{"id":38402,"date":"2014-01-29T15:00:02","date_gmt":"2014-01-29T22:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/?p=38402"},"modified":"2022-07-07T17:52:21","modified_gmt":"2022-07-08T00:52:21","slug":"roller-bag-vs-backpack-which-is-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/roller-bag-vs-backpack-which-is-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Roller Bag vs Backpack &#8211; Which Is Better for Traveling?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Roller Bag vs Backpack:&nbsp;Before switching from backpacks to roller bags just over a year ago, we never expected the impact this seemingly small change would have on our travels.<\/p>\n<p>Practically every year since 2008 we\u2019ve bought new backpacks, constantly downsizing, going from 95L to 45L and finally carry-on sized roller bags, and each change has brought a new experience with it.<\/p>\n<p>There are positives and negatives about each of them, and we thought we would sum up some interesting experiences we\u2019ve learned through the years&#8230;and of course a <a href=\"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/travel-pillow-reviews-of-the-best-pillows-for-comfort\/\" rel=\"noopener\">great Travel Pillow<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/roller-bag-vs-backpack-which-is-better\/#The_%E2%80%9CBetter_Backpacker%E2%80%9D\" title=\"The &#8220;Better Backpacker\u201d\">The &#8220;Better Backpacker\u201d<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/roller-bag-vs-backpack-which-is-better\/#Standing_Out_Fitting_In\" title=\"Standing Out &amp; Fitting In\">Standing Out &amp; Fitting In<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/roller-bag-vs-backpack-which-is-better\/#Physical_Struggles\" title=\"Physical Struggles\">Physical Struggles<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/roller-bag-vs-backpack-which-is-better\/#Backpacks\" title=\"Backpacks\">Backpacks<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/roller-bag-vs-backpack-which-is-better\/#Roller_Bags\" title=\"Roller Bags\">Roller Bags<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/roller-bag-vs-backpack-which-is-better\/#Convenience\" title=\"Convenience\">Convenience<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_%E2%80%9CBetter_Backpacker%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>The &#8220;Better Backpacker\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Two huge backpacks, a 7kg tent bag, sleeping bags and daypacks&#8230; need we say more? For some reason, a lot of \u201cbackpackers\u201d seem to think that the only \u201creal\u201d travelers are those actually wearing a bulky, heavy backpack.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re not carrying around a backpack but a roller bag instead, people immediately assume that you\u2019re not a long-term traveler. I don&#8217;t think many people who have seen us rolling our small roller bags down the street would think that we had been traveling for years.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of backpackers simply have that look that says \u201cI\u2019m so cool, because I\u2019m backpacking off the beaten path with my backpack\u201d, smirking at us with our little \u201cweekend bags\u201d. I would never have thought that the type of bag you used mattered to anyone but yourself, but for some people it really does.<\/p>\n<p>For us, we like the backpacks from Wenger suitcase. They are well made, sturdy, comfortable and conveniently designed. You can see a full selection of Wenger Suitcases<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Standing_Out_Fitting_In\"><\/span>Standing Out &amp; Fitting In<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Likewise, another consideration for the Roller Bag vs Backpack&nbsp;is you get judged in a different way from hotels and staff depending on your luggage.<\/p>\n<p>While we most often like to find affordable and budget friendly hotels where anyone &#8220;fits in&#8221;, we used to get very surprised looks when arriving at a fancy hotel with backpacks. Personally I love to mess with peoples&#8217; assumptions so I quite enjoyed the confused looks, but when we traveled with roller-bags nobody in the staff at fancier hotels would raise an eyebrow.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Physical_Struggles\"><\/span>Physical Struggles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Roller bags look more professional and usually blend in and fit easier anywhere, while backpacks often take up a lot of space when you squeeze into trams, trains and buses.<\/p>\n<div>\n<dl id=\"\">\n<dt><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/aswetravel.smugmug.com\/photos\/i-GGpBRDc\/0\/O\/i-GGpBRDc.jpg\" alt=\"Roller Bag vs Backpack\" width=\"500\" height=\"329\"><\/dt>\n<dd>Roller Bag vs Backpack<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Backpacks\"><\/span>Backpacks<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We were tired of always being soaked in sweat after carrying our backpacks for an hour, and after some time my shoulders and back started to hurt and I ended up with a very bad posture.<\/p>\n<p>I was sure that a few months longer with that and I would look like Quasimodo&#8217;s sister..!<\/p>\n<p>On the plus side you have both hands free and can walk up stairs easier, and you can get away with over-packing easier as they tend to give more space to expand.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Roller_Bags\"><\/span>Roller Bags<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Trying to drag a roller bag through a layer of snow or on extremely big cobble stones is just a&nbsp;ridiculously&nbsp;hard task, and after a few weeks of hardcore traveling I actually had started to get calluses on my hands..!<\/p>\n<p>+ With the roller bag, I don\u2019t get a sweaty back and don\u2019t have to actually carry the weight even when standing still.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Convenience\"><\/span>Convenience<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The main reason we decided to switch to roller bags was because we wanted to be sure that our bags could be brought as carry-on with flights like Ryanair.<\/p>\n<p>We choose Delsey luggage for their spacious light weight design and bang-for-the-buck quality design.<\/p>\n<p>You can see a full selection of Delsey Luggage<\/p>\n<p>When traveling with our backpacks as carry-on, we were always worrying about whether the bag would be too big for their sizing, while the roller bag will never expand in size and therefore guarantee that it fits.<\/p>\n<p>This has made traveling by plane more convenient, although it sometimes sucks having to throw stuff out every time you buy something new.<\/p>\n<p>Backpacks are great for <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quora.com\/What-is-the-difference-between-hiking-and-trekking\" target=\"_blank\">hiking and trekking<\/a>, but since we\u2019re not hikers we found that most places we traveled to had at least a dirt road to the hotel where we could unload our stuff.<\/p>\n<p>Photos (<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/dcysurfer\" target=\"_blank\">1<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/kittysfotos\/\" target=\"_blank\">2<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roller Bag vs Backpack:&nbsp;Before switching from backpacks to roller bags just over a year ago, we never expected the impact this seemingly small change would have on our travels. Practically every year since 2008 we\u2019ve bought new backpacks, constantly downsizing, &#8230; <a title=\"Roller Bag vs Backpack &#8211; Which Is Better for Traveling?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/roller-bag-vs-backpack-which-is-better\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Roller Bag vs Backpack &#8211; Which Is Better for Traveling?\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":38523,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38402"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aswetravel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}