A Travellers’ Guide to Choosing a Quality Carry-On Bag

Choosing an on-flight bag sounds easy enough, right? Well, you’d be surprised by how many people actually mess up what should be a pretty straightforward process. Sometimes it isn’t actually their fault, but you still need to be careful and think about your own individual needs. A lot of airlines have different rules depending on what types of bags you can actually take on with you, and what ones have to be taken separately. We’ve probably worried you a bit, right? Well don’t worry, that’s why we’re here; here’s our travellers’ guide to choosing a quality carry-on bag. 

The first thing you should consider when you are choosing a carry-on bag is its size. This is the most important part- if your bag is too big, you simply won’t be allowed to take it on with you. This will be a major pain in the neck; all your books, snacks and other belongings which you bring in your carry-on won’t be available to you until you’ve landed. You’ll need to make sure you do the right research to ensure you purchase the right bag. First of all, read up on all of the airline’s rules regarding carry-on bags. Then, when you are shopping for a bag yourself, make sure it falls within these guidelines. You should probably aim for a little bit under the limit just to be sure. If you aren’t sure, you can always ask people who work in a store for help. You can’t be too careful. 

You also need to make sure your cary-on bag is comfortable. Backpacks you can take on planes aren’t exactly in short supply, but there are still a lot of uncomfy ones out there. Why is this such an important feature, you ask? Just think about the amount of time you’ll be spending in cues in the airport and to get onto your plane- it’ll be 10x worse if your bag isn’t comfortable. Straps that dig into you and bags which constantly need re-adjusted are just some of the issues you could face, so make sure you choose a bag you’ll be happy to have on for an extended period of time. If you’re shopping in-store, try on a variety of bags until you find one you like the most. 

Now, we know we’ve talked about the size of the bag itself. But you also need to take into account how much room is actually inside the bag. There is very little point in buying a bag which can only hold three or four items, as you’ll probably want to squeeze in as much as you’re allowed to. When you’re shopping for your bag, make sure you check the inside of the bag and count how many different sections it has; this could be vital in making sure you get a quality carry-on. 

You’ll probably want to make sure your bag looks the part as well- this is your own idea of what quality is. Each of us has a different picture in our minds of our perfect bag, so it’s up to you what style of backpack you want to purchase. You may as well travel in style.