Luggage comes in all sizes and shapes, with materials today which sound more like the types of material used to build spaceships, rather than a case to transport your underwear to a hotel for the weekend. Most of us have a collection of bags and cases which we have acquired over the years - possibly each was purposely bought for a particular type of trip. Some people have decided to purchase a complete set of matching luggage, but one thing that we all have to decide, is which one to use for a particular trip?



It is a common dilemma - because deep down we all know what will happen. We'll either choose a bag which is rather too small, and cram in thousands of items, all of which become crumpled and worn, and almost inevitably, unreachable without unpacking the entire contents. The alternative is to use a bag which is really far too big. Feeling delighted with ourselves, we see all the extra room we have after packing the essentials, and enjoy wandering through our home looking for any other items which we can squeeze into the extra pockets and spaces we still have left. Interestingly, it is often the case that we entirely forget this part of the packing process once we are trying to haul the enormous case around with us, wishing it had wheels, or we had our own chauffer, or that we had used the smaller bag instead. Or maybe just stayed home.

One of the most important aspects to consider first of all is whether we will be using any kind of transport which will restrict the amount we can take. The obvious example is, of course, the plane. If traveling by plane we will all face a limit to the weight we can take. This will vary depending on the airline you are using, and whether you are travelling first class, standard, or in the luggage hold yourself. If, instead, you are using trains, coaches, buses or taxis then this will vary, but above all, it is the practical side of things you will need to consider. When getting onto, or off a train, there is often a step, and sometimes a gap, to cross. How will you manage to get a huge case into the compartment?

Naturally, the greatest freedom is to be found if you have the luxury of packing your bags into your own car, although again it is worth considering the practicalities. For example, one huge case packed in a car means that you have to be very careful about packing it - almost certainly you will need a number of items from it sooner, and do you really want to be unpacking it by the roadside, or in a car park, looking for the one item you accidentally packed first?

Generally, packing more than one bag, and keeping the size and weight down for each one will give you the greatest flexibility. Even better is if you can use a type of luggage system which will allow the bags to join together. An example of this are the very popular trolley bags, which have a long handle which rises up from the back of the case, and either one or two other bags can be slid down over this handle, so that they all keep together as one unit, yet can be separated when needed. These are increasingly popular with travelers, and today many laptop cases have a built in sleeve which allows them to be slid over a trolley case handle too. This also helps to increase security.

At the end of the day, the more time you spend planning your journey, transport method and realistic ease of carting bags about, the more practical your choices will be about the type of bag, and its size, that you will use.