LiteBrite
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2005
- Messages
- 5,604
Here's the story:
Hubby and I are embarking on a new career that's going to involve lots of transatlantic travel. Our first big trip is coming up, and it's going to be almost 5 weeks long, traveling to various places in Hungary and Ireland. For the next couple of years we'll likely be taking frequent trips to Europe, mostly 2 - 4 weeks in duration, also involving car travel while there (in small European rental cars).
Our work requires us to carry 2 guitars with us, and possibly sometimes a keyboard, but we'll leave the keyboard out of the equation for now. We have excellent hard-body guitar cases. We have travelled to Europe with the guitars twice now. Once we carried them on board with us, which actually turned out to be a harrowing experience, since we never knew if the next leg of the flight was going to have any onboard room for them, and we were constantly being threatened with extra luggage fees for them. The other time we checked them, which worked fine and was more relaxing for us, except that they got left behind at Charles de Gaulle in Paris when we were on our way home (they made it the next day, so all ended well).
So, back to the luggage question. Assuming we're checking the guitars, that means we can check one more suitcase each, and carry on two items each. We also need to factor in our ability to carry all of this by ourselves, for instance, from the rental car place to the terminal. The system we have worked out is to each check one big suitcase and a guitar (we're limited to 2 checked items), and then we each carry on a large "purse" type item and some sort of small suitcase. We have been using rolling backpacks for the small suitcase, because when we have our two hands busy with the big rolling suitcase and the guitar, we can carry them hands free, but for going through the airport, we can roll them behind us, which is easier on our backs.
We want to buy large suitcases (because of the long trips), which will be durable (because of the frequent trips), but we're hoping to keep the cost under $200 per bag if possible. We want something as light as possible (to keep those big bags under the weight limit), and if possible, I would love one of those "spinner" suitcases, with four wheels instead of two. I am also open to the idea of a wheeled duffle, if that would hold more stuff and be lighter.
So, does anybody have any recommendations for me?
Hubby and I are embarking on a new career that's going to involve lots of transatlantic travel. Our first big trip is coming up, and it's going to be almost 5 weeks long, traveling to various places in Hungary and Ireland. For the next couple of years we'll likely be taking frequent trips to Europe, mostly 2 - 4 weeks in duration, also involving car travel while there (in small European rental cars).
Our work requires us to carry 2 guitars with us, and possibly sometimes a keyboard, but we'll leave the keyboard out of the equation for now. We have excellent hard-body guitar cases. We have travelled to Europe with the guitars twice now. Once we carried them on board with us, which actually turned out to be a harrowing experience, since we never knew if the next leg of the flight was going to have any onboard room for them, and we were constantly being threatened with extra luggage fees for them. The other time we checked them, which worked fine and was more relaxing for us, except that they got left behind at Charles de Gaulle in Paris when we were on our way home (they made it the next day, so all ended well).
So, back to the luggage question. Assuming we're checking the guitars, that means we can check one more suitcase each, and carry on two items each. We also need to factor in our ability to carry all of this by ourselves, for instance, from the rental car place to the terminal. The system we have worked out is to each check one big suitcase and a guitar (we're limited to 2 checked items), and then we each carry on a large "purse" type item and some sort of small suitcase. We have been using rolling backpacks for the small suitcase, because when we have our two hands busy with the big rolling suitcase and the guitar, we can carry them hands free, but for going through the airport, we can roll them behind us, which is easier on our backs.
We want to buy large suitcases (because of the long trips), which will be durable (because of the frequent trips), but we're hoping to keep the cost under $200 per bag if possible. We want something as light as possible (to keep those big bags under the weight limit), and if possible, I would love one of those "spinner" suitcases, with four wheels instead of two. I am also open to the idea of a wheeled duffle, if that would hold more stuff and be lighter.
So, does anybody have any recommendations for me?
