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Limit Air Travel Luggage to Just One Carry On Bag

Rupert Parker

The sight of people hauling mammoth-sized suitcases as they wait in the airline queue is a real cause for concern. Travel is stressful enough without the extra pain caused by lugging heavy luggage everywhere. The journey from home to hotel can be made a lot easier and even enjoyable if you cut down your luggage to the barest minimum. Imagine being able check in online, walk straight to the gate, stow your bag in the overhead locker and walk off at the other head without waiting for baggage reclaim. It’s the way to go!

Choose Your Luggage Dimensions According to Airline Rules

The IATA rules state that “Cabin baggage should have maximum length of 22″ (56 cm), width of 18″ (45 cm) and depth of 10″ (25 cm). These dimensions include wheels, handles, side pockets, etc.” In Europe the restrictions are even tougher and limited to dimensions of 55 cm x 40 cm x 20 cm. This is a good general guideline but you should always check with the airline.

Now cases with wheels are fine, but they’re also heavy and cumbersome, and not great for mounting kerbs. If you’re packing light, it makes more sense to go for a hybrid case/rucksack like this Tatonka Flightcase. What’s brilliant is that, although it looks like a normal soft case, concealed within the back cover are padded shoulder straps, so it transforms into a rucksack with a flick of a zip. And if you’re packing less than 10 kg, it’s not a great load to carry on your back.

The Ultimate Lighweight Travel Packing List

The aim is to get everything into one piece of cabin baggage. Nowadays there are often weight restrictions, sometimes as low as 5 kg, so it’s important to pack only the bare essentials. Here’s a basic list for two weeks travel to a warm country:

• Light shoes – wear for travel
• Plastic sandals like Teva
• Light Jeans or other trousers – wear for travel
• 1 shorts
• Swim shorts or trunks
• 1 long sleeve T-shirt - wear for travel
• 2 T-shirts
• 1 short sleeve shirt
• 3 pair’s of underwear – wear one for travel
• 2 handkerchiefs
• 3 pair’s socks – wear one for travel
• Thin fleece – wear for travel
• Waterproof jacket – wear for travel
• Baseball cap – wear for travel
• Washing kit
• Sunglasses
• Book – stow in jacket pocket
• Small towel or fabric wrap

You can keep the weight down by wearing the heaviest items. If you’re travelling from a cold country, this makes good sense anyway.