First time I remember seeing people get hit with overweight fees for their bags was back in 2006. Checking in for a Thanksgiving week flight, a family of 3 ahead of us had to cough up $280 for their three bags. Needless to say, they were those 28" traditional soft side suitcases. Of course I was a little worried, because Big Red(if you don't know we like to nickname stuff in my family) was the next size down, but luckily it was fine. After that the bags always went on the bathroom scale to make sure they were under 50 lbs. A few years later I was in the market for a bag that bridged the size from Big Red to our collection of those ubiquitous black 20" wheelies that everyone uses for carry-ons. I came across a soft wheelie duffle bag from High Sierra, 24" and it only weighs 7 lbs. Eye roll from my husband, on why I needed that. Well come one of those winter long weekends and we are headed up to Boyne Mountain to ski. He volunteered to pack, and came down stairs amazed at what he could get into that bag, ski pants, ski gloves, snow boots and goggles and he still had room and it didn't feel that heavy. Of course this bag has a nickname also, Angry Orange, so you can guess what color it is. It's a tough bag it's been on 4 cruises, various other flying trips and it handled 6th grade Camp Michindoh with my youngest. Other than a few dirt marks, it still looks great and nothing has fallen off.
So when ebags had a sale I purchased the above bag, which is a TLS Mother Load 29" Wheeled Duffle. I really like the two sections, which is great when I have to do a dual trip, vacation stuff in one section and business clothes in the other. I used it this past summer when I was in Europe for 10 days I weighed it before I left and it was only 38 pounds and that included 4 pairs of shoes! I promise I will do a blog on how I decide what to bring on a trip.
So if you are planning on hitting the road or skies in the near future take a look at your suitcase. I am not a fan of those lightweight hard side bags. They tend not to last more than a few flights if you are checking them, seen more than a few on the baggage carousel that are cracked.
Here are my tips:
1. Always weigh your bags at home, I use my bathroom scale and for a checked bag I don't want it to weigh more than 45 pounds. I have found my scale is pretty accurate, but leave some room for purchases and scale variations.
2. If you have too much get that 2nd bag out, 2nd bag fees are usually less than overweight charges. I have seen Delta want to charge $100 for 5 pounds.
3. Know your airlines weight restrictions, yep the usual suspects are 50 pounds, but you fly Spirit it's only 40 pounds.
4. If you have to pay for bags, figure out when is the best time to pay for them. Spirit and a lot of the European budget airlines have price breaks on when you buy bag fees. Cheapest when you buy the ticket, more expensive when you check in online and you really pay through the nose when you do it at the airport. And we all think Spirit nickels & dimes us, you haven't seen the European budget airlines!
5. Some airlines are weighing your carry-on bag, the 20" ones that are so loved by road warriors. Air Canada & Hawaiian have started to do this.
So if your old suitcases don't look like they will make another flight or you are just plain embarrassed by them, check out some of the newer lightweight bags.
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