Wheeling around a large suitcase is a pain, especially when you get somewhere only to find that all of your things have settled and there is plenty of empty space that somehow wasn’t there when you closed the bag the night before! Plus large suitcases take up a big area in a room. If you just pull one out and put it anywhere the room instantly feels smaller.
So I decided to ditch mine and go for something more practical, a backpack/duffel from North Face. This thing stand just shorter than my large suitcase when set on it’s end and holds just as much stuff even though it takes up much less room. It has one large pocket at one end which has been perfect for James’ toys and the main part of the bag is large enough to organize so things don’t have to be just thrown in randomly.
The best part is the backpack part because wheeling a suitcase around on uneven ground and in a crowd can be … not fun. While the backpack leaves your hands free and is easy to get around with.
Even better, because it is a backpack and could potentially be very heavy, it basically encourages you to pack lighter and that should always be a goal!
This bag is water resistant, very rugged and not absurdly huge. It is the Medium size, meaning that there is a smaller version and a few larger versions as well, but unless you are traveling by car everywhere, this is the largest size I would recommend for getting around.
Of course this is too large to carry on to a plane so it will have to go checked but you can get a travel lock for the zippers and the color choices make it easy to spot! 😊