How many different bag sizes are there for checked baggage and carry-on? Who knows? There is a wonderful department store in Arnedillo, Spain that has a chart beside the luggage with the sizes – 22″ for one, 25″ for another, 24″ and 23″ for yet another two.

And more exciting to figure out – what if you travel on two carriers with two different sizes?  One place says your size will be determined by who you book with and another place says the carrier that you are on the longest will be the correct size. But is that longest single flight or a combo of two or more flights length?

We will find out. Are we over or under or around and through. We are off to visit the home place of Ice-Age Ancestors and take a tour of our old stomping grounds of 10,000 years ago.

The smart bag thingy got me and I ordered one but I am not taking it because you have to have the battery in it and prove it works and then remove the battery and carry it inside the carry on – All the Lithium type batteries apparently have to be in carry on only. But since Ebags and TravelPro do not ship the bag with the battery then it is in the box at home and I will pray for an Ebags return permission.

The Ebags-brand rolling backpack – the MotherLode – was also left behind at home; they lied. The smallest bag size for our departure trip is 22″ x 14″ x 9″. Ebags website, and I did take a screen capture, says it is 22 x 14 x 9. – I shall post the photos – but the Mother Lode is 23.5″ high and I stop there… What cheek – What a waste of money, What a disappointing deception.

You can see the winners – who gets to go with us – in the bags.

We all need a practical bag and a fancy bag and Ebay auctions gave us a couple of posh bags for fun at bargain basement prices. I did not bring the Prada weekender, it just did not hold enough. But the fun Georgio Armani and the Pierre Cardin (hopefully acceptable carry-ons) were both buy-it-nows and both less than $20 plus shipping. The It bag and the Lipault were both premium Ebags purchases but at least I did not have to vacuum years of travel from the old checkers.

The best deal was the Redcamp duffel and I got two of them – but I suggest using a luggage strap – just in case, since it is probably carrying more than it is rated for.

The winner we hope for carry-on is the little Izod – It measured 22 x 14 x 9 and held more than the sort-of-smart TravelPro and the Prada. The Travelon Backpack is light and holds loads so we hope we are set to go – we will see if the airline thinks the same.

It’s in the bag – and maybe in the DNA –

Prada didn’t get to go, the Georgio Armani and the Pierre Cardin shoulder bags were much lighter than the Prada who had to stay at home. The eBags Mother Lode Rolling BackPack and TravelPro Crew 11 were so off base for the orders that they don’t even make the picture and certainly did not go on the trip – but might make the stories. The IZod carry on and the RedCamp checked bag size duffle are the biggest winners. The old Samsonite, tough as nails and always performs also did great. But the failures and the breaks are disappointing.

more…

In Spain this chart is found in the store – the bags needed are as different as the planes and destinations themselves.

Enter a caption