What do vacations, business trips, weekend getaways, and reunions have in common? All of them are connected to traveling. When you need to travel, you need to bring with you storage that will fit all of your traveling essentials. It’s important to note that not every luggage is made equally. It’s imperative that you’re able to choose the right luggage for your travel as this will make the journey smoother with less stress. When you have the wrong luggage, various problems may start to occur making the event less enjoyable for you.
This post will guide you in choosing the right luggage that you can use in almost all of your travels that will surely last long. If you love traveling, then this post is definitely for you!
First of all, let’s determine first why it’s more effective to use luggage when traveling:
Safety: Traveling with a luggage ensures the safety of your valuables as they are really durable on the outside. They cannot be opened easily so you can be assured that all of your things are intact safely.
Convenience: Because luggage comes with wheels, it’s so convenient to bring them. You can maneuver it easily when you’re walking with it. You need to exert too much effort when bringing them, thus promoting a less-hassle journey.
Well-organized packing: Luggage comes with a huge space for you to organize all of your things. Also, you can zip and unzip it easily without deforming your luggage. Since it has a large opening, you will also have a full visual inside your luggage so you can check and find the item you’re looking for.
Safe for your back: Another great thing about luggage is it doesn’t compromise your health, particularly your back. Not everyone is strong enough to carry backpacks, especially those who have back issues and those that have reached an age where it’s no longer ideal to carry heavy things. You can let your luggage roll easily preventing you from getting too tired during the travel and from suffering from backaches.
Promotes professionalism: Carrying a luggage makes you look professional. Most people who use luggage means they are bringing with them a lot of valuables and expensive things.
The Factors You Must Consider When Choosing the Right Luggage
The first thing you should do is to determine the things you plan to bring on your travel. This will help you greatly in choosing which luggage best fits your purpose.
If you’re a backpacker, you’ll want pouches or strong straps for your tents, sleeping bags, hiking poles, and other essentials. If you’re a business traveler, you want your luggage to have storage that’s accessible for your laptop, gadgets, and other electronic accessories. If you’re into fashion, you’d want your luggage to have straps to keep your clothes in place to avoid wrinkling.
Plan ahead if you think you’re going to keep opening your bag, or you’re going to pass through bumpy terrains, or you’re traveling for business exclusively.
If at the end you think it’s ideal to use luggage for your trip, these are the various factors you must look into when selecting a suitcase:
Size
Features
Durability
Safety
Price
The Size Matters
The size of your luggage will matter as you don’t want to bring something that is too small that you need to cram all of your things, which will be difficult if you need to keep opening your luggage. Also, this will wrinkle your clothes and will even cause damage to some of your belongings. More so, you don’t want luggage that is too big for you that it’s almost physically impossible to carry it.
Guidelines when choosing the size of your luggage:
The overall size of your luggage must be limited to what you can handle physically and nothing more. This is important because you may need to lift your luggage and there might be no one around to help you with it.
The weight of the luggage is also important. The lighter the luggage, the more items you can bring!
Check the other dimensions too, like the height of the handle. See to it that it suits you and you can travel using it with ease.
If you plan to purchase online, you’ll have to shop in advance so that you’ll still have time to return it in case they are defective or have damages.
Also check the fabric and the overall quality of the luggage if it’s sturdy enough.
Choose the Right Features
Wheels: Luggage may come in two or four wheels. You have to weigh in their advantages and disadvantages. Those that come with two wheels are lighter, but they can tip over easily once they’re not balanced. Those that come with four wheels are heavier, but they can stand upright properly.
Color: Choose the color that matches your overall personality. However, you should also choose those that can be spotted easily so you can distinguish your luggage right away. Also, it’s important to note that those that come in white and cream colors can get dirty easily.
Expandability: A luggage that can expand easily is ideal especially when you’re going to a vacation. Vacationers always tend to bring more stuff from the trip, particularly souvenirs.
Handles: The handles should be durable and can be retracted easily. A padded handle is also ideal to promote comfort. Try rolling the suitcase first before purchasing it if you are comfortable with the height and that it doesn’t keep hitting you in the heels, which is quite stressful.
Piggyback Clip: The piggyback clip allows you to attach a smaller bag to your luggage. You really don’t need to worry if your suitcase doesn’t come with this accessory. They can be purchased separately and don’t cost much.
Locks: Locks should always be a priority. You can’t have your eyes fixed on your luggage at all times, so it’s essential that they are locked safely.
Compartments: Compartments help you organize your things better, which makes it easier for you to find them.
Durability
Durable suitcases don’t need to be expensive. You only have to be careful by inspecting the materials and analyze if the luggage is built for rough trips. It’s important that you make durability a priority because they’re more economical. If you buy something that is of low-quality, there’s a great chance that you’re going to buy another one again for your next trip. This is stressful and not practical.
Safety
Aside from being durable, your luggage must have the proper security measures to keep people with bad intentions from going inside your luggage. One effective way is to have locks. The zippers should be locked securely. You can also add other safety features, such as cable ties and shrink wraps.
Price
The price is not as significant, but still a factor you should consider. Well-known brands are usually expensive because they’re proven to last long and are built for rough travels. If it fits your budget, you should buy from reliable brands. However, there are still that are not as famous, but are also durable that are not too painful on the budget. The key is to do your research and check product reviews online.