Hand Luggage Only Travel

Over the last couple of years I have discovered the joys of travelling light and it has been a revelation.  I am writing this post to share the practical tips that I have learnt.       

The Advantages

There are five big reasons to aim for hand luggage only travel:

1. Getting through airports is quicker and easier. You can arrive later and walk past the queues at the check-in desks.  You can leave sooner, passing the crowds at luggage delivery.   Altogether, you can save more than an hour on an average journey.

2. You eliminate the risk of hold luggage being lost or delayed.

3. You can buy cheaper tickets, often saving £50 a flight. This adds up quickly if you have several flights or a large group.

4. You can travel more flexibly and easily. Large bags can be a nightmare if you need to walk or take public transport.  You reduce the risk of injury from carrying your bags.

5. Packing is easier with a smaller number of carefully chosen items. You are less likely to lose stuff.  You feel less weighed down and more light and free.

My Tips

So, here are my suggestions for how to plan to travel light:

1. Check the Rules

Check the hand-luggage rules for the airlines you will be travelling with for your class of ticket.  Most airlines allow a cabin bag to go in the overhead locker and a small bag to put under the seat in front of you.  For several airlines the maximum size of the cabin bag is 56cm x 35cm x 23cm, and of the small bag is 45cm x 35cm x 20cm.  Weight limits vary: some airlines require the two bags together to be under 7kg, while on other airlines weight limits are sufficiently high to not be an issue.  

Some low-cost airlines only include the underseat bag in their base price, so unless you are on a short trip, you may decide to pay extra to take on board an overhead bag.

Many airlines rarely weigh bags at the gates.  If weighing happens and you are slightly over a limit, you may be able to discard water, wear coats and put heavy objects in your pockets.

2. Choose Your Bag

I chose my rucksack to make full use of the 56 x 35 x 23cm size limit. I try to stick to getting everything in the rucksack and keeping the weight below 7kg.  It is great to be able to travel with a single light bag that I can carry on my back.  

Within my main rucksack bag I have a small packaway rucksack that I take out when boarding a plane to take the items I want to hand during the flight.  The packaway rucksack also serves as a day bag.

Instead of a main rucksack, you could take a 56 x 35 x 23cm wheeled case.  This may be better for someone with back problems provided they didn’t expect to walk too far.  You could try to fit everything into the case and stick to a 7kg limit.  Alternatively, if you need to take more, you could take both your case and a 45 x 35 x 20 underseat rucksack, provided this didn’t breach a weight limit.

A couple of tips for travel with a rucksack.  First, consider using packing bags within the rucksack to make things easier to find. Second, when you are in a long queue, carry your rucksack in your hand so you can put it on the ground and take weight off your back.    

3. Choose Quick Drying Clothes

The biggest secret of hand-luggage only travel is to choose clothes that are quick-drying and light.  I started with quick-drying T-shirts and extended this to shorts, trousers, midlayers and underwear.  All of these items are light, robust, need no ironing or fuss, wick sweat and odours, and dry very quickly.

You can wash clothes at the end of each day in the bath of shower and hang them to dry on a balcony or in a bathroom.  Items will often dry overnight, or at least within 36 hours.

4. Take Only the Clothes You Need

Because washing is so quick, you need fewer clothes. For a month in a warm country a guy should only need five sets of T-shirts and underwear, a single pair of trousers, a couple of shorts and a couple of midlayers.  For a cooler climate, you could bring an extra midlayer and a second pair of trousers in place of the shorts. 

Take a packable raincoat and, unless you are travelling somewhere hot, also take a packable ultralight down jacket.  Make trainers your only footware, but for a hot destination also pack some light beach shoes. I like my trousers and shorts to have good zip-up pockets for security, and I find grey an easy colour.  I chose my  T-shirts to be in plain colours without large logos.    

My packing is made easier by not expecting to dress up and being content with functional clothes, which I recognise may not apply to other travellers.  

5. Plan Your Liquids

The liquids that can be taken through security are limited to the contents of one transparent, resealable bag of 20cm x 20 cm, with all items in the bag being in containers of less that 100ml.  Hopefully this restriction will be lifted in the coming months as airports in the UK and elsewhere are due to install improved scanners.

For many, keeping within the liquids limit is challenging.  So you may need to think through what you really need, transfer bulky items to smaller containers and buy toiletries after security or at your destination.   But don’t make liquids an excuse to give up on the joys of hand luggage only travel. 

Links

Examples of a cabin rucksack, a cabin suitcase, a packable rucksack and packing bags.

Examples of quick drying T-shirts, smart running shirts, trousers, city shorts, and beach shorts.