Suitcase or rucksack??

smiler1990

Hi sorry if this has been asked before but couldnt find the info I was looking for!! Myself and the boyfriend are heading off to Australia via thailand in November. We'll only be in Thailand for 2 weeks and then on to Sydney so I'm just wondering should I bring a suitcase or a rucksack with the zip around (like a suitcase). I've never used a rucksack before in my life so some advice would be great!!
Thanks in advance

Hasmunch

Well will you be travelling around a lot or in place where it will be inconvienent to drag a suitcase and would be much easier to have it on you back.
Or will you move to Sydney and largely stay in the one place with a bit of travelling here and there.

Its really up to your preference and if you will be doing lots of traveling and in need of a rucksack.

gustafo

Rucksack all the way.

Mellor

The 2 weeks in thailand alone make a rucksack the better option

Paige Turner

I travelled around oz for 5 months before settling in Melbourne, and if I could go back, I would have brought a suitcase with wheels. I found the backpack a nightmare.

Maybe I'm just a weakling, but I found it quite difficult to keep lugging it around, and ended up leaving half my clothes behind in Sydney to make the bag lighter.

Also, we moved hotels quite frequently, and trying to unpack and repack to get stuff at the bottom of the bag, can get annoying. If you have a suitcase, you can open it out and find what you are looking for, without needing to take everything out.

On the plus - Some hotels we stayed in had no lifts, and it was easier to carry the backpack up four flights of stairs, than I would imagine the suitcase to be.

Mellor

Paige Turner wrote: »

Maybe I'm just a weakling, but I found it quite difficult to keep lugging it around, and ended up leaving half my clothes behind in Sydney to make the bag lighter.

The weight limit is 20kg, so they aren't that heavy.

Also, we moved hotels quite frequently, and trying to unpack and repack to get stuff at the bottom of the bag, can get annoying. If you have a suitcase, you can open it out and find what you are looking for, without needing to take everything out.

All decent rucksacks have a zipper that opens it up like a suitcase.


Suitcases with wheels are fine for airports, where yo are wheeling them accross a tiled floor. But trying to do that in the street is awkward. Trying to do it when you anywhere outside of the city is a nightmare.

Paige Turner

Mellor wrote: »

The weight limit is 20kg, so they aren't that heavy.


All decent rucksacks have a zipper that opens it up like a suitcase.

Depending on the weight/strenght of that person though. I had 18kg, but I am 8.5 stone, so for me I found it was very awkward. 18kg for most guys, or a girl with decent strenght, it would prob be a walk in the park.

As I said, it's just my personal experience. Anytime I came to Australia when I was younger, I brought a suitcase. This time, as I was planning on travelling for 5 months, I thought the backpack would be the better option. However, in my experience, I found it wasn't, and will be reverting back to the suitcase.

It will all come down to the strenght of the person, or if they are carrying any injuries (lowerback, hip, Neck ect), as the backpack does tend to pull on these areas.

In terms of backpack, mine was a pretty decent one, but did not have a zip to open out, and found having to keep repacking was a bit of a nightmare. If there are one's with zips, I would recommend.

Mellor

If the straps aren't set up right it will feel a lot heavier, and more likely to straining something. Maybe that was the issue. If set up right your legs carry it not you neck or back.

smiler1990

wow thanks for all the replies thats a huge help!!
We'll be travelling around the islands in thailand for about to weeks and then on to australia for a year, staying in places for a few weeks or months at a time.
I dont have great strength to be honest so would prefer a suitcase but I think it would be a huge pain travelling with a suitcase around thailand!
I was looking at an 60L with 20L detachable bag dont know if this is any good though??
Thanks gain!

melb

Rucksack.

Whatever you have set aside to bring-leave half of it at home.

rightyabe

smiler1990 wrote: »

wow thanks for all the replies thats a huge help!!
We'll be travelling around the islands in thailand for about to weeks and then on to australia for a year, staying in places for a few weeks or months at a time.
I dont have great strength to be honest so would prefer a suitcase but I think it would be a huge pain travelling with a suitcase around thailand!
I was looking at an 60L with 20L detachable bag dont know if this is any good though??
Thanks gain!

Argos by any chance? I bought a 50L one from there on offer for €27, thats what i'm taking to Oz, I filled it with 25kg of stuff and put it on me and with the straps fixed propperly I hardly felt it on me.