There’s a time and a place for everything. In our This Or That series, we’ll share pros and cons of different choices in travel-related decisions. Today, it’s all about luggage. While I almost never recommend checking your bag, you still have a couple options for that carry-on-sized luggage.
Pros of a roller bag
Wheels. No need to carry your heavy clothing and shoes when you’re walking on smooth surfaces.
Hard cases. The hard outer shell of your roller bag can protect fragile belongings from getting squooshed while you’re cramming it in the overhead bin or crushed under other people’s bags in the trunk of your Lyft.
Cons of a roller bag
Stairs. Even with top and side handles, lugging a roller bag up and down stairs to the subway and along cobblestone streets can be awkward at best.
Hardware. Unless you have extremely high-end luggage, you may find that the boxing match your bag goes through on a trip may put quite a bit of wear and tear on it. I’ve been on trips when my bag just couldn’t take the hits and the handle busted or a wheel gave out on me. It definitely made for a less than pleasant trip carrying my bag instead of rolling it.
When to use a roller bag: Road trips or any trip when you won’t be walking or taking public transportation much.
Pros of a backpack
Look Ma! No hands! I love having my hands free to navigate around my vacation. Honestly even a simple task of going through security can be difficult with one hand holding your roller bag handle.
Sneaky size. I feel like I can get away with a bigger bag in backpack form. Because it’s less rigid and can be molded to fit into the required space, I am able to bring slightly more with me than with a roller bag. Additionally, without the hard inner frame of the wheels and handle, I have more internal space to organize my belongings.
Weight. Do some comparison on your own, but I often find that empty roller bags weigh more than empty backpacks. There is more flexibility in ultralight travel gear in backpacks than in roller bag.
Pockets. I usually recommend packing cubes and any extra way to organize my belongings is a pro in my book.
Cons of a backpack
Access. Backpacks typically don’t open fully and have a bottom third that doesn’t have open access other that from the top. You can look for backpacks that offer a bottom zipper as well.
Fit. You need to make sure you backpack fits you properly and that the majority of the weight sits on yours hips rather than your shoulders.
Crowds. On a crowded subway, it’s important to not leave your backpack on your shoulders. You must remove it and put it between your legs to be respectful of others on the train.
Safety. The nature of a backpack is that it’s out of sight so you and your travel buddy need to generally keep an eye on each others’ bags and make sure they are securely zipped to avoid pick-pocketers.
When to use a backpack: Any trip where you’ll be visiting multiple cities or won’t have a car. Hiking.
One last note: I’m always a fan of expandable luggage. You can find great roller bags and backpacks that offer an extra two inches of space that can be zipped away when not needed. Both my roller bag and my backpack have this feature. I use it for packing alcohol and checking my bag on my way home.