Should I take my backpack? Or my wheeled luggage

[mslibrarian]

The hateful question that I've been debating since deciding to go on this trip!

Pros and cons

The backpack gives me hands free walking, great on uneven ground, perfect on stairs.

It stores away easily on trains and in hostel lockers. It sits between my legs on the tube in London. Very convenient.

I don't like the daypack on my bag. I never used it once on my trips.

I'll be 38 years old and..umm...big boned ;D. I look silly wearing my pack!

I can pack more into my wheeled luggage but I'll end up taking/buying unnecessary things if I take it.

I could go on and on...

[pointofnoreturn]

My travelling partner took a backpack. I took a small wheeled luggage (21 inches). She burned her bag when we got back to Canada.

I didn't have too much problems with the stairs but my friend did. She hated climbing thousands (okay, an exaggeration) of steps toting that backpack so I had to help her with that. I had an easier time at the airport with my luggage because the agents kept making her take it to "oversized" luggage after checking in.

I don't know.... you need to make a choice and you should go with what you feel most comfortable with.

[mslibrarian]

Did you stay in hostels or hotels?

If it weren't for the hostel stay, I wouldn't consider the backpack. It's just so easy to stick it in the lockers, etc.

[pointofnoreturn]

A point to note - not all hostels have lockers.

[mslibrarian]

Oh ya..I know. But most of them in the bigger cities seemed to have some place to stash your stuff. At least that's been my experience and I check for them on their websites.

I also tend to stay in HI hostels and most of hem have some storage.

[WillTravel]

Some suitcases will fit in some lockers (that's probably not the norm), but I always felt okay leaving my suitcase about in a hostel anyway. Obviously I wouldn't leave electronics lying around, but it would be a desperate person who wanted my old clothes. You can always cable-lock it to a bed.

[Eagle]

mslibrarian, my vote would would most definitely be for the Backpack, an opinion which is reinforced with every trip! Of course, everyone's preferences are different so best to use the solution that works for you.

An example from my last trip in the spring. While on a tour, the group visited Matera for a few days. Our Hotel, www.hotelsassi.it was located in The Sassi (a very old part of town) which we had to reach on foot, a distance of perhaps a kilometre. It was painful watching the rest of the group "bumping" their wheelie bags across the ancient cobbled streets, and down numerous stone steps. It was even more agonizing on the return trip, going uphill. Some of their luggage was so heavy, they could barely lift it! I zipped along quite comfortably with my Backpack, carrying my Daypack and Camera bag (I had to restrain myself from feeling to "smug").

I've also stayed in some budget Hotels that don't have elevators, and I usually end up with a room on the 6th floor! I find the Backpack much easier under those circumstances! That was the case on my last visit to Lago di Como, and I had no trouble getting the Backpack up to my room. In contrast however, other guests struggled up the stairs with their wheelie bags (some VERY large!). When checking-out many of them used the poor suffering Waiter to "manhandle" these huge bags down the stairs, as they didn't want to put out the effort to get them down to the lobby.

I always use my Daypack for carry-on during flights and also "overflow" as my main Pack is usually loaded with Camera gear, etc. If you don't use your Daypack, leave it at home.

PONR,

She burned her bag when we got back to Canada.

That's a bit extreme!

Regarding the Hostel / Hotel situation, I usually choose a "mix" of budget Hotels and Hostels. It's nice to have company sometimes, but also nice to have a night of two of privacy too. Most of the Hostels that I've used have had Lockers of some kind. One Hostel I used in Rome had Lockers in the rooms, but no way to attach a Lock to them. They had smaller steel Lockers in a room beside the front desk for storing valuables (of course guests had to provide their own Padlock). Those Lockers were only large enough to store smaller items, perhaps a small P&S Camera, Passport or similar items. I usually left my dSLR with the front desk staff when going out for the evening, as there was no other "safe" place to store it.

One HI Hostel that I stayed at in Switzerland didn't have any Lockers in the rooms, but a very small number down beside the main entrance door (of course, if the Hostel was full these were usually in use by other guests). Of course, whether using a wheelie bag or Backpack I never leave anything valuable in the luggage when I'm out of the room. The Backpack is locked, and valuables are either with me or secured in some other location.

