Suitcase or rolling duffle?

[littleone9699]

Just curious as I go to purchase some more luggage for our cruise . . . softsided suitcase or rolling duffle??

[sail7seas]

I love rolling duffels. I'm careful to buy ones that have the widest top opening to make for easiest packing.

 

[Senoj84]

I like the rolling duffles to. They have 4 piece luggage sets as low as $50 at Bed Bath and Beyond.

[Bill S]

I currently use soft-sided luggage, but am considering switching to rolling duffles due to their lower weight.

[littleone9699]

I like the rolling duffles to. They have 4 piece luggage sets as low as $50 at Bed Bath and Beyond.

 

It almost seems cheaper to buy a set sometimes!! BUT, we have so many pieces of 'smaller' luggage, I've been thinking of just buying 2-29" pieces . . . 4 of us on a 7 day cruise . . .how much luggage do you think we'll need??

[cruisemom42]

I like soft-sided. I've tried a duffle but my clothes move around too much and I'm a fanatic about wrinkles.

[littleone9699]

I like soft-sided. I've tried a duffle but my clothes move around too much and I'm a fanatic about wrinkles.

 

 

Oooooo! That is something to think about - I'm a wrinkle fanatic, too :D . I've seen somethat appear to be a suitecase on the bottom with the duffle part on the top . .. maybe that would help?

[Essiesmom]

Years ago, I had one of those 29" monsters...maybe even bigger. It was great empty. But when I got home from a trip with it full, I was able to get it out of my station wagon and into the house...But I couldn't get it up the stairs! I had to unload it downstairs...So I did, then carted it off to the Salvation Army. Also, I wouldn't consider just two suitcases for four people. I see you are from Ohio...assume you will be flying? What if one of the bags doesn't make it? Half of you are out of clothes? EM

[littleone9699]

Years ago, I had one of those 29" monsters...maybe even bigger. It was great empty. But when I got home from a trip with it full, I was able to get it out of my station wagon and into the house...But I couldn't get it up the stairs! I had to unload it downstairs...So I did, then carted it off to the Salvation Army. Also, I wouldn't consider just two suitcases for four people. I see you are from Ohio...assume you will be flying? What if one of the bags doesn't make it? Half of you are out of clothes? EM

 

Oh heck no!!! We are definitely taking 4 suitcases!!! LOL!!! There is NO WAY 2 would be enough! I think on our last cruise when it was just me & DH, we took 2 suitcases and a garment bag. I'm wondering if 4 suitcases is enough for 4 of us?? I KNOW I overpacked last time, so I will try NOT to this time . . . but . . . easier said than done! :o

[mics pics]

Soft sided, for sure. I can't pack into a cylinder, especially my formal dresses. I need the rectangle!

I personally hate the duffel bags but that's a work related reason, not anything due to the way they pack or handle. :rolleyes:

[ssantow]

Just be careful you can over pack the duffel and with the airlines keeping close track of the luggage weight you may end up spending a lot of extra money.

[geoherb]

With my rolling duffel, it is easy to overpack--more than the 50-pound limit. I've learned to not pack as much. I also like my Kenneth Cole rolling garment bag. We pack our tuxedos in it, along with our dress shirts plus a few other things along the edges.

[Daveag]

Up till now we have always used our "Very Large" rolling duffle's. They are great and a curse at the same time, they are huge and can hold a ton, making it very easy to really overpack! We are thinking of trying some combination of soft sided luggage this time. Large enough but not big enough to carry a good size farm animal!, like the duffle's. I am hoping this will solve the overpacking issue. We are also thinking of taking clothes for about 5-6 days for a 9 day trip and do a wash or two at most. Our cabin is close to the laundry area so this should be pretty easy.:)

[SelectSys]

I love rolling duffels. I'm careful to buy ones that have the widest top opening to make for easiest packing.

 

Another fan of rolling duffels. It certainly makes moving through airports, train stations, or cruise terminals a snap. In our family everyone has one rolling duffel and a day pack.

 

I like soft-sided. I've tried a duffle but my clothes move around too much and I'm a fanatic about wrinkles.

 

Have you considered rolling rather than folding your clothes when packing? A sales guy that was an ex-marine showed me this trick and clothing comes through much better when rolled rather than folded- at least for me.

 

Just be careful you can over pack the duffel and with the airlines keeping close track of the luggage weight you may end up spending a lot of extra money.

 

Got dinged on this last summer as I found out that AA dropped the weight limit per bag. Ended paying an extra $50 for 2 overweight rolling duffels. On the way home we bought a cheap bag from RCCL to avoid the excess charge.

[alcpa1]

We use a combination of duffles and soft siders. The evening attire goes in the soft siders and everything else in the duffles.

