Top 10 Signs – You Need a New Luggage
Your most reliable travel mate is always with you, whether you hit the road, dive the seas, walk the trails, or fly the skies.
And obviously, every one of us has that one piece of luggage that has been our travel-mate, for years. There are various signs that give us signals “when to replace our old pal?”.
Here, you can find our top 10 signs – you need a new piece of luggage.
We definitely don’t want to fall apart from our travel fellow even if it starts to look a little outdated or get dinged from our overweight travel gear.
However, even the most genuine travel bag needs replacing eventually.
Check also: Best Eco-Friendly Luggage for Traveling
Important Signs that show its time to Get A New Luggage
Old Causing Pain
Toting around your rolling luggage whether at the airport or into your hotel should be an easy, comfy, and chic experience.
If you find your wrist, spine, or shoulders in pain after you’ve been rolling your luggage around for a while, it’s time to say goodbye to your old pal and invest in a bag that works better for you.
Frequent travelers with back and spine issues prefer spinner luggage because it is easier and more comfortable to move than two-wheeled bags that you have to drag behind you.
Pick the one whose telescoping handle has a comfy grip and comes up high enough so that you don’t need to bend over or strain to smoothly roll it on.
Moreover, go for a sleek and incredibly lightweight bag so it’s easy to hoist into the overhead compartment.
Outdated Features
A bag looks cool in a retro way. But, if its outdated features compromise your comfort and bring down your whole outfit. It’s time to invest in an upgraded version.
Old-fashioned bags are quite heavy and hard to tote around. Instead of being with your bulky old travel mate, think to treat yourself to an upgrade lighter travel fellow for your next trip. Nowadays, the bag manufacturing sector uses advanced technology and tends toward utilizing ultra-lightweight materials.
For example, old suitcases are usually boxes on wheels. On the other hand, new ones got handy updated features that make the travel easier such as built-in TSA-approved locks, hidden laundry, an interior compression system, charging ports for your phone or e-reader, etc.
Can’t Stay Organized
Bags are made for your comfort and help you to be organized. But if you often feel stressed by finding yourself digging through your entire bag to find something you need at the last minute while boarding, you should go for an upgraded one with proper built-in organization.
Invest in bags with proper pocket organization and dividers. Some new one comes in a hybrid form such as some new suitcases that come with a built-in garment bag, a toiletry bag, and various other compartments.
Wobbling Wheels
As stated above, updated spinner luggage makes traveling, a breeze. But if you find the bag’s wheels wobble to and fro and don’t roll as smoothly as they used to, investing in a new one is a good option. One of the most important signs that you need a new piece of luggage can often be observed in how evenly it moves across rough surfaces.
A quality spinner bag is reliable enough to take on sharp corners and bumpy pavements, seamlessly. If the wheels are cracked or crooked, you will notice a quick difference in their mobility.
Bursting Seams
Seams are a bag’s most vulnerable feature. One should consider it while sticking to their old travel friend. After years of wear and tear, even the stitching of your most reliable bag can start to fray.
If your old travel fellow is literally bursting at its seams, it might be one of the top signs that you need a new piece of luggage. Go for a bag with reinforced seams, super-strong stitching in high-stress areas, and can handle a lot of wear and tear.
Fray Fabric
Textile luggage is often considered a popular option. They can wear down after years. If your old bag doesn’t have a hole yet, that doesn’t mean it’s not time for investing in a new one.
Because the fabric of your old friend may have thinned so much in places that a rip could be seen at any moment. So think how awkward you feel if your bag would fall apart halfway, in the middle of the airport!
Not the Right Size
Minimalist traveling is all about the carry-on experience. With more and more airlines charging high fees to check bags and exhaustive boarding, one should invest in a new bag that must be within the airlines’ restrictions.
When choosing a carry-on, double-check the size of your bag including the wheels and handles. This is most important to check it by yourself because many branded bags labeled as “carry-ons” exceed those size restrictions.
Secondly for checked bags, if you are an overstuffing person, go for a lightweight option that won’t take up too much of your weight restriction.
Nowadays carry-ons are spacious enough to hold all of your essential gear inside but also compact enough to fit inside a plane’s overhead compartment or under the airplane seat.
Falling Apart Inside
To see the zippers, grip strips, and inner material. If you see your zippers not properly working and grip strips are no more of use. You can repair them.
But, if you find the inner plastic cracked or bubbled and the inner metal rusted, use your common sense to evaluate your bag’s bone skeleton. If it looks sketchy, you should replace your old bag.
Worn-Out Hardware
Worn-out hardware comes with subtle clues such as broken buckles, half-hanging buttons, and cracked handles. Further fraying padding in the shoulder straps and hip belt are enough signs that signal your backpack is coming to the end as your adventure-mate.
Changing Marital Status
Last but not least, if you are moving from a solo traveler to the two goats on the road. Or from a couple of travelers to those traveling with kids, you have to change your travel bags as per your changing family structure. This is the foremost reason why travelers replace their old pals.
We know it can be hard to replace the old travel fellow that travels with you for so many years. But think evolution is life and we have to change as per the situations.