Lost luggage and record-breaking delays at airports are just some of the reasons growing numbers of travellers are opting to ditch checked bags and rely solely on cabin baggage. The good news? Doing so is easier than ever, thanks to the growing number of brands going all out to cater to globetrotters who are opting to travel light. Here’s our ultimate guide to finding the right luggage for anyone keen to ditch the excess baggage.
If you know what you're looking for, you can also check out our guide to the best carry-on luggage.
1. Materials matter
When it comes to reducing the weight of your bag, we’re not just talking about taking fewer underpants. One of the best ways to not only reduce the weight of your luggage but create more space is by thinking about materials. When it comes to hard cases, the ones with the lowest weights are often those made with strands of lightweight materials which have been woven together to add extra weight. I'm a huge fan of Samsonite’s C-Lite range of hard-sided cases, which are made from woven polypropylene. They come in a range of sizes, although the smallest one – which will slip easily into an overhead locker – weighs just 1.9kg.
2. Ditch the added extras
Do you (or your suitcase) really need extra external pockets or chunky padlock systems? And don’t be seduced by the often ridiculous added extras which are increasingly showing up on hard-sided cabin cases, either. Will your intrepid explorations really be improved just because you’ve got a case with a built-in phone charger, brake systems to prevent wheeled cases running away (something which we’ve never, ever experienced, to be clear) or a built-in cup holder like the one Wrangler recently added to their hard-sided case? In a nutshell, no.
3. Prioritise portability
We’ve all experienced it. These days, the frenzied scramble to extract bags from overhead lockers begins long before the seatbelt lights have gone out. One advantage to travelling with just hand luggage is the time you’ll save – no more waiting for your bag at luggage carousels, which is often the reason travellers aren’t in a rush to disembark their plane (what’s the point when your luggage is still being offloaded, after all)? But travellers who’ve ditched the checked baggage can save even more time by prioritising portability.
I'm a huge fan of backpacks with extending handles, and built-in wheels (two are great, but four are preferable). This allows them to be rolled along and can be a godsend on cramped planes, when your chances of squeezing your way into the aisle are likely to be significantly reduced if you’re wearing a house-sized backpack. I also love handles – the more the merrier, so that you can extricate your case easily without having to remove others passengers’ cases in order to retrieve yours.
4. Backpacks are better (sometimes)
The downside to single-compartment cases often relates to the ease (or lack of) with which individual items can be removed and replaced. Find the right backpack, however, and repacking your bag after the dreaded security check will take significantly less time.
You can assign dedicated, easily accessible pockets to the items you’re most likely to have to remove and replace before and during the flight, such as toiletries, gadgets and liquids, before quickly returning them to their rightful place, saving you the embarrassment of digging through upper layers of underwear/medication/weird souvenirs in a single-compartment case in order to get to the bottle of water which has seen your bag diverted to the dreaded security check line.
5. Don’t overestimate the importance of access
When you’ve got everything you’ll need for your getaway stuffed into a single bag, it pays to pack in an organised way, and to think about how you’ll access the items. Cabin cases with additional trapdoor-style access points at the top make it easier to access items you’ll need mid-flight, such as headphones and chargers, and backpacks with openings at both the top and bottom, or openings which unzip fully on three sides, can save you huge amounts of time when it comes to getting to specific items.
6. Pack like a pro
Although I’ve recommended keeping accessories to a minimum, there are certain ones which can transform your travels. Compression pouches, which rely on double zips to compress contents such as clothes, won’t just save space, but will keep the contents of your case or backpack organised, too.
If you’re packing bulky items such as a ski jacket or the world’s fluffiest jumper, consider a vacuum pack bag. Simply fill the bag, attach a vacuum nozzle to the valve and suck out the extra air – you’ll be amazed by how much space you’ll save.
Four seriously cool cabin bags
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