Few travel light. Buying a good bag or suitcase for a tourist is no less important than choosing a route, so today we will talk about how to select the most reliable one among the sea of luggage containers. All tips are carefully checked by the authors on their own experience.
The basic rule: when buying a travel bag, you need to find a balance between price, durability and weight. First, you have to decide on the size. Unfortunately, it is impossible to buy a universal option for all occasions. We will have to decide: will one person ride with this suitcase, or should the family’s belongings fit into the bag? If you have to travel not only by plane, but also by train, then the suitcase should go into the locker. Suitcases and bags are very convenient, which can be pushed apart, increasing their volume by about a third.
The material is welcome to be durable and reliable, it should not easily allow moisture to pass through. Teflon-impregnated fabrics have proven themselves very well. The leather will look good, but will add a lot of weight, and the bag should not be heavier than the load itself. You will have to pay a lot of money for each kilogram of excess weight: airlines now and then reduce the baggage allowance.
For Chinese porcelain vases made several centuries ago, suitcases made of polypropylene with titanium shavings are suitable.
The bag must be strong enough to survive the various vicissitudes of fate in the form of sloppy loaders and soulless conveyor belts. It is very good if the suitcase has a reliable frame around the perimeter and the corners are reinforced with special rubberized pads. This is especially important if, in addition to clothes, a person plans to carry various fragile things: dishes, bottles of wine, which, according to the latest rules, will not be allowed in hand luggage. As practice shows, if you carefully lay out fragile things with clothes, a good suitcase with corners will be enough. For Chinese porcelain vases made several centuries ago, suitcases made of polypropylene with titanium shavings are suitable.
Pay particular attention to the wheels. The fact that they are necessary is hardly worth discussing: trolleys are not available at all airports, why carry a dozen kilograms if you can carry them without much effort? There are two-wheeled or four-wheeled suitcases. The first, undoubtedly, are more maneuverable: probably everyone saw how fragile girls, unable to cope with huge four-wheeled unstable flat monsters, tumble along with them on their side on every bump in the road. The wheels should not be too large to add weight. Brittle plastics are not encouraged. Cast gel wheels performed well. Even in the store, it is worth considering whether they are securely attached, tugging thoroughly and even trying to break them off: in “field conditions” the entire weight of the bag will be on wheels.
In the store, it is worth walking around the hall for a longer time with a bag, to check if the length and shape are convenient.
Very comfortable and bags with a retractable handle. It is clear that it must also be very strong and securely fixed when folded so that it does not open and fall out when the bag is thrown during loading. At the same time, of course, there should be an alternative version of the handle so that the loaders have something to take on. In the store, it is worth walking around the hall for a longer time with a bag, to check whether the length and shape are convenient. For some bags, the size of the handle can be fixed anywhere, but with a large load, this mechanism breaks down very quickly.
As a rule, most modern bags are closed with a zipper. This is convenient, but it should be checked very closely when you buy it. The tongue should slide easily. Next, you need to check each clove – whether it is securely fixed. At the same time, the teeth themselves should be quite large and made of reliable material, because they have an unpleasant habit to wear off. Attention should be paid to the place where the zipper is attached to the fabric from the inside: unscrupulous manufacturers handle the edge poorly, the material begins to “crumble”, the zipper flies off.
External pockets add weight and volume, but are completely useless, and suitcases cling to them when loading and unloading …
The “leg” of the suitcase, on which it rests against the wheels, must also be made of durable material. Without it, the suitcase will be unstable, but it breaks one of the first. It must be securely fastened and at the same time not protrude much beyond the body.
It is hardly necessary to buy bags with a “built-in” combination lock. It often turns out that this is a waste of money. Such locks break very quickly. Trying to open them can damage the suitcase. Therefore, it is wiser to opt for external padlocks, which are easy to replace if necessary.
Whether or not to take a suitcase with a large number of external pockets is a matter of taste. However, the outer pocket is an unprotected pocket, that is, you cannot put gold-diamonds there. What is planned to be transported there? Books and newspapers to read on the go? Then a person will not be able to get them on the plane. As a rule, people put small things that may be needed on the way in a small bag, which they take as carry-on luggage. Therefore, often external pockets add weight and volume, but are completely useless, and suitcases cling to them during loading and unloading, when traveling on a conveyor.
The same can be said for the interior pockets and dividers. Only a couple of zippered pockets along the sides are functional. However, manufacturers still make a lot of internal partitions, hoping that it will be more convenient to lay things out this way. In fact, everything turns out to be the other way around: variability is lost, and large items will not fit into such a suitcase at all. If the bag is properly stowed, no such tricks are needed. At the same time, there must be belts inside that allow you to pull things in if there are too many of them, or, on the contrary, to fasten if there is not enough luggage.
You should not choose too beautiful, bright, expensive suitcases, where a significant part of the cost is the payment for a well-known label.
Some people prefer to buy cheap bags made of fragile materials – “for one time”: let it break – it’s not a pity, then you can buy a new one: you don’t want to spend money if the item is used once a year. However, cheap low-quality bags can tear before the tourist reaches the hotel, and not only in the presence of the owner, but, much less pleasantly, in the hands of the loader. The wheels will fall off or simply be crushed or crumbled at the very first bump – you will have to drag the luggage in your hands, unless the handle flies off at the first jerk. For some reason, the rules “cheap is not good” and “a miser pays twice” are especially evident on suitcases. It is better to opt for a bag of trusted companies (such as Redmond, Samsonite), which have been producing similar goods for a long time. Manufacturers are responsible for quality with their reputation, and their warranty period is several times higher – about one and a half to two years. At the same time, you should not choose too beautiful, bright, expensive suitcases, where a significant part of the cost is the payment for a well-known label. In addition to the fact that they will inevitably get dirty (conveyor belts and cargo compartments do not shine with cleanliness), they will also attract the attention of robbers. Therefore, for those who do not belong to the category of VIPs traveling with five suitcases with characteristic Louis Vuitton ornaments, it would be wiser to opt for inconspicuous dark suitcases. To quickly see your bag when receiving luggage and not to be confused with someone else’s, it is better to add some noticeable detail to it: for example, tie a bright ribbon to the handle or attach a large colored sticker to its side.