How to take it?
Having appropriate
luggage can make a world of difference. It may mean the difference
between carry-on and stowed (which may mean the difference between
lost and not lost!), health or a hurting back, and damaged vs.
undamaged belongings. Note: This article assumes that you are
packing for a plane flight; traveling by train, bus, or car may
be slightly different.
Garment
Bags
Garment bags
can be exceptionally nice for short business trips. Most airplanes
have little compartments with a bar that you can hang them on.
Be advised, however, that those compartments fill up pretty quickly,
and you may have to jam it into an overhead bin, wrinkling your
suits and dresses.
However, garment
bags are not particularly easy to carry if very full or for a
great distance. (Note: I have never been a broad-shouldered, narrow-hipped,
tall, strong man, so perhaps there is a class of people for whom
this assertion is not true.)
Wheeled
Luggage
If you must
take heavy items (like, for example, six computer manuals and
a replacement power supply), seriously consider some sort of wheeled
contraption. One can purchase carts that can fold up and go inside
the suitcase or suitcases that have wheels and a handle built
in.
Suitcases
with stiff, center-mounted racks are much more manageable than
suitcases with "leashes". The leashed suitcases have a tendency
to wobble, tip, get stuck, fall over, etc. The leash is always
too short for your height, so you end up walking hunched over
anyways. Leashed luggage is exceptionally ill-suited for those
lovely, picturesque cobbled streets that your charming little pensione with no elevator is on.
A good, hard-sided
suitcase with a rack can be a bit pricey - up to $300. However,
consider that this is much, much, MUCH cheaper than back surgery.
Cheap Luggage
On the opposite
end of the spectrum, you should remember that it is not mandatory
to purchase a special valise for carry-on items. A few sturdy
garbage bags can work just fine.
You can also
put things in boxes. Be sure to wrap them extremely securely with
glass-reinforced tape, and recognize that they will get very rough
handling. Furthermore, the airlines will not take responsibility
for damaging anything in a cardboard box. You take your chances.
Duffle
Bags
For long-term,
low-end travels (e.g. the Grand Eurail Tour of Europe), my personal
luggage of choice is an old, beat up, blue nylon duffle bag. It
is large enough to take a week's worth of clothes (if I am not
too fussy) and small enough that I can't fill it fuller than I
can easily carry. It fits in the overhead compartment and it weighs
practically nothing.
Furthermore,
it does not scream "Wealthy Tourist!!"; I could just be returning
from figure-skating practice or something like that.
Backpacks
and Camping Gear
You can ship
camping-style backpacks as well. Some airlines will put them in
large plastic bags to help keep things from tearing off. Otherwise,
make sure that anything that you have attached to the pack (sleeping
bag, tent, roll) is securely fastened. And, as with packing in
cardboard boxes, airlines will not take responsibility for damaging
anything in a backpack. Do not pack the good china in the backpack.
