Suitcase Buying Guide for trip to U.S.A

Few of my friends were asking how/what to pack within two 23 kgs suitcases and list of things to carry. I have traveled to and fro India and U.S. four times now and have helped to pack suitcase to my friends and other family members. Suitcase are little expensive in U.S. when compared to India. Also, don’t buy the largest size.

Type of Suitcase to Buy

Buy soft or semi hard suitcase. I would prefer buying Samsonite or V.I.P. They are very light weight ( ~2.4 kgs per suitcase) when compared to hard ones (4-5 kgs). In general, you wouldn’t need hard cover suitcase at all. I have 1 V.I.P, 3 Space and 2 Samsonite Soft Suitcase. So, far they were used for some 8 Trips ( single way ) and still they are strong and will last for 5+ trips. Samsonite and VIP are little expensive.

Space brand suitcase are cheaper and has the same quality as Samsonite and VIP brands. I got 1 Space and my brother has 2 Space suitcase few years back in Bangalore ( I guess its Brigade Road, opposite to Pizza Hut). It’s still sturdy. Just make sure it doesn’t weight more than 3 kgs. So, you can get to pack at least 20  of kgs of your stuffs. Getting hard suitcase will make you pack less.

Try to get one that has trolley, it will be very useful to move around. You will have to do lot of adjustments while packing, weighing, unpacking to fit in all the stuffs you need.

Carry on Bag

Most of the airline will allow to take 1 carry on and 1 personal item ( hand bag, laptop ). I didn’t have any problem carrying one laptop and 1 carry on bag from U.S. to India. But, in Chennai airport, they asked to put the Laptop bag within the Carry On Bag. But it will till you clear the security. Check with the airline about the baggage policies. In Chennai airport they asked us to put the laptop bag in carry on suitcase, till we clear the security.

Again for the carry on get a small suitcase with wheels/pull out handle to roll. I have seen people carry bags with cloth material with trolley.

In the next article, you will find how to pack the suitcase with stuffs within 23 Kgs and different ways to reduce the weight while packing.You can subscribe to email updates for more travel and packing tips. Also, its always better to know what to expect at port of entry in U.S.

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