My Secret To Living Out Of A Carry-On

By: Ben Schlappig

Published: July 6, 2015

62 comments

When I first moved into hotels my luggage situation was a mess… as summed up in the picture below.

Luggage

Over time I’ve realized that if you’re going to live out of suitcases full time you need to be super-minimalist and just live out of a carry-on. While it means my wardrobe is quite limited, it also saves me dozens of hours a year of waiting at baggage claim, not to mention the potential headache of lost bags (though amazingly enough even carry-ons can get lost).

Up until this year I had a Tumi 20″ Alpha International, as well as the Tumi Alpha laptop bag. It was a sleek set, if not a bit corporate looking. On US airlines you’re entitled to take aboard one carry-on and one “personal item,” so the 20″ rollaboard was my carry-on, and the laptop bag was my personal item.

But then I discovered the wonders of the weekender bag (mine is from Killspencer) . Yes, most people travel with a weekender bag as their carry-on. I, on the other hand, travel with my weekender bag as my personal item. And it has probably increased my carry-on capacity by about 50%.

Bag

Is it within the spirit of carry-on policies? Perhaps not. But let’s look at the actual rules. Here’s American’s carry-on baggage policy:

Carry-on bag

Your carry-on bag should be:

Up to 45 inches (22 x 14 x 9 in) or 115 centimeters (23 x 36 x 56 cm) including handles and wheels

Able to fit comfortably into the sizer we’ve provided at the airport

Personal item

Your personal item must be smaller than your carry-on, able to fit under the seat in front of you and can include:

A purse

A briefcase

A laptop bag

Similar items such as a tote

My weekender bag is smaller than my carry-on, and it can fit (very snugly) underneath the seat in front of me… so it does technically qualify!

Some will likely claim I’m being selfish by carrying on a weekender bag as a personal item, but the reality is that I always put it underneath the seat in front of me, so it’s not inconveniencing anyone.

To be honest I’m still kind of shocked I haven’t been called out on it a single time. Not even a single comment from a gate agent. Because it is rather huge. The only mention I’ve received of it is from a flight attendant on a non-US carrier who literally laughed when she saw the size of my weekender bag, and said “well done… wow.”

But it’s awesome. Not only does it hold everything my laptop bag previously held (laptop, electronics, toiletries, etc.), but it also holds several pairs of shoes, undershirts, etc.

Does anyone else us my strategy of using a weekender bag as a personal item in order to maximize the amount you can carry-on?

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Greg Speller Guest

December 11, 2024, 1:49 am

I live out of a dropped bottom bag holds everything I own when travel I do it with my 38l backpack two pair of pants two long sleeve shirts 4 pairs of under clothes flip flops toiletries an extra hat a must small electronics two phones headlamp and my sleeping bag or liner That’s it works excellent

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Michael Anisfeld Guest

August 6, 2019, 3:16 pm

If I ever need to check a bag I know I am overpacked. My tip is that I have discovered a wonderful secret - everywhere you travel there are laundries. Not the hotel laundry which is hideously expensive, but the local laundry often around the corner to the hotel (search Google for "nearest laundry to X". Whether I am traveling on a three day or a thirty-day trip, my formula is the same: 5 shirts; 5 sets underwear and 5 socks; 3 ties,1 spare pair pants, and my wash and medical kits. Add to that my travel clothes which I wear on the flight - a sports jacket (good for meetings and evenings) and pants, walking shoes (good for meeting and walking the city) and a thin merino wool sweater for winter travel and cool evenings. I never check baggage and travel with my two-wheel roll-aboard and a back-pack for my work stuff. Only once got refused and that was in Johannesburg where South African weighed all carry-on baggage at the gate with a 7kg total limit for both bags.

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flying100 Member

March 27, 2019, 9:34 am

You can buy the biggest carry on possible for BA and EasyJet. It really is huge, and bigger then much have as their check in.

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scir91 Guest

March 9, 2018, 1:17 pm

biggest problem with your luggage is the WEIGHT. that 20 inch carry on luggage itself weighs so many pounds when EMPTY (i am betting around 7-8 pounds which is very heavy). i have seen super thin n light backpacks (like "the minimalist") that are far better. weight is a real problem, as of course is girth. i use a packable daypack along with a cvr-617 targus backpack as my carry on which is about 1.5 pounds empty and can squish down quite well. it is also rugged and costs about $40 to $50 on average. i also do laundry often to mitigate having to bring more clothing. i wear socks that are ankle cut to save space and weight on normal size socks. i have other tricks i do to cut WEIGHT. it is not the amount of stuff but the weight that is the real problem.

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CJ Haughey Guest

October 31, 2017, 11:52 am

Your old baggage situation is my current one, albeit split between my girlfriend and me. Nevertheless, we could definitely do with downsizing to carry-on size sooner rather than later! I'm surprised you haven't been asked to check that weekender bag though as it looks like it may struggle to fit inside the little steel frames at the check-in desk!

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