore only half of the clothes. We did have laundry service, though.
@preironic, the Rick Steves carry on looks like it would fit the bill. I just wish the sides looked a little more rigid. I’ll have to check their return policy. Thanks
The problem with the inter Europe carriers is also the weight limit - you need something that fits the size and weight limits.
Also - double check the real-life measurements of the RS bag. I think I read recently that it is actually a bit larger than stated
If the weight limit is very small, like 7-10kg, it is easy to fill a non-wheeled bag of the allowed size past the weight limit, even without obviously heavy items like books. A wheeled bag has less room, but the bag itself will consume more of the weight limit.
My observation from flying recently in Europe is many European travelers don’t use carry on bags, or at least not to the extent Americans do, and I wonder if it is because they do not have checked bag fees? The European flight attendants are also very poor at arranging bags in overhead space and will say there is no room, even when there is plenty. If they let me at it, I could find half a plane’s worth! For my recent trip I bought a $30 roller duffel at TJMaxx.
I found a Rick Steeves European carryon in the style that converts to a backpack for $7 at Goodwill.
Since your trip is far away, you still have time to trawl TJMaxx and RueLaLa for Tumi carryon bags. Those two places are my go to source of travel bags!
I’ve used the Rick Steves convertible carry on and it was great - met all the European size restrictions and is lightweight. Had no trouble. Haven’t actually used it as a backpack yet, though. Did do laundry in the bathroom sink often - took a travel clothesline for hanging up the clothes…
I have a Rick Steves convertible backpack but H really doesn’t like it because he finds it unwieldy and prefers that we use the rolling 22" suitcases for our trips, as they are easier to lug and weight and size isn’t a consideration for our travel. I do like the idea of the convertible backpack and it IS light. You can get a TON of stuff in it, so don’t overfill whatever you get–remember the weight restrictions.
I have the Rick Steves 20" carryon…its not the backpack one. It’s on sale right now at 20% off…regular price is $157. I really like mine and purchased his Veloce bag, too. It slides over the handle of the suitcase if desired.
It’s a while ago now but…Six years ago I headed to Europe on British Air.I booked a round trip flight. I carefully checked the weight and dimensio rules for carry on bags. I then bought a carry on.
Flying back–still on British Air–I was stopped. To my very great surprise, the size limitations coming back on the same airline, indeed on the same sort of plane, were different! My bag was taken away from me at the last minute. The argument almost made me miss my plane. My carry on didn’t make it onto my plane and was delivered 2 days later.
So, check the dimensions BOTH ways on EVERY carrier you plan to take.
And just in case you are flying BA, note that the size regulations for your smaller bag just changed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/11777908/British-Airways-crack-down-on-hand-luggage-size.html
OP- please list the airlines you will be using on your trip.
So we can research your baggage limits and make recommendations.
beerme, Amer. Air outbound, British Air inbound. Inter Europe, possibly Vueling or SAS. It’s still early to know for sure but those are the carriers that could fly us from Copenhagen to Milan and Barcelona to Copenhagen.
jonri, thank you for the link.
Vueling is a discount airline. They are going to have very tight restrictions on carry-on.
On Vueling
Dimensions of your bag including wheels and handle clearance 22"X 16"X 9"
weight limit is 14kg=22 pounds
SAS
22"X 16"X 9"
weight 18 pounds
plus a handbag or small laptop bag
If you purchase a bag to comply with Vueling and SAS then no problem complying with AA and BA
Vueling is not going to fool around on their limitations. You will have no leeway. Same with all discount European airlines.