It’s great being able to visit and explore different places. But, the travel itself to a destination and back can be a real headache, especially if you’re flying. There are so many restrictions now on the number of bags you can bring without incurring a fee, as well as the strict baggage allowance guidelines, that the packing process reaches a whole new level of frustration. Flying internationally becomes an even bigger challenge when abiding by luggage weight limits.
Before Luggage Weight Was an Issue
I remember when Frans and I were first dating. He had this forest green, super heavy duty hard-sided plastic suitcase. It was flat on the bottom with four fixed wheels and curved on the top edges with a protruding handle. There was a cutout on the side that revealed a black retractable belt to pull it along. That thing was like a tank. Some 10 years later that green suitcase continued to be our go-to travel baggage with little to no damage. When our daughter was a toddler, she would even ride on it at the airport.
Over time, it became harder to bring that suitcase. Since the bag itself was already so heavy, we could hardly put anything in it due to new luggage weight restrictions. We would often get to the airline counter, put our bag on the scale, and then it would somehow be 3-5 lbs. heavier than it should be. So, we would then have shift all our luggage between bags to avoid extra weight fees. It was so embarrassing…
One day the retractable handle no longer, well, retracted and we had to retire it. We finally bought some new suitcases but could only afford basic ones. These were lighter but the handle, inner construction, and two fixed wheels still added a significant amount of weight. It got to the point where we would always make sure we traveled with a portable baggage scale just to be sure. We would rather shift things around before getting to the airport. Many times, our bigger suitcases were pretty empty. We could physically fit more but then the weight would be over the maximum allowed.
Baggage Allowance & Luggage Weight — Lightweight Suitcases
To address the issue of luggage weight limits, American Tourister released the iLite Max Collection. These soft-sided 4-wheel spinner suitcases come in three sizes — 21” (7.2 lbs.), 25” (9.2 lbs.), and 29” (10.4 lbs.).
There are two pockets on the outside, two pockets on the inside (one mesh and the other is plastic), and an elastic strap. The suitcases can expand and have strong handles on three sides for easy lifting at any angle.
I also love the fact that there’s a wide variety of vibrant colors to choose from. These include Tangerine, Purple, Light Blue, Raspberry, and Black. With these colors, recognizing your bags on the luggage carousel will be a cinch.
Since I’ve always been a blue/teal/turquoise girl, I just had to go with the Light Blue ones. The color name doesn’t match the real color, though. It’s closer to a caribbean blue, bright turquoise, or cyan. iLite Max boarding and garment bags are available as well.
We won’t be flying to the Netherlands too soon but we did test the set out during a recent 2-night trip north. Both worked out fine and survived stuffing, smooshing, dropping, and tipping. 🙂 The fabric didn’t get as dirty as I thought it would either. If you have any upcoming domestic or international travel plans, this might be a great collection to have. With iLite Max suitcases being “delightfully light,” you can focus more on what you put in the suitcases and not so much about luggage weight!
What supplies or packing tips do you use to make travel easier?
I received this item for review purposes and as an American Tourister ambassador. All opinions are my own.
