That meant ditching Old Faithful, a soft-sided carryon I'd used since the early 1980s. You may have seen bigger and even older versions in yard sales. You know, the kind with the grip handle?
Change isn't something I embrace quickly. I never had a digital camera until a year or so ago and still don't own a cellphone. And when they inquire at airport security about a laptop, I wave my trusty pocket notebook.
It took the combined effects of aging and too many marathon hikes through airports that threatened to dislodge my arms from their sockets to convince me of the need to take the "lug'' out of luggage.
So just weeks before my birthday -- number 73 if you must know -- I took the plunge.
First, I took the interior measurements of my old bag. Then, tape measure in hand, I visited Sears and The Bay. Both stock several brands and had some on sale.
I examined carryons by Heyes, Atlantic, Samsonite and Delsey before settling on a Roots "Smooth'' 19-inch upright. It was 50% off, so I paid $85, plus tax.
Unlike my old bag, it isn't expandable and lacks the full-width, zippered side pockets into which I'd been accustomed to stuffing paperbacks, a windbreaker, a Tilley hat, maybe an umbrella, and brochures from my wanderings.
What swayed me was the weight, only 2.1 kilo, less than half that of several other makes. That's important when you're trying to lift a bag into and out of the overhead bin.
The key measurement to remember when buying a carryon is height. If you're told a bag is a 21 or a 19, that's how tall it is in inches, wheels included.
If you customarily use a variety of airlines, don't buy a carryon taller than 20 inches. While Air Canada, for example, allows bags up to 21.5 inches tall, the maximum on WestJet and Sunwing is 20.
All three airlines have the same weight limit, 10 kilos (22 pounds) but some international carriers won't allow that much. I had to check my carryon with Air New Zealand because their maximum was 7 kilos (15 pounds).
An expandable carryon can be a traveller's best friend, but take care not to stuff it until it becomes too wide for legal carryon. (A new website, luggagelimits.com, has information on 70 airlines).
What criteria should you use when shopping for a carryon? A woman who used to repair luggage told me to look for:
- In-line wheels inset from the sides. Wheels located at the sides are more easily broken.
- Reinforced corners.
- Small, stubby "feet'' on the bottom; larger ones tend to break off.
- A concealed pull handle. Exposed ones are more easily damaged.
- Nylon zippers, which can be repaired, rather than metal ones.
I'd add this:
- Handles on the side and the bottom for hefting it into the overhead bin.
- A telescoping handle long enough to allow the bag to be pulled comfortably.
Keep in mind that soft-sided luggage is more flexible than hard-sided and usually lighter.
The first test of my new bag was going to be a tougher one than usual, two, short, back-to-back trips from one side of Canada to the other. I knew I'd need clothing suitable for mid-September in Prince Edward Island, a warmer layer for Whistler, B.C. and extra trousers.
So I did a test packing. If the new bag proved inadequate, I could exchange it for another while the sale was still on.
It passed. But I'm hanging on to Old Faithful for a while, just in case.
The BMW 1-Series goes electricA good cappuccino is hard to find
