All first-time international flight travelers prefer buying a new trolley suitcase. Buying a trolley is not a simple job to do? Are you wondering and asking yourself, why? There are too many things which you should know before buying a trolley bag and also save your money. You can get the complete detailed information in this post.
What’s important to know?
- Type of luggage
- Material
- Number of wheels
- Colour
- Size
- Warranty
Type of luggage
There are two major types of luggage which are used by the passengers.
- Check-in luggage
- Hand luggage
Check-in luggage
The check-in luggage will be delivered to the airline by you during the check-in process. This baggage will be stored in a cargo compartment and it is inaccessible to you.
The check-in luggage should be small and meet the airline’s hand baggage dimension requirements. The dimensions include all handles, side pockets, wheels, etc. A dimension more than the defined size will be considered as a piece of special or bulky luggage.
Here are some of the typically used check-in luggage which meets the airline’s requirements.
Hand luggage (Cabin luggage)
Hand luggage is also called Cabin luggage. It is the type of luggage that the passengers can carry along with them to the passenger compartment (inside the flight). The hand luggage is normally placed in the overhead lockers and it is accessible during the flight.
The hand luggage should be small and meet the airline’s hand baggage dimension requirements. The dimensions include all handles, side pockets, wheels, etc. A dimension more than the defined size will be considered as check-in luggage.
In general, you can use the backpack instead of buying special cabin baggage which would be easy to carry and there will not be many issues during the check-in process at the airport.
You can find some of the typically used hand or cabin luggage that meets the airline’s requirements.
Material
The material for the cabin and luggage are available in different forms.
- Hard luggage
- Soft luggage
Hard luggage
Hard luggage is quite a weight than soft luggage. It is good to protect fragile items. Hard luggage may get damaged if there is too much weight over your bag during the travel.
Most of the hard bags are easy to clean.
In my opinion, hard luggage is suitable for cabin baggage.
Soft luggage
Soft luggage is lightweight comparing to hard luggage and it is quite easy to carry. It is an advantage for flight travelers who like to carry more weight.
In my opinion, soft luggage is suitable for all purposes.
Number of wheels
Two wheels
Two-wheel luggage is also called rollaboard luggage. It rolls forward and backward and is also easily turnable. You have to drag the bag behind you which is not so pleasant during travel. It is even harder if you have to drag 2 two-wheel bags at the same time. It also gives hand pain and there are also possibilities that you hit the bag in other stationary objects.
Four wheels
It is 360 degrees rotatable which means you can turn the bag in any direction. It gives the same option as two-wheel baggage and also few more advantages. With 4 wheels, you don’t have to drag the luggage behind you which is hard during travel. You can also slide by keeping it aside you. It is more convenient and saves lots of energy. You will have very good flexibility.
In my personal experience, four-wheel bags are better than two-wheel bags.
Colour
It is better to select a color that is suitable for the dirt and stains. Most of the bags which are available in the market are not suitable for stains. But it is not a big issue. You can wrap a bag with the wrap film/wrap roll to protect from dirt and stain.
I have had a light color for few years and it was well protected from dirt and stain by using the wrap film.
Size
It is one of the important things which everyone should take care of before buying a bag. There are different bag sizes available on the market.
In general, 62 inches bags (length + height + width) are acceptable as the check-in baggage. Check the airline requirements before buying a bag. You can also buy a bag mentioned below in this post that is suitable for air travel.
International warranty
Most of the suitcase has an international warranty. In my opinion and experience, it is very difficult to find the shop which accepts the international warranty. So it is not worth paying extra money for the bags with an international warranty.
International lock
It is also quite common that the seller from a shop sells a lock by saying it is good for international flight travelers. It is generally not true. You don’t need a special lock. You can buy the cheapest small lock just to protect your belongings.
It is better to buy a lock with a key so that you don’t have any password-related issues.
How to choose the best bag?
I usually prefer to rotate a bag 360 degrees to test for its function. I will select a bag if it has fulfilled the following criteria.
- Rotates smooth
- Rotates in the same path without deviation
- No sounds from the wheels during rotation
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