[crottypeter]

> The only reason people store so much hand luggage is that the airlines charge for checked baggage.

I don't think this is true. Frequent flyers always tell me the purpose of a large carry-on is so you don't waste time at the baggage reclaim at the destination. This makes sense to me because that can often be 30+ minutes.

[TeMPOraL]

I assume those people either fly to and back in the same day, have an already established "base" with clothes & cosmetics on the other end, or just buy everything at their destination. Personally, even for business trips longer than 2-3 days I end up having to use checked luggage.

[tomp]

I'm leaving today for a 4-day trip with just a backpack (I'm a guy without contact lenses or other medical issues so I need minimal cosmetics) (admittedly I'm taking a bit of a risk by trusting the weather forecast).

A few years ago I went for 10-day trip to Cuba (i.e. you can't really buy stuff there) with a 40L backpack.

[TeMPOraL]

> A few years ago I went for 10-day trip to Cuba (i.e. you can't really buy stuff there) with a 40L backpack.

Nice. But how did that fit in the usual size & weight limits of hand luggage? Or did you fly with a decent airline instead of a cheap one?

[ghaff]

A ~40L travel backpack like [1] is legal carryon (and is probably actually a bit more adaptable for overhead space than a typical rollaboard) along with a small laptop bag or other "personal item." It's what I mostly use to travel all over the world for weeks at a time. This is on a regular airline--typically United. I get free checked luggage but rarely take advantage.

[1] https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product/porter-46-PORTER46.html

[ghaff]

To my way of thinking you’re taking too much stuff. I once carried more because I needed suits and the like. These days I’ll go in a 3 week trip with just carry-on.

[TeMPOraL]

Might be because on the flights I took, trying to stuff all my electronics (a laptop, a Kindle, power cables) and clothes&cosmetics for 3+ days in the same bag would make me exceed either weight or size limit of hand luggage.