People will often over-stuff bags and their girth is what prevents them from lodging properly in the space. Truly, most every roller-bag is specifically designed to fit. I'd guess that 9/10 times it's operator error that prevents it from doing so.In a crowd of people, roller bags take up room too, as they tend to be dragged behind
-now your reaching. I'm able to roll my bag pretty close to my body and navigate it quickly: left, right, in front or behind given the situation.but I like that my luggage helps me get supplemental exercise, saves space and is silent
-If this is how you supplement your exercise let me just say, there are better ways. Also, I actually enjoy the sound of a roller bag zipping along a corrugated surface; makes me feel like a man on a mission. Also, how does not having wheels on your luggage save space?
Not at all. The fact that you do, does not mean that most people do. This is especially noticeable in very crowded terminals and only gets worse as luggage scales up. Yeah, I go out with a packed suitcase regularly to supplement my workout. (Super sarcastic) I don't. Here's why: in certain travel situations, broadcasting that one has luggage is a distinct disadvantage, as in, it will certainly at the very least alert potential thieves that you have luggage and are a traveler. Also, traveling in cities or countries without good sidewalks or with roads that might flood regularly quickly render the wheels useless, one way or another. As for the space saving aspect, I prefer to have a soft-sided bag with light reinforcement along the top and bottom, as the bag I mentioned does. It squishes very well, something that's harder to achieve with the traditional roller bag that tends to have a very rigid structure for the wheels to attach to.now your reaching. I'm able to roll my bag pretty close to my body and navigate it quickly: left, right, in front or behind given the situation
If this is how you supplement your exercise let me just say, there are better ways.
Also, I actually enjoy the sound of a roller bag zipping along a corrugated surface
Also, traveling in cities or countries without good sidewalks or with roads that might flood regularly quickly render the wheels useless, one way or another.
-If only these roller bags came equipped with side-handles and a way to retract the elongated handle. -Oh.. wait.
São Paulo, 2004. We had finished spending a week in Rio, and returned to spend the night with a friend in Liberdad before trying to get home flying standby the next day. (This would become a three-day ordeal, and would include the staggering step of purchasing a same-day full fare ticket, which by luck we turned out not to need, though we were still out several hundred dollars for the return fee.) After failing to get out the first day, we took the bus back to Liberdad. It was late by then, but it wasn't too far to our friend's flat (I think it was called a flat, but recall it was pronounced "fletch"). We started down the curvy streets. Soon after leaving the main road, it became eerily silent and we were the only people visible, except for the occasional sentry perched in the guardhouse of the invariably walled and gated apartment buildings. We had all our luggage with us, and I pulled our Rollaboard down the middle of the deserted streets. The wheels on the rough pavement made an amazing amount of noise which echoed through the neighborhood. The noise sounded to me like the words "free camera" and "get your wallets and passports here" and "will not be missed except perhaps for ransom purposes." We got thoroughly lost. If we had a cell phone back then we didn't have roaming agreements. Eventually we encountered a police car parked on the street and some cops milling around. I asked for directions back to the main road and then asked, in Spanish, if the neighborhood was safe. I am not sure what reassurance I hoped for, but in any case the only word of Portuguese I understood in reply was assassino as he gestured toward a nearby house. We got back to the main road and in a taxi, and I told the driver about our encounter. He told us we were lucky the police didn't kill us. Disclaimer: most of our time in Brazil was extremely pleasant and comfortable, and I've not encountered a more uniformly friendly population anywhere.
I have yet to experience Brazil, but it's near the top of my list even though your story gave me the creeps. My rule of thumb for dealing with cops in other countries is that if they're in public with a bunch of people around, they're generally ok if you stay out of their way and off their radar. At night with no one else around? No thanks, I'm heading in the other direction.