I used to think that I should maximize the amount of space that airlines allowed. I'm paying for it, may as well use it, right? I quickly learned that when you pack something, that means you have to carry it every where with you. Maybe that's not a big deal if you arrive to your destination airport and have a car service to take you to a resort where you have a bell hop take them to your room and you have no plans to leave that resort. Those that know me, that's clearly not my plan! Bags weigh you down, literally. Becoming nimble became a necessity. Now one of the most popular topics for discussion is: how do you only pack that much?!
Selecting your Luggage: Here are some core objectives which we have when it comes to thinking about luggage.
It includes the absolute necessities for us to have an enjoyable, safe adventure.
It should not create unnecessary dependencies, for instance, if I have to check it with the airline, I now have dependencies on the airline and can't re-route easily because of checked luggage.
It should not inhibit me when navigating unknown areas. I need to be able to have two hands available to look at maps.
All luggage must fit into one normal size car trunk (Uber, taxi, etc).
I should be able to transcend staircases as needed, so as to not require an elevator or escalator. Many times stairs are the only option and lugging suitcases up multiple flight of stairs or running to catch a train isn't ideal.
It should be easy to haul across cobblestone, dirt roads so walking is an option.
It should not draw the attention of pickpockets or bag services. (Read: don't look like you have $)
We've gone through many trials and adjustments with luggage over the years.
In this example, we are near Tena, Ecuador with our 4 year old and his car seat along with several wheelie suit cases. We got dropped off at this 'café' along the side of a river and had to wait for a motorized canoe to pick us up and take us down river to an ecolodge. They need to use the boats to even transport refrigerators to the lodge, so it wasn't a really a problem to load our bags. However, we subsequently needed to carry all of this stuff through a banana field to get to our lodging. Between carrying the kid and all our stuff, we needed help (or multiple trips) to get from place A to place B the whole trip. We were not very nimble!
We eventually realized that we needed to minimize gear. Our goal was that one person had the kid(s) and the other had the bags, so we could only bring what one person could handle. For this trip in 2016, we tried to pack as much as possible into two wheeled suitcases. Still a feat for a family of 4 as we had a backpack to carry a kid and a brought the car seats along.
As we wanted to become more nimble and we were going to more off the beaten paths, we introduced travel backpacks into the mix for the adults, and eventually the children.
We got the Deuter 30L kids pack for my son when he was about 7 years old that he used for several years. Our daughter was 5 when she started carrying her own small pack. The adults carried full size packs, but those were too big for carry-on size and had to be checked. (Our cat knows what's happening when she sees the bags out and isn't too happy about it!)
In December 2021, we did 2 weeks in Chile including some hiking in the Patagonia region. This required a bit more clothing and gear and we upgraded some bags. Our 12 yr old son got his own adult size pack and our 6 yr old daughter inherited the 30L pack (lightly loaded). Our cat is again not happy about this.
By 2023, with a 13 and 7 year old, we have fully entered into a stage of travel which we call the 'COYS' stage. Carry-Your-Own-Sh..Stuff. If you want to bring it, you have to carry it. This means the adults have gotten carry-on size packs since we don't have to carry kids stuff. This also means, no checked luggage. While other women may have an issue with collecting purses, mine is Osprey bags. These bags have been ideal for us because they are still 50-60L but break into two parts so one part fits in the overhead compartment and the other fits under the seat. This also means we have day packs for use during our trip. Another benefit of these packs is that they zip all the way open for easier access to your clothes instead of stuffing everything in from the top.
Using these packs for our travels meets all of the objectives and is currently ideal for us!
Next Up: Packing: Don't Pack the Kitchen Sink!
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