The other points you mentioned about Backpacks vs. hard sided luggage are certainly true. Backpacks (ie: soft sided Luggage) can be "squeezed" to fit into Lockers much more easily. On that same topic, I always chuckle when I see people trying to fit hard sided luggage into the overhead Bins on planes. Sometimes they're successful, sometimes not! However, as PONR mentioned Backpacks can sometimes be a problem at airports. Especially lately I've noticed that the Screeners want to "swab" my Backpack and therefore it takes a bit longer to get through security. I've also noticed that lately in Europe, I've had to take my Backpack to a separate line for "non-standard" luggage to check it in for flights, rather than putting it through the line that everyone else uses. That's happened to me both in the U.K. and Germany.

I'll be 38 years old and..umm...big boned . I look silly wearing my pack!

I'm 55+ years old and....umm..."portly" and I probably look silly wearing my pack too, but don't really care. The Backpack works well for me, so I'll probably continue to use it until I get "really old"!!!

Good luck with your "Backpack" decision!

Cheers!

[mslibrarian]

Thanks for the advice! I dug out my pack and filled it up last night. It didn't fit right at all and I couldn't figure out what was up. Then I remembered! I had lent it to someone for her 3 week trip to England and she had adjusted the harness. Once I re-adjusted it I was ok, but it did press on my lower back in a way it hadn't in the past. I'll have to look into that.

I'll wait until it's closer to the time to make my decision. But I see the arguments on all sides. *sigh*

[mslibrarian]

Well...it's getting to the point where I have to decide and the jury is still out.

Since my itinerary is now set I know I won't be on the road as much as I thought so the wheeled luggage is looking good. I will have to pick up a whole lot of presents, small ones, to take back with me so again...the wheeled luggage holds more.

*sigh*

But I have this image of me wandering around a city, trying to find the hostel dragging that bag. That's when the backpack comes in handy.

I hate trying to make this decision.

[Mikul]

I have a wheeled luggage, which I took with my last time I was in Europe and I will be leaving it at home this time. I didn't even visit many cities, but was tired of it. If you must pick up gifts, wait for your last city and pick some up there or mail a box home. It seems that the younger people choose backpack, while the older crowd chooses wheeled. Cobble stone roads and going up and down curbs gets old real fast.

I decided to take the Eagle Creek Maiden Voyage, a female’s bag, but it still fits me. Right now, eBags has it for $160 with free shipping and no tax for most.

[WillTravel]

I'm in the older crowd, definitely .

If your suitcase handles nicely, walking around searching for a hostel shouldn't be a problem. I walked about 1.5 miles in Florence to the train station without a problem.

In addition to travel in general, sometimes I even take my wheeled suitcase to work, if I have a bunch of stuff to carry, while going on public transport, and don't find it a big problem. Personally I find it more awkward with a backpack because I tend to bump into people.

[mslibrarian]

I'm one of the older crowd myself.

I have a good pack, one that's been to europe twice already (once with me, once with my friend) and it's a kick-butt pack. I've got no complaints which is why I"m tempted to use it. But it doesn't hold a whole lot and this trip I have some evenings out planned that will mean I need to pack beyond the 2 pairs of jeans and a few t-shirts. I'll also have to take extra shoes.

My wheeled luggage is pretty good but it's not expensive. It's been to England and I can mange it pretty well. It's a good roller

It's almost 6 of one, half a dozen of the other isn' tit?

[mango]

Feb 14, 2009 15:52:23 GMT -5 mslibrarian said:

It's almost 6 of one, half a dozen of the other isn' tit?

No it's not!

Take the backpack!

You know you want to! ;D

[madamtrashheap]

mango! Long time no "see"!

mslibrarian, I was a fan of the backpack in my earlier travel days, now I seem to take a wheeled suitcase more often than not, so it's a personal preference. If, however, I'm going on a predominantly walking/many travel days trip, I'll take a backpack. If you think you won't me moving around as much, try this trip out with the suitcase and you'll have a good idea of what suits you and the trip style.

[herrbert]

I prefer my wheeled suitcase as well. Even though I have to climb the occassional stairs with it.

One other slight advantage of it, is that it's unlikely to get stuck at airports. (in the conveyer-belt system) If you carry a backpack, always use the special drop-off counters.