Size Matters – The luggage debate.

When you’re selling almost all of your stuff and preparing to travel the world, there are many, many discussions as a couple — many excited, some fearful, some funny. The inevitable one, however, is the “Luggage Discussion.” Here’s an excerpt:

Sean: So, we need to start deciding on our bags for the trip

Jen: I’m not a backpacker — we need something with wheels.

Sean: Agreed. But what size do we need? I’m thinking a 21 inch case or a 25 inch case. Anything bigger than that will be a pain to carry when we need to.

Jen: Well, I’ll completely fill whichever size we get.

Sean: So, 21 inch it is!

Jen: But I don’t know if I can fit everything in a 21 inch.

Sean: 21 gives us the option of carryon only. We did three weeks in Europe with only carry-ons.

Jen: Yeah, but remember Ryan air, and a lot of the smaller airlines? They base everything on weight, and even the 21 inch needed to be checked. So we didn’t save any time waiting at the luggage carousel.

Sean: Sure, but there’s still the weight issue. Remember having to carry our bags for a quarter mile over the low tide mud flats after the boat ride back from Krabi in Thailand? Do you want to do that with a bigger bag?

Jen: If I remember correctly, I had you carry both bags through the mud.

Sean: EXACTLY! I don’t want to carry two big bags.

Jen: Maybe we should get one 25 and one 21, and you can carry the 25 inch.

Sean: But I don’t need that much room….

Jen: I know, I’ll put my stuff in it.

Sean: Sigh. Maybe we just need to lay out all of the things we’re taking, and decide what size bag we need based on then.

Jen: But I won’t know what I’m taking until I know how MUCH I can take.

Sean: So, you’ll just fill up the bag to the brim, even with things you don’t need?

Jen: I thought we had already covered that…..

After more than a few such discussions, we ended up with two eBags Mother Lode TLS Mini 21″ Wheeled Duffels that manage to hold up to all the things we’re stuffing in them, some pack-it cubes, along with some generous daypacks.  What do you think? Big enough? Too big? Leave a comment!

Yes, the backpack is wearing a hat.

For additional information about travel resources, including ways to save money on airline tickets, visit our RESOURCES page. And you can find a great guide to minimalist carry-on packing here.

And since we’ve been on the road, we have become huge packing cube fans. Not sure they are for you? Check out this article and you won’t ever travel without them again: Ultimate Guide to The Best Packing Cubes