If you decide to shop for a duffle check out the wheels and look for interior straps.

No suitcase or duffle that I know of is waterproof so I use every size zip locks imagineable, including the big blue ones. We've got the suction bags too. Everything goes in a plastic cover of some kind. I know it's Earth Day, but rest assured my bags are older than most of your children.

My DH always has a weight problem with his shoes so we pack and weigh carefully before each trip.

There are several on line luggage sites that give you an idea of size and weight. We have used this as a guide when shopping for new luggage. Delta used to give me a new suitcase almost every year so it came as a shock when they stopped loosing and/or ruining my luggage to actually buy something.

Happy shopping

[Putterdude]

We have done suitcases then went to duffels for a few years and are now back to roller suitcases, things just seem to pack better in a suitcase.

[tangles00]

For the wrinkle woes, we have bought packing bags in various sizes. lightweight rectangular zipper bags that will take quite a lot of clothes. We are putting the tops in one rolled and the ones less likely to wrinkle folded into these bags and bottoms in the other. These can then be packed into your suitcase / roller duffels etc. It is like compartmentalising your clothes.

[firefighterjake]

Rolling duffles for me and my wife . . . mainly the pros of being able to get a lot of stuff into them for trips (land-based and air/sea-based), the ease of rolling them through parking lots, airports, etc. and the fact that they tend to stand out a bit better in the luggage carousels (much, much better than all of those black suitcases) is why I opt for the rolling duffle.

 

I think the main reason I like duffle bags is the ability to get so much into so little a space. On this latest trip I had three rolling duffles and none of them were anywhere near the 50-lb weight limit -- the heaviest came in at 33 pounds I think it was . . . and for our next cruise we may even be down to one duffle since I packed way too many clothes (yeah, me . . . not my wife . . . she was the reasonable one!)

 

I have never had many issues with wrinkles, but then again I try to pack clothing that is "wrinkle-free" and even then I roll them rather than fold them in the duffle bag.

 

The one con that I can come up with however is that rolling duffle bags do not offer a lot of crush resistance protection for any fragile items you may wish to pack . . . for this reason I tend to pack fragile items (i.e. camera, binoculars, Palm, etc.) in my carry-on bag . . . that said, on our trip home from San Juan I packed several seashells in the checked in baggage, protecting them by wrapping clothing around them . . . and not a single shell was broken.

 

The one thing I would caution folks considering rolling duffles to do is to make sure you get a quality bag . . . the last thing you want is to be dragging a 49.9 lb. bag through a parking lot when the wheel falls off . . . or having to pick up all your unmentionables on the luggage carousel when the zipper busts . . . make sure the bag is a good one. And now a plug for my State's biggest outfitter for outdoor equipment . . . I've personally purchased several decent rolling duffles through LL Bean . . . I am however a cheap and frugal Yankee though so I ended up buying them at the outlet stores which means I got a good deal, but my choice in colors was limited (hence the fire engine red bag, baby blue bag and slime lime green bag) and they all have different embroidered initials on them so I will be changing my name in the near future. ;) :D

[flamomo]

For me the best choice is a combination. I use soft-sided luggage ( a 29" one to check plus a 20" one as a carry on). I also pack a folding duffle bag, so on the trip home I can have extra space for things bought during the cruise, as well as to offload some soiled clothes into the duffle, making extra space and weight available in the 29" bag for potentially breakable items, like souvenirs.

A trick I use for packing wrinkle-free is to use the big (2 1/2 gallon) ZipLoc bags. Carefully folded clothing, even 100% cotton, come out looking very good. "Burping" out the air before zipping the bags shut prevents the clothes from slipping around and developing wrinkles. I use this method whenever I travel, with great success.

[agabbymama]

If you only plan to cruise or fly to your destination, the rolling duffle might be okay, but I purchased one for my land trip to Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. We flew to Brussels, but from there we were on the train with a rail pass. I think it took only about 3 days for my elbow to give out pulling that 50 lb duffle around Brussels and Bastogne. Had to go into a pharmacy and buy an elbow brace. Then baby that arm for the 3 weeks on vacation. When I returned home, I think it took about 3 months for that arm to get back to anything near normal. Now I suffer tendonitis in that elbow very easily.

 

Then the train stations in Europe have a lot of stairs and the train platforms never seem to match up with the level of the trains so you are straining to hoist that duffle onto the train. My friend had two bags about 22-24 inches that she faired a little better with.

 

So I'm back to a standard upright 29" suitcase on wheels, with a matching carry-on that loops over the pull-up handle.

 

But there is such a variety of suitcases, as there are cruises or vacation destinations. Not everyone wants to go to the same place, or do the same things, so guess it stands to reason not everyone would like the same suitcases.