The Best Travel Backpacks and Lightweight Luggage for Seniors

Traveling Light Done Right

Choices Abound for Lightweight Travel Bags

It should come as no surprise that the second most prominent answer to the question "What are you going to do when you retire?" is "travel." (The first being — usually — "Spend more time with the family"). After all, isn't that what you worked all those years for?

Ah yes — travel. To see Old Faithful erupt at Yellowstone, to cross the Golden Gate Bridge, to have a stranger take your picture in front of the Eiffel Tower, to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, reenact the Jack and Rose pose from Titanic on the bow of a cruise ship or knock back Coronas on the beach at Cancun.

Travel is the stuff retirement dreams are made of, yet it's not just for retirees. Long-term employees fortunate enough to be grandfathered in on generous vacation policies find themselves with accumulated weeks of paid vacation time on their hands, and so, off they go to see the sites.

The travel industry loves seniors. On average, retirees spend over $11,000 per year on travel. Now that may seem like a lot, but it includes gas purchases and automobile expenses, in addition to the various fares, lodging and dining associated with travel. And in this application, travel is anything from trips to spend the weekend with the grandchildren to overseas flights.

It's no secret that travel has changed drastically since the days of the loaded station wagon with kids asking, "Are we there yet?" Interstate highways criss-crossing the country make long trips much easier, and improvements in the safety, comfort, convenience and fuel efficiency of cars have been game-changers. Travel by plane is markedly different, thanks to ever-tightening and invasive security measures and absurd handling fees for luggage.

Less is More

One of the biggest changes in travel in recent years regards, not so much the travelers, but the things they bring with them. The key word here is light. Less carry-on luggage, less checked luggage, fewer bags, less weight, less stuff to pack in the trunk and less stuff to haul through airport concourses and hotel lobbies.

While seniors should — and many do — embrace this trend toward minimalism in travel, it does pose some logistical problems. Seniors own more "stuff" in general than younger trekkers, and are more inclined to insist on bringing it all with them, because they tend to be worriers, and conjure up potential situations where they might need that steam valet, that all-purpose little black dress or a jar of Metamucil. But if you're traveling light, what do you do?

The simple answer is, you don't take it with you. Pry your fingers from that pair of low heels, or your favorite after shave or that white sport coat. You can survive this trip without them. Either that, or pay the price in terms of bag fees, valet fees or porter tips, not to mention the hassle of keeping up with multiple, heavy suitcases.

If you are committed to the less is more philosophy when it comes to luggage, then you may find some solutions in the following list of luggage options, a list that also includes backpacks. Backpacks for seniors? Yes. Millennials don't know everything, and they don't have exclusive entitlements to backpacks.

Choosing Lightweight Luggage

Ya gotta have the wheels. Whether it's a collapsing-handle carry-on bag or a full-sized suitcase, wheels are a must. Once a clever novelty to show off to other travelers at the baggage claim carousel, now a standard piece of equipment, suitcase wheels are what put the "mo" in mobile. There's no reason to buy a suitcase that doesn't have wheels.

Big wheels keep on turnin'. Carry me home to see my kin.

— Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sweet Home Alabama

There are two basic types of wheels on rolling suitcases. There are locked-in, straightforward-only wheels, like the back wheels of a shopping cart, and there are multi-directional, spinning wheels like the front wheels of a shopping cart. The trend seems to favor multi-directional wheels, but since the suitcases featured here are all lightweight, the straightforward wheels will cooperate just as easily.

Since light is the name of the game, it needs to be pointed out that some rolling suitcases are heftier than others. While they might be sturdier, heavier suitcases can really cut into your airline weight limit for carry-ons. The list we've put together shows products that offer the best of both worlds.

The products shown below are all sized to be carry-ons. Nearly all the manufacturers make larger suitcases, but this list is limited to carry-ons.

Airline Weight Limits

A word about weight limits: airlines vary considerably as to weight limits for carry-on bags, ranging on the low end at 15 pounds to the high end at 51 pounds. Some airlines don't even have a weight limit for carry-on bags.

Here are some popular airlines and their carry-on weight limits:

• American Airlines: 40 lbs
• British Airways: 51 lbs
• Delta Airlines: No limit, except at certain Asian airlines.
• El Al: 17 lbs
• Jet Airlines: 15 lbs
• JetBlue: No limit.
• KLM: 26 lbs
• Southwest Airlines: No limit.
• United Airlines: N/A
• Virgin Atlantic: 25 lbs