Discover the Types of Suitcases That Make Traveling Easier

When you’re planning a vacation, you’re thinking about how much a hotel room will cost and where you’ll eat your meals. You likely don’t devote much time to what you’ll use to bring your belongings. Picking the right type of luggage can make your trip a breeze or complicate your travels. This guide explains the many types of suitcases and what you need to consider to find the best option for your next trip.

Why Are Suitcases Important?

Many travel issues revolve around a person’s luggage. Your day becomes much more difficult when the handle on your weekend bag breaks at the airport or the zipper on your suitcase breaks. Everyone deserves to vacation without any extra hassles, so learning about the different types of suitcases will make your life much easier.

The best luggage has enough room for everything you’ll need. A bag should have ample space for a week-long trip to the Caribbean, but you won’t need the extra room if you’re visiting family for the weekend. You’ll also learn personal preferences like if you use inner suitcase pockets for every trip or prefer a bag that rolls.

If your travel bag doesn’t meet your needs or fulfill your preferences, it becomes more of a burden than a source of help. Now it’s time to review the many forms suitcases can take and when they might be most helpful.

What Are the Types of Suitcases?

Check out the most popular types of suitcases to learn why people love them. You may discover something new that will better suit your traveling needs. 

Rolling Suitcase

Sometimes you’ll have to pack more than you thought into a single suitcase. It creates an excess weight that’s awkward to carry through an airport or bus terminal. Rolling luggage comes with two to four wheels and may spin completely around. It’s much easier to pull a heavy bag behind you and turn it between seats or through check-in lines.

Duffel Bags

Weekend trips often require a basic duffel bag. You can find them with outer pockets for extra storage, but they’re mostly an open bag with a single place to put everything. If your bag will sit in your car’s trunk without jostling around during your travels, a duffel will protect everything from clothes to electronics in a soft bag with over-the-shoulder handles.

Softside Suitcase

Soft suitcases may or may not have wheels. Their most crucial distinction is the addition of extra pockets. Most of the time, they’ll fit in overhead compartments and onto hotel desks. The outer and inner pockets make it easy to unpack in an airport hotel and quickly find everything during a layover or overnight stay.

Hardside Suitcase

You can find hard luggage at most home goods or travel stores. They have a dense outer shell and no exterior pockets because they’re a protective case that can survive falling onto an airport luggage conveyor belt or getting tossed onto carts between planes. They’re an excellent resource for international travelers and most often come with wheels to compensate for the hard material’s extra weight.

Carry-On Bags

As you prepare for an upcoming trip, you’ll think about what you’ll need to bring for comfort and entertainment. A long flight or train ride will quickly become boring if you don’t have a carry-on bag that contains things to do. Backpacks are the most common carry-on bags because they fit under your seat, but you may also find a miniature suitcase or duffel bag and prefer to store them in an overhead bin. 

How Do You Choose a Suitcase?

Now that you’ve refreshed yourself on the various types of suitcases, use these tips to decide which bag is best for your upcoming vacation.

Consider Your Trip

You might plan a more extended trip to experience the latest travel trends like selfie vacations or heritage travel. Longer trips require more clothes and personal care items. Think about the length of your vacation to determine how much you’ll bring, if you’ll need a roller bag and if you’ll want a carry-on bag for your method of transportation.

Make a Packing List

Throwing things into the nearest bag right before you leave won’t give you enough time to find the best luggage for your trip. Instead, create a packing list a few days or weeks before your vacation that includes everything you’ll need, like:

• Specific outfits to estimate space for clothing
• Hygiene items like full-sized shampoo bottles or a hairdryer
• Shoes for different activities, like hiking or going out for dinner

Once you know precisely which items you’ll bring, it’s easier to estimate how much room your suitcase needs and if you’ll require multiple bags, pockets or luggage with wheels.

Reflect on Past Experiences

What bags didn’t work for you in the past and why? Someone with less upper body strength may struggle to carry a duffel bag and a person traveling with electronics may need a hard waterproof suitcase. You can avoid past travel complications by choosing luggage with specific features that will make your vacations easier.

Try the Many Types of Suitcases

There are so many types of suitcases that it may seem challenging to choose one for your next adventure. Think about where you’re going, how long you’ll be there and how you’ll get there. You’ll find the best bag for your needs and preferences with a bit of reflection and research.