Backpack. A suitcase would be a pain in the butt.

Why is it a pain? Just bigger and more of a hassle traveling from city to city?

You cant be serious. Backpack. Ever try rolling a suitcase on cobblestone?

Boy, I loved my carry on suitcase (with handle and wheels) and just got back from Italy and France. I didn’t have any problems with the cobblestone and wheeling it around at all. I don’t think there is a clear answer…probably what you prefer or what type of trip you are planning. I packed an extra bag (duffle bag) in my suitcase to use as a carry on for the flights to house all my souvenirs and breakables (wine, glass)…it was one of the smartest things I did for the trip.

1. Cobblestones, curbs and rough sidewalks are a pain with a rolling suitcase.
2. Stairs — you will go up and down tons of stairs between train platforms, to 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor lodgings, on subways, even at airports. It’s also a serious climb to get on some trains, trams and buses. All of this is much easier with a pack on your back than with a suitcase in your hand — especially if you need to hold on to something on with one hand and have your room key, tickets or subway stub in the other.

If you can take afford to take a cab from train station or airport to your hotel, then a rolling suitcase is fine. If you’re using public transit and staying in hostels a backpack has lots of advantages.

I do the same as Hawki. I just came back from Germany, Czech and Austria with my little wheely and had no problem with cobble stone (in Prague they have cobble stones everywhere; big ones, small ones, and the ones in between). It’s pretty easy but you have to get a quality wheel bag. Must be inline skate wheels. I’d seen people with backpacks whack other people with their packs all the time because they forget that they have an extension.

Has anyone actually taken a long (2-3 month) trip with just a suitcase staying in hostels. I ‘m sure it is an opinion thing, but those of you who said you liked your rolling suitcases, how long were you there, and where did you stay? I think I’m inclined to believe that a pack would be easier to tote around when I am lost in a new place

cld1474, last year I was traveling in Switzerland and England and then SE Asia for 2 months. I stayed in hostels (didn’t bring sleeping bag but brought a silk liner) and washed clothes regulary. My wheeled bag was an 18" Eagle Creek Switchback (pretty old and small and too tight. I’d rather use a bigger one next time. May be my 22"EC Switchback) . My travel partner uses her backpack and very happy with it. But when we run for the train, I could grab the bag and beat her easily while she fumbled with the straps on her pack and whacked her fellow passengers with her pack.

However, I’ve been dreaming of using a backpack for traveling. I bought EC Continental Journey for Women’s fit for that. But I’m kind of scared of having the weight on my back all the time.

I based my decision on that I didn’t think I would like to carry that weight on my shoulders or back. It was easier for me to carry a small, light carry on up a flight a stairs at the train station or metro station (and a good number of them had escalators) and to pull it up or down a hill as I walked to where I was staying rather than wearing it up those stairs and up and down the hills to my room. I remember how much I hated wearing a backpack in school so I went for the suitcase and had no problems—-but I picked a small, light bag and packed lightly.

Hawki: What size rolly suitcase did you use/what brand?

22" and under (height…they might be 18&quot so it could be a carry on item for all the airlines I flew. I took a very cheap one, brand Ultimate, because it was light weight and could be banged up and no big loss and he took a Samonsite. His was expandable and had more features but also made the starting weight of the bag to be heavier so he had to pack less in order to keep the weight to where discount airlines would allow it to be a carry on. If you are considering this option I would find out what the carry on size limits are and then buy a cheap lightweight bag (it was like $15 or $20 on sale) to accommodate the airline with the smallest restrictions…some might be 18" (height) carry on maximum.

I use a travelpro 18’‘ upright and dont find it a hassle at all…Carrying around a backpack for long periods of time can put an awful stress on your back and I think would slow you down running for a train…My travelpro bag has held up after 75K+ miles of flying so I think spending a bit more on a bag is worth it.In the interest of full disclosure I usually am using public transit to get to my hotel and am staying in a hotel with an elevator…I’ve also seen alot of people wacking others with a backpack as someone has said before in this thread
-howie
turok46368@aol.com

Same thoughts and reasons as stockmanjr but I stayed at places without elevators for some of my trip and still enjoyed a rolling upright.

After studying abroad in Spain I took an extra week and traveled around Spain with a small carry-on size suitcase and it was such a pain! A lot of hostels don’t have elevators- it was hard walking up 4 flights of stairs with a carry-on, never mind a suitcase you might have packed for a couple weeks or a month. I’m going back to Europe this fall and borrowing my friend’s backpack.

Well, I used suitcase for my first trip to Europe and backpack for the second one. Both times, it worked out very well. During my first trip, I stayed at each place for longer period of time (~1 wk) and suitcase was easier for me to take stuff out and put them back in, etc. However, the second trip I stayed at each place for 2-3 days so backpack was very useful.

I started traveling with a backpack, and if you know how to pack, then the weight on your back won’t be so aweful. Carrying 20 kilos sounds extreme, but it’s not, and the way you pack things definetly makes a difference on the distribution of the weight.

In Venice, I flipped out and bought 7 masks, which I can’t stuff into my backpack because they will screw up, so I had to buy a small wheeled suitcase, and it has been a pain in the wazoo. Backpack AND suitcase is uncomfortable, and I’ve been cursing both pieces all the journey, but if I could ditch one of them, I’d definetly ditch the suitcase. As said before millions of times, the cobblestone streets, and the stairs, plus the fact that my suitcase is a cheap one and turns and twists and does whatever the hell it wants.

Go for the backpack. It’s much more practical, just be sure to buy one of those that you can open all the way instead of one that you pack from the top. This way, you pack it like a suitcase without having to pull everything out when you need something from the bottom.

If you spend the money and go for a solid, high quality suitcase, I find that it works just as good if not better than a backpack.

I backpacked for 6 weeks with a 65L northface pack, and recently got back from 6 weeks with a eaglecreek convertible pack.

I never ONCE used the backpack option of the convertible. I wheeled it everywhere. Stairs.. 1 min of pain by wheelie. Walking 15 mins from station to hostel = 15 mins of pain by backpack. FURTHER, it’s not like with a backpack, it magically goes up the stairs. u are still walking up stairs with 30 lbs on you back.. instead of your arms..

So yah.. cheap quality = wobbly = hatred for wheelies
go for an expensive high quality wheelie and u’ll never go to a backpack.