How to choose your luggage

For those folks who are about to buy a new suitcase, we’ve put together some useful information to help you making an informed decision.

When choosing a luggage, you will need to figure out how you are planning on using it. Before going ahead and select it, determine how long your trip will be and where you will be going. Taking into consideration weather conditions and type of outfit you might need, will also help you to choose the right suitcase to fulfill your specific needs.

If you are planning on taking a shorter vacation and don’t want to have to worry about checking in any of your bags at the airport, carry-on luggage is the way to go. Both flexible and convenient, this type of suitcases will allow you to fit clothing items, a book and a laptop to keep busy on the plane. However, if you are planning on a long vacation, you’ll probably want to bring a wide variety of things, or even if you are planning of going nuts shopping and bring lots of souvenirs, bigger suitcases are the best.

With over 50 different airlines operating across Europe, and many with different size allowances for cabin baggage, it is hard to buy a suitcase that you can use with all airlines that you are likely to travel in the future.

 

Soft Suitcases

Modern Soft Suitcases have many compartments to help you stay organized and make the journey way more comfortable. Note that one of the main features of this type of luggage is the possibility of expandable pockets that allow you to carry everything you need. Soft Suitcases are ideal for travellers who need to bring items that occupy bigger spaces, like winter clothes.

Hard Suitcases

Compared to Soft Suitcases, Hard Suitcases are more durable and more water- resistant. This is the kind of baggage that you’ll want to buy if you transport fragile items, since they offer extra protection, for your most valued things to reach their destination undamaged.

Cabin Suitcases

The carry -on bags can be hard or soft, but they should always include wheels (four preferably), unless they are backpacks, which are the ones that you’ll want to use to carry your laptop. The ideal cabin luggage has a strong and stable telescoping handle so it can be easily pulled. Make sure the handles are resistant.

 

The proper way to measure your luggage

Be aware that most of low-cost airlines allow a cabin baggage with maximum dimensions of 55cm x 40cm x 20cm.

Always measure the height of the case from the side, edge to edge. Take a measuring tape and start at the top of the bag, not including the handle, measure to the bottom edge, do a straight estimate to the bottom surface and don’t include the wheels. To measure the width of the bag, turn the bag on its face on the floor and measure across the bag surface, from side edge to side edge, at the bottom of the case, since many cases have some extra support for stability. To measure the depth, measure from the side, edge to edge, from the back to the front to the main body without including the exterior pockets, expansion or the main opening zippers. All airlines have specific carry-on regulations, check those online and skip any extra costs on your trip.