Your Luggage Should Never Ruin Your Vacation

Travel is fun. However, no one is traveling places without bringing some of their things with them. That’s where luggage comes in handy. Luggage ensures that your items arrive at their destination safely and in good condition. There’s few things more frustrating than when an airline loses your luggage! 

Good quality luggage provides protection. Bad luggage can break or tear, spilling contents out during a rough trip through an airplane. Bad luggage can ruin what is often an expensive vacation or time away. The only surefire way to avoid this happening is to know what a good piece of luggage looks like and how to pick it out. This article will focus on the different luggage types out there and how you can ensure that you’re buying quality items. That way there’s never any worries about this trip detail. 

Types of Luggage

There’s several different forms that luggage can take. Typically, the longer the stay or trip away from home, the bigger the luggage that will be used is. People flying or traveling for great distances and long times may find they are using multiple pieces of luggage at once. Some of the most common types of luggage include: 

• Hardside Luggage - As the name suggests, the sides of this luggage is made of hard materials that are also waterproof. This can be made from a variety of materials but most are made of polycarbonate to some degree or another. 
• Softside Luggage - As a counterpoint to hardside luggage, softside is a great type of luggage as it allows for more flexibility when packing. This is especially true for people who end up packing too much. This is usually made from nylon and polyester and is not quite as brittle as hardside luggage. This makes it better for hard impacts. 
• Carry-On Luggage - Commonly called cabin luggage, these are smaller pieces of luggage designed to be carried into the cabin portion of the plane. While there’s a specific size of many pieces of luggage, this is a category more than anything else. Any luggage item can be carry-on if it’s the right size. 
• Duffel Bags - This is an under-rated piece of luggage. Classic duffel bags are large, heavy and ungainly. Modern duffels are smaller. Many feature the straps of proper bags with wheels and a handle like other modern pieces of luggage. This is great for shorter trips or a weekend getaway. 
• Garment Bags - An often underappreciated piece of luggage, garment bags are crucial for protecting suits, dresses and other clothing that often ends up very wrinkled. Wheeled garment bags can also be options and carry more clothing at a time than you may realize. 

Choosing Great Luggage

When it comes to luggage, weight is important. The weight of the luggage matters because airlines care how much overall baggage weighs. Obviously lighter luggage means there’s more room for items, especially souvenirs or books. 

Size is absolutely crucial. Planes have a big problem with the size of baggage brought into the cabin. Everyone has seen that one passenger cramming into the overhead compartment a piece of luggage that doesn’t properly fit. Ensure that anything intended for the cabin is a little bit below the max size to give some leeway if it gets overstuffed. Don’t forget the wheels either. Many people forget about them. 

If you’re someone who loves to fly domestic throughout the United States, then make sure your luggage comes with the right kind of padlock on it. It should have a red TSA sticker. This allows the TSA master key to open it, but keeps others from accessing your baggage. Everything will end up right where it needs to be.