Since it’s carry-on sized, it’s not bulky and doesn’t weigh much more than 10kgs, thus it’s easy to carry by hand. Why don’t I need backpack straps any more? Because if and when I can’t wheel the luggage, I can simply carry it by the handle. It’s occasionally a wee bit stressful since there’s no room for additions, but the ease of traveling with carry-on luggage is not to be underestimated.Īnd more importantly, my carry-on luggage is pure and simple rolling luggage. Thus, I converted my full-time travel entourage to carry-on sized luggage only. When Rolling Luggage (My Current Choice) is the Best Luggage for Long-Term TravelĪt one point I stashed my wheeled backpack somewhere and did a few trips lasting as long as three months with my rolling-carry-on travel bag only.Įventually I realized if I could survive for months on end (even in varying climates) with carry-on luggage only, I didn’t need the larger bag at all. You want easy access to the contents of your luggage.You occasionally end up in places where wheeling your luggage isn’t practical and you want to strap it on your back.You mainly like to wheel your luggage around (ever-so-handy in airport lineups).You travel with checked luggage (as opposed to carry-on only).Wheeled backpacks work best for long-term travel when: I still like wheeled backpacks, and if I hadn’t made some recent changes to my travel entourage (read on), I’d still own one.

Carrying it wasn’t entirely ideal, however, since my pack weighed a good 20kgs. More often than not the wheels worked just fine, and when they didn’t I simply carried the pack by the top and side handles until I could set it down and wheel it again. Why? Because just to do a flight of stairs, it was hardly worth the hassle of pulling out the straps and putting the pack on my back. Curiously, however, I rarely – if ever – used the zip-away backpack straps.

Hobo knapsack