Backpack cum trolley bag - size and safety

 I like the idea of a backpack cum trolley bag. The trolley feature is useful to relieve your back. But going up stairs if you have a second bag, it is handy to be able to put it on your back and leave your hands free to hold the banister, or help a child or older person. The trolley is useful if it is flat on top and can balance something else.

I watched a useful video about the extra features of one trolley rucksack, which was selling at near a hundred dollars/euros/pounds. 

Price Point & Postage

On ebay I could see prices ranging from about £14, £13.99. Some of them charged £6 six for postage which brought them up in the range or rivals selling around 19 or twenty. However I found one which was the cheaper price, post free. Then I read the description and saw it had two wheels. What was the specification for the others?

You might need a bigger bag or one with a front pocket if you are travelling with a laptop or a book to read, or just extra brochures.

Beware Of Muddling Matching Suitcase Sets

You could buy two bags, one to use as a backpack, the other as a trolley bag, to look co-ordinated. Fine if you are single. Or the bags are different sizes.

But beware of his and hers bags in identical sizes. Once my husband and I both had identical black bags. We were lucky to be on similarly timed flights the same day from the same airport going in different directions.

Five minutes after we said goodbye, he came dashing back to find me. He realised he had my bag and I had his. He was about to arrive at a conference, having gone through various security inspections with high heeled shoes and ladies underwear. Minus his laptop.

 I would have arrived minus - well, you get the idea, the message.

Add Stickers, And Covers, To Suitcases

Some people don't want brand new luggage in poor countries because that makes them a target. They also think bright colours are conspicuous and attract unwanted attention. One solution is to put an old stained tee-shirt on your suitcase in public places, which also covers exposed zips and soft parts which could be slashed.

The old faded, stained or torn tee-shirt can be removed when you arrive at your conference, business meeting, or expensive hotel and want to look smart.

The solution to this is a second colour tag or sticker or painted stripe on one or both. 

Backpack and Suitcase Colour Choices

I like pink, orange and red. My husband sometimes uses my suitcases. He doesn't want pink, but can manage with red or orange. Some of the suppliers had sold out of the pink, red, and orange options. However, they had purple, blue and green.

I have a large blue and green suitcase bought on holiday to replace a broken item same size. That was my only colour option in the size large enough to take the items already with me. So the blue or green smaller bag would co-ordinate with my larger suitcase, as well as going reasonably well with my orange, pink or red summer clothes.

Backpacks At The Front

Regarding backpacks, several online websites and videos warn against having valuables in pockets on a backpack worn on your back. The suggestion is to wear the backpack on your front in crowded places, lines for buses or at attractions, or sales.

There you have it. All the options to check on.

Buying On Holiday

The bigger department stores and bargain stores have suitcases. You can buy before leaving home, or bring back an extra bag from holiday for souvenirs such as heavy bottles of wine.

We did this, paying extra for the transport of another check in bag on RyanAir, but only one way, not the outward journey. 

Some sellers say that their luggage fits all airlines, others say their luggage fits most. Check your airline. If you are starting on a big international airline and then transferring to a smaller flight or ferry, or a small car, you need to have luggage to fit the smaller vehicle.

Suitcase Sizes

Check the luggage for all the family fits hidden in the boot (called trunk in the USA). If you give a lift (called a ride in the USA) to somebody else you need room for their luggage as well as the extra person.

You might need to book a bigger car and warn the car rental agency that you need a bigger car for the number of passengers and pieces of luggage. , in case they otherwise tell you on arrival that their larger cars are not available, only for people carriers which cost a lot more.

Websites - Useful Backpack & Suitcase Sources

amazon

ebay

temu

Four wheel spinner suitcases for easy travel

I have spent hours looking at four when suitcases on eBay and Amazon and Google.
The decision is easy if price is not an object - but it is. The 'World's Lightest' fluorescent pink would cost me, or you, £59.50 for the smallest size and more than £284 for a set of four, from bagsandluggage on ebay.

Argos and Homebase and Tesco have suitcases around £20, but usually black. You have to watch out that you are not getting two wheels instead of four. Many of the eBay links are for four sizes of suitcase and you find they are sold out in the size you want or the colour you want.

Matching Sets
One advantage of matching luggage is that if you lose one of a pair, when reporting the loss, you have a photo to show staff. You can locate also report the brand, which you will be asked on the claim form by the lost and found department.

I looked at sets of three or four matching suitcases. I went off his and hers suitcase when two members of my family accidentally went off with each other's suitcases at the airport when we were going to different conferences. Luckily he realised in time that he had mine because I had my luggage tag and a coloured ribbon on the handle. Otherwise he would have been asked to open his suitcase at Customs and they would have found ladies underwear and concluded he was either a thief or a transvestite. I would have ended at a beach with skiwear and a business suit.

Colours and Patterns
Luggage which is pink with hearts is cute, but not if any men in my family want to borrow it. Black doesn't show stains and is inconspicuous. However, trying to identify our luggage on the tarmac of Changi airport after a bomb scare has put me off black luggage.

Later on another trip my luggage went missing at Changi. I was just reporting it when I spotted a suitcase with flowers by the side of a carousel half way down the arrivals hall. It was a suitcase I had bought at a bargain price in Mustafa's which they obviously couldn't sell quickly because of it's odd colour scheme. But it was really handy for seeing at a distance.

Four Wheels or Two?
Here are my choices and discoveries of four wheel suitcases. In the July sales at John Lewis department store the four wheel suitcases were beyond my budget. I looked in Watford and was shocked at the prices, even in the sale. You can check John Lewis and Debenhams on line.

The big supermarkets and chains also have luggage. Marks and Spencer. Tesco.

I do another search. Foldable suitcase only £13.49, delivery free, red bags and shoes, from luggagetravelbags, 18 inches, Easyjet cabin approved, but how many wheels? Only two.

I already have a black bag on two wheels from Antler. Fed up dragging it around. (After exhausting myself carrying it up and down stairs at stations.)

£21.99 four wheel from Skylight luggage, postage free, on eBay.
Other colours out of stock.

The red one is available, but dearer.

Summary of my findings:

Websites:
Amazon. Ebay.
Amazon Suitcase Guide:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/b/ref=amb_link_176240227_3?ie=UTF8&node=2908562031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=hero-quick-promo&pf_rd_r=048NQA4X5MFW5VPF0JWF&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=415860167&pf_rd_i=B00QWRW4MM

Department Stores and Shops:
Argos. Debenhams. John Lewis. Marks and Spencer. Mustafa's (Singapore, India.) Tesco.

Brand Names:
5Cities.
Aerolite.
American Tourista.
Antler.
Cabin Max.
Delsey.
Dunlop.
Frenzy.
Goexplore.
Idealo.
Samsonite.
Skylight.
it.
itluggage.com

You can also find luggage at weekend market stalls, and at airport shops.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

(More on four wheels in later posts.)