Need Help Choosing Luggage!!!

[rrali33tt]

My fiancee and I have never been to Europe before. We have booked the ABD Germany trip for next fall. We are also going to do 3 nights in Paris and 3 nights in Venice before. I have not decided if we will fly between Paris/Venice/Germany or take the train. I am in the process of creating our wedding registry. We both need luggage but What would we need for a trip like this?

What size luggage pieces would we bring? 30 inch? 21 inch 25 ? garmet bag? duffel? All of it? ( I imagine we cant carry all of that on a train)

Are there any brands you reccommend? I am looking into Samsonite right now.

Is it worth it to get really expensive luggage? The Samsonite Sphere is really expensive but has round ball wheels and gel handles. I am also looking at Samsonite Hyperspace and Samsonite Drive 360 (which is on sale at kohls this week for 50% off).

Thanks for your help?

 

[sayhello]

Be careful not to get too big of a suitcase. European airlines tend to be even more strict about weight restrictions than they are in the US. I'd suggest a rolling duffel carryon and a medium-sized rolling checked bag. You really don't want to be carrying heavy stuff around.

My current favorite brand is the Mother Lode eTech line from ebags.com. Really light but really sturdy, and they hold a lot. I got the 21 inch carryon version, and the 25 inch medium sized version. Carried just enough for my 14-day trip to Greece (and my 14 day trip to Hawaii. And my 15 day trip to London/Paris ).

Lightweight but sturdy is what I go for.

But I do have to admit, I was a bit jealous watching those folks push their 4-wheeled spinners around. They do seem easier to deal with.

Sayhello

 

[Cousin Orville]

I'd recommend TravelPro. They're one of the best. You'll often see pilots, flight attendants, and other freq flyers carry these.

This is my fav size. It's large enough to fit a bunch of stuff, but not too large that you're at risk of pushing over 50 lbs.
http://www.amazon.com/Travelpro-Lug...8&qid=1370467850&sr=8-3&keywords=travelpro+26

I'm sure the ideal is carry on size if you can get away with it.
http://www.amazon.com/Travelpro-Lug...98&sr=8-3&keywords=travelpro+carry+on+luggage
But with my kids, its just not possible.

 

[tufbuf]

I would get sturdy lightweight (less than 10 lbs empty) luggage. I would not buy an expensive one since luggages are subject to abuse. We almost always have a broken zipper by the end of the trip and nasty oil stains at times. Like sayhello said, European airlines are strict with luggage weight and size so do your research if you are flying between cities. A 4-wheel roller makes hauling luggage convenient but it adds weight.

 

[rrali33tt]

All of this information is Sooooo helpful!! thank u!

 

[abdgeek]

I have a 27 inch suitcase that goes with me everywhere. Rolling my clothes, I can get enough clothes in it for about two weeks. Make sure that you take clothes that can be easily washed out in the sink. You may not have the time or the inclination to do laundry. Make sure and check your bag allowance for the ABD trip. Usually, ABD wants you to limit your baggage to one suitcase and a carryon. When I did the Greece ABD, I only took my 27 inch and a backpack. Have fun.

 

[richflour]

this might help

http://blog.eaglecreek.com/topics/packing/travel-anywhere-with-expert-packing-tips/

 

[rebsnrob]

Did you choose your luggage? What did you pick? I need to get some new luggage and am curious as to what you decided.

I agree with everything said thus far in this thread. I'll add less is more. Personally, I would rather travel light than wear something different everyday. My last overseas trip, I took three or four mix and match outfits, washing along the way. Worked perfectly.

 

[rrali33tt]

Did you choose your luggage? What did you pick? I need to get some new luggage and am curious as to what you decided.

I agree with everything said thus far in this thread. I'll add less is more. Personally, I would rather travel light than wear something different everyday. My last overseas trip, I took three or four mix and match outfits, washing along the way. Worked perfectly.

I added the Samsonite Silohouette Sphere to my wedding registry. I registered for the 30 inch, 25 inch, 21 inch, and garmet bag for my fiancee. I don't think we will take the garmet bag to Europe, but its nice to have.

I know this was the most expensive choice, but there are sales all the time. I like the round wheels and the gel handles especially. They are also pretty light. On the inside they have a section for wet clothes and some of the pieces come with a removable insert for a dress or suit ( think thicker plastic then what they give you at the dry cleaner for your clothes).

I also reccommend checking the Samsonite website frequently. I noticed a lot of luggage on sale ( and cheaper than department stores plus free shipping)

 

[rebsnrob]

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Tozzie]

I added the Samsonite Silohouette Sphere to my wedding registry. I registered for the 30 inch, 25 inch, 21 inch, and garmet bag for my fiancee. I don't think we will take the garmet bag to Europe, but its nice to have.

I know this was the most expensive choice, but there are sales all the time. I like the round wheels and the gel handles especially. They are also pretty light. On the inside they have a section for wet clothes and some of the pieces come with a removable insert for a dress or suit ( think thicker plastic then what they give you at the dry cleaner for your clothes).

I also reccommend checking the Samsonite website frequently. I noticed a lot of luggage on sale ( and cheaper than department stores plus free shipping)

Be careful about the 30 inch the airlines don't only look at the weight of the bag they also look at the side and for most airlines 62 inches in the max. Some airlines are stricter than other but you never know and all the 30 inch bags I have seen are more than 62 linear inches

 

[richflour]

Eagle creek is very durable. The type of wheels that are on most other brands of luggage end up broken

 

[WDW in Pearls]

I love both Samsonite and American Tourister. I'm currently using American Tourister. Their stuff has held up so well! It's definitely worth the extra $ because you won't have to replace it for quite a while.

Samsonite's website has some great sales on Samsonite and AT (I guess they're the same company?) so I'd recommend checking it out! The prices seemed better than anywhere else I've seen the same models. I went with a 20" and a 30".

 

[Bobo912]

I have a 25 inch Samonsite that I've owned for 8 or 9 years. It has been on numerous trips and been terribly mistreated by airline baggage handlers and it's held up very well. It came back from the Galapagos with a big dent in the metal frame, but I beat it out with a rubber mallet and it's almost as good as new. I bought a 27 inch Nautica bag for my son last year and it's been on a few trips and also held up well. It's much lighter weight than my Samsonite, but still seems fairly sturdy. Both are spinners. I am a big fan of spinners and wouldn't buy anything else.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I *love* my Kipling rolling duffle. http://www.ebags.com/product/kipling/teagan-l/230235?productid=10239287 I'm a frequent traveler and have used an older version of this bag for over 15 years on too many trips to count, including at least a dozen trips to Europe. It is finally getting close to needing to be replaced. With the smaller carry-on sizes for international carriers, I looked all over for a very good, very light bag and love this: http://www.tumi.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12293499&prodFindSrc=paramNav It's expensive, but I found it on sale on the Tumi site in a discontinued color a while back.

 

[Kez250]

We just flew from Venice to Paris after our Italian ABD - we flew Easyjet, they are strict with their luggage restrictions, you can buy extra bags but your weight allowance doesn't increase - there were four of us and we were each about to have 20kg - we also purchased an extra bag but were still restricted to 80kg in total. You can buy extra weight as well. We picked Easyjet since we were only flying one way and British Airways and AirItalia were mega expensive.