6 Best Pieces of Luggage for Every Type of Travel
Find the Luggage That Suits Your Travel Style
The right piece of luggage can make a significant difference in your stress level while traveling by reducing strain on your back, neck and shoulders, helping you avoid baggage fees and allowing you to bring just what you need for that perfect trip. Accordingly, it’s one of the few things you should avoid cheaping out on when it comes to travel.
The hard part is deciding which is right for your travel habits, individual needs and personal preferences. We’ve made that decision a little easier for you by providing these luggage reviews of the top brands for whatever type of travel you plan to do.
Osprey Farpoint: Ideal for Backpacking
If you’re going on a backpacking trip, you might think that all you need is a good hiking backpack. However, these typically come with one major drawback: they only open from the top, which means you’ll have to unpack a lot of your stuff every time you want to get anything from inside.
Even if you’ve mastered the art of how to pack a backpack, you really don’t want to have to unload your entire pack each time you visit a new destination; you want to be able to open it up, easily get out what you need and be on your way.
The difference with a travel backpack is that it zips open like a traditional suitcase. Plus, most don’t have all of those extra straps, and the suspension system can be stored away behind a zippered panel so it’s safe for transporting in a plane, bus, etc.
Our recommendation for the ideal travel backpack is the Osprey Farpoint. It comes in three different sizes — 40-liter, 55-liter and 70-liter — which range in price from $140 to $200 USD. It offers the most features of any travel backpack on the market today, incorporating many that you’d find in a traditional hiking backpack.
The 55-liter and 70-liter both come with a detachable day pack. As well, all three come in small/medium or medium/large, a great feature that not many other backpacks of this type offer. If you’re 6-foot-2, for example, you’ll need a different backpack for comfort than someone who’s a foot shorter.
Tumi Alpha 2 Continental Expandable 4-Wheel Carry-On: Ideal for Frequent Fliers
Tumi is one of the top luggage brands for frequent fliers. While they’re pricey — it’s $540 to $675 USD for the Tumi Alpha 2 — they also tend to last a very long time, making them a better value than what you might think at first glance.
No matter how often it has to go around that luggage carousel, it holds up like a charm, with many buyers returning to buy one again after owning a piece for a decade or more. Tumi also offers a complimentary two-year warranty for wear and tear issues.
The interior of the bag makes packing easy, and it even has a separate compartment for dirty laundry as well as clips for a garment bag.
Learn how not to overpack while still bringing everything you'll need for your cruise! Plus we include a cruise packing list, so you won't forget a thing.
Delsey Luggage Helium Aero Expandable Spinner Trolley: Ideal for Longer Trips Abroad
The Delsey Luggage Helium Aero Expandable Spinner Trolley is our favorite luggage for those longer trips overseas. Not only is it affordable, ranging from about $110 to $130 USD, it has a very durable, scratch-resistant exterior.
Plus it’s incredibly easy to handle. Despite its reinforcements, the case is lightweight, and even then the spinner wheels and adjustable handle make it simple to pull even the heaviest packed suitcase.
There’s lots of room inside, with open-book styling and straps that make packing simple. In fact, it can even expand a couple inches more if you happen to pick up too many bargains while you’re traveling. For peace of mind, it also features a TSA approved security lock.
