Choosing the Right Bag for Your Hand Luggage

Choosing the Right Bag for Your Hand Luggage

With the excitement of a holiday looming, finding the right suitcases and bags for your journey becomes a pressing matter. Whilst  a suitcase might be easy to find, your hand luggage may need a little more consideration.

As different manufacturers work to different specifications, cabin luggage bags are often different shapes and sizes. This is largely since airlines themselves tend to have different terms, conditions, weights and sizes relating to what is accepted as hand luggage.

So, what should you consider?

Wheely Good

When shopping for cabin luggage you need to consider your journeys. How are you getting to and from airports, are you traveling a lot whilst on the holiday?

For the majority of holiday makers, cabin bags with wheels tend to provide convenience. As your hand luggage remains with you all the time you are travelling, taking the weight off your back can provide some comfort.

The question then, is do you choose 2 wheels, or 4?   

with four rotating wheels are perfect for scooting through airports and hotels with their smooth, solid floors. They aren’t so great, however, on pavements, up and down curbs or across other rough terrain.

Two-wheeled cases are much more adept to handling rough terrain. Pulled along behind, the two-wheeled cases are more suitable if you intend on travelling with your luggage outside of the airport or hotel.

Check the Sizes

We cannot stress this enough, check with your airline on bag sizes. Just because you used the bag on a previous trip, does not mean it is accepted universally. Different airlines have different regulations.

When shopping for your bag, keep the measurements to hand. Also, you should take into account the wheels and handles as a part of the bag’s length. If your bag extends or has extendable compartments, check that it is suitable when at full capacity.

Not all airlines check every bag. The measurements are more of a guideline. But bear in mind, if your plane is full, they are much more likely to check the size as overhead compartments are limited. If your bag falls foul of the guidance, it can become costly.

Contents

Finally you should consider the contents of your bag. What will you be taking on board with you, will it be an overspill for your checked in luggage? Will you have valuables in there such as a laptop?

If you plan on taking valuables, hard shell cases will provide more protection. If you are travelling with heavy goods, you might want to consider a fabric, lightweight case. Making a list of your goods before hand can be a great help in coming to these decisions.

If you are currently searching for luggage bags, you can view our full luggage collection through this link. Got any questions or concerns? Feel free to get in touch by clicking here.