28 or 24 inch?

[karinad]

We need a new suitcase. This is the first time we're travelling internationally in years or travelled by air. We have a 26 in. which seems to be a nice size, but the ones I'm looking at are 24 or 28. I haven't seen many, if any, in 26 in. that are in our price range.

 

Any opinions and why you'd pick that size? Thanks, I've been looking at the same picture for 2 days now. They are both expandable and called "lightweight".

[slidergirl]

For me, it depends on how you are going to travel TO/FROM the cruise. If you are going to be catered to with private transportation from airport to hotel to cruise and back, you can get whatever size you want. But, if you are going to be pulling/carrying your own onto trains, and over cobblestones and bridges (especially in Venice), take into consideration what you can handle all by yourself, since your SO will have their own luggage to deal with.

I'd pick the 24" myself. It'll fit into the overhead of most trains, it's not so large that it's going to need it's own taxi (trust me, taxis in Europe can be small), but you should be able to put whatever you need in there. When you are getting into anything beyond carryon size, you definitely need to think of the weight of the luggage itself. The same size bag but two different weights will be a big determining factor in what you can put in the bag and get away with on the airlines and such. Get the lightest bag you can afford to get and your body will thank you end the end!!!

[Keith1010]

We have 28" ones and they work very well.

 

Keith

[busmech]

You might look for a 24 that will expand. Also wheels that are large is nice.

[Kartgv]

If your travels involved checking luggage on airlines, then the weight is more important than size. We've found that completely filling a larger suitcase puts it over the 50 lb. limit; the 'overweight' charges can be very high - sometimes more than taking a second bag.

 

If you're ordering your luggage online (and we've had great success with luggage.com) then check the details for the actual weight of various bags to compare them. We've found as much as 5 pounds difference in the same size bags - even those labeled 'lightweight'. If you purchase in a luggage store, they should have luggage scales that you can use to weigh each one.

[AZcruiser714]

If you can find a 26 or 27 inch at the most, that is lightweight, in your price range, get it. My husband bought a 29 and I a 28 with room for expansion and lots of pockets. But I couldn't use half the room because it was already at max weight. Plus a smaller one is easier to handle. If the smaller one has room for expansion and lots of pockets you will be able to get in the same amount as in a bigger one, with no wasted space.

[karinad]

I found a 24 in. spinner hard shell that's expandable and it says it weighs about 11 lbs. It's listed as lightweight. It's also black and white polka dot. I'm sure my dh won't love it, but I like to have something that you could pick out faster then just a black one, which was my next choice in the 28inch.

 

After I read some good points in the prior posts, like if you have to drag it any where, I thought this should be easy to push/pull with the spinner wheels, plus, 24 inches will handle easier.

[Essiesmom]

An 11 pound suitcase is way to heavy. I wouldn't buy one that weighed more then 7lb, and I prefer less. EM

[Krazy Kruizers]

All of our suitcases are 28 inches.

I like to be able to law the majority of the clothes out -- not have a bunch of folds in them. Especially since we travel a few days before the cruise and a couple of the suitcases aren't opened until we get on the ship.

[flamomo]

I prefer taking 2- 25" suitcases over 1-28/29". Between the 2 of them I can pack more than what fits in a 28/29" one, and they are easier to maneuver that a "big moose".

[LHT28]

We have the 26" AWD Heys bags ..they work just fine for us

Hardside lightweight & within the airlines checked bag size

 

I have never hit the 50lb weight limit in all my years of travel :eek: