Luggage......

WE finally broke down and bought a 5 piece luggage set. We have a luggage set but it was so outdated and not practical for the long trips we plan on taking (China, hint! hint!). We have also been exclusively using carry-ons lately and did not realize some of our pieces are no longer worth having as they can't be used as carry-ons or are really too small for checked baggage.

Shopping for luggage is so complicated these days. You have to be sure you can use the pieces you buy in the set, that they are lightweight yet durable, practical, and most of all can be stored on the plane. For domestic travel most carry-ons can not exceed 26" X 18" x 8". Checked baggage can not exceed 62 inches overall.

International travel is even more restricted when it comes to carry-ons as the size is smaller. For Air China the carry-on can not exceed 21" X 15" 7 " or weigh more than 11 pounds. Checked baggage can not exceed 62 " overall for one piece, 107 " for two pieces, and 50 pounds for each piece.

We are not really sure how many pieces we will need but feel pretty good about the set we picked out.

We had been doing a little window shopping and JcPenney had a really good sale combined with a 15 % coupon and we were there (75 % off the listed price)! We looked at a few sets yesterday and then went back today with the tape measure (I didn't trust measurements listed). It was a good thing the store wasn't crowded and no one was buying luggage because we took up the WHOLE isle! Mike stoodby commenting as I opened and inspected set after set, measured, and compared.

We finally chose an American Tourister 5 piece set. It came with 3 uprights, a carry-on bag, and a tote bag. Two of the uprights are expandable if we need a little extra room and two of the uprights qualify for carry-ons for both domestic and international travel. I like the idea that the carry-on bag and tote bag fold easily and can be stored if we choose within the two larger uprights.

It did feel good to finally be doing something positive that is referral driven! Check-off luggage on the to-do-list :)

Next up: Mini laptops (netbooks).....